3.2
Toilets
WaterSense at Work: Best Management Practices for Commercial and Institutional Facilities
A-9
5.2
Landscaping
A.4 Restaurants Install Water-Efficient
Commercial Kitchen Equipment
Certified Green Restaurants®
With social and environmental responsibility
becoming the norm among restaurateurs and
consumers, restaurants across the country have
begun to install water- and energy-efficient
commercial kitchen equipment for food preparation,
cooking, and cleaning. Despite measures taken
to reduce water use, a challenge faced by many
restaurants is the inability to directly quantify the
impact of their efforts. In many cases, restaurants might be billed a flat fee for
water or, if the building is leased or the restaurant is part of a corporate franchise,
utility bills may be directed to the building owner or corporate headquarters.
The restaurants highlighted in this case study—Uncommon Ground, The
Grey Plume, and Founding Farmers—showcase many of the water-efficiency
best management practices described in
WaterSense at Work
.
Although they
cannot quantify specific savings, these restaurants are Green Restaurant
Association (GRA) Certified Green Restaurants,® meaning they have reduced
their environmental impact from disposables, energy, food, furnishings, building
materials, pollution, chemicals, waste, and water.
1
Project Summary
The water-efficiency best management practices implemented at
each of three restaurants—Uncommon Ground, The Grey Plume,
and Founding Farmers—are described in this case study.
Uncommon Ground (Chicago, Illinois)
When Uncommon Ground first opened, it was a small café in a
converted apartment in Chicago. Twenty years later, Uncommon
Ground has two 4,000-square-foot restaurants that serve
approximately 20,000 customers per month. As the restaurants’
popularity began to grow, the owners sought ways to reduce their
environmental impact.
In the first year of its plan to reduce water use, Uncommon Ground
focused on the “low hanging fruit” and installed water-efficient
faucet aerators in prep sinks, changed its pre-rinse spray valve to
a high-efficiency model, and began serving water to customers
1
Green Restaurant Association.
Uncommon Ground exterior
