Foodservice Consulting & Facility Design
Food Service Company Profile And Environmental Statement
Are you designing your foodservice facilities to be friendly to the environment? The descriptive words, "green" and "sustainability" are the current trend of the day but regardless, the direction they point us is towards efficiency. This efficiency presents itself in multiple forms; energy, water and waste reduction, equipment and labor with the latter creating the most long term and ongoing expense.
A kitchen with Energy Star© equipment does not necessarily make an efficient operation but definitely will create a higher front end equipment cost. All food service equipment is expensive to purchase, operate and maintain so it would stand to reason that a kitchen with a smaller foot print, that is energy and labor efficient would benefit the client and the environment in the long run.
To achieve LEED points for an innovative design, one should look at the total design of the food service project and consider all aspects of the operation. We encourage our clients to consider new technology in cooking equipment and take a serious look at their current operational practices.
Reducing land fill waste reduces carbon footprint. This directly relates to the trucks hauling the waste. To achieve this, use a solid waste extractor in conjunction with a disposer. Or, use an Anaerobic Digester to mix wood chips with enzymes and food waste to break the material down into a mush (in about a day and a half). All the food at that point turns to water and is able to be flushed down the drain. The enzymes also help at the waste plant. The by product is Methane which can be used for fuel or sold to third party firms. The second part of this is to just use the disposer and let the water treatment plant digest the food waste. It's not the food product that clogs our sewers, it's the FOG. Fats, Oil and Grease.
Promote green dining practices. One practice is to reduce the consumption of meat. According to a 2008 report from Carnegie Mellon University, going without meat and dairy one day a week is more environmentally beneficial than eating locally every single day. Animal based agriculture emits more greenhouse gases (in carbon dioxide equivalents) than all means of transportation combined. The secondary benefit is a healthier population.
Seek out more locally grown vegetables. Again, goes to the carbon footprint created by shipping all of this from other countries.
Going trayless in a typical foodservice operation to save thousands of gallons of water.
Install a purified water dispensing system. Encourage employees to fill their water bottles rather than tossing the empties. It takes about a gallon of water to produce a typical plastic water bottle that holds the water. Promote mugs that employees or students can refill instead of purchasing plastic water bottles.
Change light bulbs in every operation to ones that are more energy efficient. Take styrofoam out of food service all together and replace with biodegradable flatware, plates and cups.
Reduce paper usage in the operation. Change to glasses and china. Eliminate paper place mats.
Start a composting program. Example, in Bellingham, Washington, the cost of hauling garbage (including the plastic bag) is $15 per cubic yard of garbage. The cost to compost (including a biodegradable bag) is $12 per cubic yard.
Talk to us about the facilities you are designing to see if we can help to increase your LEED points.
An experienced operational background is paramount to the basics of any good foodservice designer. Our many years of experience in commercial kitchens, having worked along side the chefs is practical and invaluable. This experience translates into almost every type of food service known such as vending banks to health care facilities to a penal system preparing over 15,000 meals per day.
We have invested large amounts of time and energy to obtain the most critical food service certifications available. By doing so, we are one of very few consulting firms in the country that can offer both the operational and design expertise backed by certified credentials.
As professional members of FCSI (Foodservice Consultants Society International), we are accountable for our work and totally independent from any manufacturer
Material Copyright © 2008, Daniel Design, Inc.