10 Practices to Go Green and Cut Your Restaurant Utility Cost

The restaurant industry is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions and food waste, but many in the industry are changing their practices to reduce their environmental impact. Sustainability restaurants are a growing part of the industry, and your establishment can join them by implementing these 10 practices.

1. Invest in Energy-Efficient Equipment

Replacing outdated equipment with new energy-efficient upgrades can help reduce your utility costs significantly. The new equipment will require an investment, but it can save thousands of dollars a year for your restaurant. Choose Energy Star certified models to maximize your utility savings.

2. Reduce Your Water Consumption

Restaurants use large amounts of water in their day-to-day operations. Here are steps you can take to reduce your restaurant’s water consumption and costs.

Fix leaking faucets. It’s easy to overlook and forget about leaking faucets, but over time, even a minor leak can add up to high costs. Repairing these leaking faucets will stop water waste and lower your monthly water bill.

Install low-flow spray valves. Replacing your old pre-rinse spray valve with a newer model can help reduce your water consumption. Newer models have lower gallons per minute (GPM) ratings.

Replace your aerators. Hand-washing sinks don’t need to have a high GPM rating. A low-flow aerator will lower the flow and your GPM rating to save you money on water costs.

3. Use Eco-Friendly Food Packaging

Invest in eco-friendly takeout containers. Today’s consumers are environmentally conscious and demand sustainable or biodegradable packaging. This decision can bolster your reputation as an eco-restaurant and even boost your profits as you attract more customers.

4. Choose Energy-Efficient Lighting

Lighting can be a major energy hog, especially in a restaurant. One of the most important sustainability and environmental best practices for restaurants is to replace old, inefficient lighting.

LED bulbs are a great option for energy savings. They use 85% less electricity than incandescent bulbs, and they last 10 times longer.

CFL bulbs are another option. One advantage they have over LED bulbs is that they produce more light, which makes a good option for lighting large areas of your restaurant.

5. Minimize Food Waste

Eco-friendly restaurants understand that going green is also about minimizing your food waste. Ingredients go bad and customers leave food piled on their plates. It’s not easy to reduce your food waste, but it’s not impossible.

• Reducing your portions can lower food waste from customers.
• Strict inventory management can help ensure that you only purchase the right amount of ingredients and that those ingredients are used before they spoil.
• Implement zero-waste cooking practices. Find creative ways to use up kitchen scraps.

6. Lower Heat Usage and Ambient Temperatures

Along with lighting, heat accounts for a significant amount of your restaurant’s energy usage.

Installing a smart thermostat can help you manage heating and cooling costs. They can be programmed for optimal energy usage.

Lowering the ambient temperature in your kitchen will also help reduce energy consumption. Your refrigeration and freezing units will get a break because they won’t have to work as hard to keep items cold.

There are other ways to reduce the ambient temperature in your kitchen, such as using induction equipment and using condensate hoods above your dishwashers and steam equipment.

7. Turn Off Idle Equipment

Many restaurants waste a lot of energy (and money) running idle equipment.

Saving money can be as simple as turning off a light switch. Use lighting timers to turn off your lights after hours. Solar-powered outdoor lights will recharge themselves and shut down at night.

Startup and shutdown schedules will ensure that your equipment is only up and running when necessary. Smart controls can be used to power up and shut down equipment remotely, saving you time and money.

8. Change Filters Regularly

How often do you change the filters in your restaurant’s HVAC system or on other pieces of equipment? It’s easy to put this simple task on the backburner, but neglecting filter changes will force your HVAC system and other equipment to work harder and use more energy as a result.

9. Maintain Your Equipment

Proper maintenance will help extend the life of your equipment and reduce its energy consumption. Cleaning and regular servicing will ensure that your equipment isn’t working harder than it has to work. Create a maintenance schedule for all of your kitchen appliances as well as your HVAC system.

10. Train Staff in Energy-Saving Protocols

Going green and saving on energy costs can only be achieved if everyone is on board and following energy-saving protocols. Make sure that your staff is properly trained in these protocols and understands the best practices for reducing energy and water waste.

For more information visit https://mcdonaldpaper.com/blog/why-should-restaurants-go-green-and-ways-to-lower-utility-costs