Ecco Earns Green Designation

The Green Foodservice Alliance (GFA) has announced that Ecco, the popular eatery in Midtown, has become the first restaurant in the state of Georgia to receive the Green Foodservice Certification. As a result, Ecco and GFA are leading the way for greening the restaurant industry nationwide, uniting several foodservice organizations in the fight to incorporate environmental conservation practices into the daily operations of dining establishments.

Fifth Group Restaurants Partner Steve Simon helped to develop this program and now sits on the Green Foodservice Alliance Executive Committee. Simon strategized on the functionality of the certification requirements, providing input about what would be operationally reasonable and what would be discouraging for restaurateurs.

“It’s kind of like the first time you recycle at home; it’s not hard, you just have to retrain your habits,” says Simon of complying with certification standards. “What it comes down to is a choice, and how good you want to be at it,” he adds.

The Green Foodservice Certification program is brand new and will evolve to become more stringent each year for the next few years. While there are many more things that Ecco and other restaurants can do to be greener and more environmentally conscious, this is the beginning of an effort to drive the hospitality industry in Atlanta and the state of Georgia to greener practices. The 2009 certification requires that the restaurant adhere to the following practices:

· Recycle common recyclable goods such as aluminum, cardboard, plastic, glass and paper. The restaurant must report tonnage of recycled products hauled into recycling company on a monthly basis to the GRA.
· Spent grease must be used for the local production of biofuel.
· A written plan must be provided for donation of non-sellable but edible food to a local food bank, other charitable organization or some consumable source.
· A written plan must be provided for energy conservation (gas, electricity, water).

While these practices haven’t been a focal point in the past from an operational standpoint, Ecco was able to divert 65% of its waste immediately and reached 75% with more focus. Simon found the kitchen and dish room to be the most challenging areas of the restaurant due to lack of extra space, while the bar area proved to be more conducive to recycling.

As for energy conservation, Ecco’s energy consumption is monitored on a monthly basis, and the results are used to put operational procedures into effect in order for the restaurant to use less energy. Ecco has been adhering to these practices and the other certification stipulations for six months now, and Fifth Group is currently in the process of rolling out recycling procedures at the company’s catering arm, Bold American , and all of their other establishments including South City Kitchen Midtown, The Original El Taco, and La Tavola Trattoria , which is already part of the nation’s first “Carbon Neutral Zone” in Virginia Highland.