1. The
AIR
Green
Team
Growth
of
a
Green
Movement
in
Asheville
Restaurants

2. How
we
got
started
• 3
original
restaurants
in
the
AIR
Green
Team
in
2009
– Green
Sage
–
Randy
Talley
– RoseAa’s
Kitchen
–
RoseAa
Star
– Corner
Kitchen
–
Kevin
Westmoreland
• Goal
was
to
educate
and
provide
basic,
easy
to
implement
ways
for
restaurants
to
save
energy
or
reduce
waste.

3. What
is
“Green”?
• Sustainability
–
as
it
relates
to:
-­‐ Environment
(Planet)
-­‐ Business
(Profit)
-­‐ Community
(People)
Planet
–
Profit
–
People

4. Simple
things
first
• No
styrofoam
• Recycling
• Basic
lighWng
changes
• ComposWng
• Door
seals
• InformaWon
about
Energy
Star
appliances

5. The
Second
Stage
• Green
Restaurant
AssociaWon
– In
2009
there
were
only
3
GRA
cerWfied
restaurants
in
NC.
One
–
Posana
Café
–
was
in
Asheville.
– There
are
only
78
restaurants
in
the
NYC
metro
area
that
are
cerWfied
(out
of
over
14,000)
or
.6%.
24
restaurants
in
Chicago,
19
in
Los
Angeles
(in
each
of
these
metro
areas
several
are
chains)
– We
have
15
AIR
restaurants
in
the
process
of
being
cerWfied
out
of
less
than
350
restaurants
in
Buncombe
County
or
4%

6. GRA
partnership
• AIR
Green
Team
worked
with
GRA
to
see
what
it
would
take
to
get
a
group
of
restaurants
cerWfied
• AIR
negoWated
a
rate
that
is
less
than
a
third
of
what
the
normal
rate
to
become
cerWfied
was
in
2009
• Monthly
billing
–
a
large
plus
for
the
smaller
restaurants
• Local
assistance
with
cerWficaWon
• AIR
secured
the
same
rate
as
the
current
restaurants
received
–
the
next
10
restaurants
should
sign
up
this
month!

7. Goal
Asheville
will
be
America’s
first
Green
Dining
DesWnaWon

8. Third
Stage
• Funding
for
larger
scale
environmental
changes
for
the
AIR
restaurants
• BRSI/AIR
partnership
won
a
NC
Green
Grant
in
the
amount
of
$258,000
matched
by
$100,000
from
17
restaurants
• BRSI
and
AIR
are
looking
for
funding
to
help
green
other
restaurants.

9. What
did
the
grant
do?
• It
taught
us
how
to
beAer
manage
energy
–
BTU
reducWon
through
solar
panels,
lighWng
upgrades,
insulaWon,
new
refrigeraWon
systems
other
basic
energy
savings
installs
• Job
creaWon
• EducaWon
component
–
resources
on
the
BRSI
website
available
to
all
restaurants

10. LighWng
Retrofits
 The
biggest
$
savers
 Reduces
excess
heat
Not
always
this
simple:

11. High
Efficiency
Water
HeaWng
Your
Restaurant
probably
uses
at
least
250,000
–
500,000
gallons
of
hot
water
each
year
 High-­‐efficiency
water
heaters
 Low-­‐flow
spray
nozzles

12. Renewable
Energy
• 7
Solar
InstallaWons
totaling
42
best-­‐in
class,
made-­‐in
NC
solar
hot
water
collectors

13. Start
Small
• Behavioral
changes
• Low-­‐flow
fixtures
• Programmable
Thermostats
=
Not
the
first
step!

14. Good
Press
• Front
page
arWcles
in
Asheville
CiWzen
Times
• More
on
the
front
page
of
Mountains
• Mountain
X,
other
print
media,
and
TV
coverage
of
Green.
• Buncombe
County
Environmental
Leadership
Award
• Keep
your
eyes
open
for
naWonal
coverage!

15. Why
Go
Green?
• 79%
of
consumers
prefer
to
dine
at
green
cerWfied
restaurants
–
2010
Technomic
Survey
Why
Get
CerWfied?
•
Only
6%
of
consumers
trust
self-­‐verified
green
claims
•
94%
trust
third-­‐party
verified
claims
•
More
than
82%
of
would
decrease
or
stop
going
to
a
restaurant
that
falsely
claimed
to
be
green

16. What
is
CerWficaWon?
• EducaWonal
path
to
green
• Third-­‐party
verificaWon
of
green
• Minimum
benchmarks
in
mulWple
categories:
– Energy
– Water
– Waste
– Chemical
reducWon
– Sustainable
Food
– Disposables

17. • Opened
March
1,
2008
with
mission
to
be
environmentally-­‐friendly
and
health
conscious.
We
serve
only
natural
&
organic
foods
and
beverages.
• Received
GRA
3
Star
CerWficaWon
in
2011.
• Opened
second
locaWon
in
South
Asheville
on
Nov
10,
2011
with
the
goal
to
be
one
of
the
first
Four
Star
CerWfied
Green
Restaurants
in
the
US.

18. The
Green
Sage
• First
Downtown
Asheville
Restaurant
to
uWlize
Solar
Thermal
Panels
• Goal
was
to
produce
half
of
our
hot
water
BTU’s
with
solar
energy

19. Signage
• Downtown
Sign
made
from
Junkyard
Scrap
Metal

20. Signage
• Sign
in
our
South
LocaWon
uses
100%
LED
LighWng

21. Finishes
• Both
stores
uWlize
reclaimed
wood
from
old
houses
and
barns
• Water-­‐based
No/
Low
VOC
paints,
stains
and
polyurethane.
• Locally
made
Concrete
Counters
uWlizing
local
materials

22. LED
LighWng
• South
locaWon
95%
LED
LighWng
• All
lighWng
and
signage
could
fit
on
one
20
Amp
circuit
• 5
year
warranty,
20
year
lifespan,
cost
down
to
$20-­‐$50/bulb
• Color
rendiWon
is
near
perfect
• Kitchen
lighWng
is
bright
and
white

23. RefrigeraWon
• South
store
uWlizes
a
rack
system
with
4
compressors
outdoors.
1
for
medium
temp
devices.
1
for
each
Freezer.
1
backup.
• All
refrigeraWon
equipment
was
ordered
without
compressors.
All
devises
connected
to
remote
compressors
outdoors.
Approximately
100,000
BTU’s
removed
from
restaurant
environment
saving
8
tons
of
AC.
• New
Digital
Scroll
Medium-­‐temp
compressor
operates
8
devices.
More
efficient,
reduce
electrical
cost
by
about
half,
reduces
repair
and
maintenance
cost.
• Ice
Machine
Condenser
remoted
outdoors.

24. RefrigeraWon
• Rack
System
and
Remote
Condenser
for
Ice
Machine
mounted
on
outside
roof

25. Solar
Thermal
Panels
• 6
Hi
Effeciency
Solar
Thermal
Panels
Flush
Mounted
to
Slate
Roof
• Designed
to
look
like
Sky
Lights

26. Hot
Water
System—3
Tanks
• Heat
Reclaim
from
RefrigeraWon,
Solar
Thermal
and
Hi
Efficiency
Natural
Gas
• Goal
to
produce
80%
of
hot
water
with
reclaimed
and
solar
heat

27. Reduce
Hot
Water
• Use
high
efficiency
Apex
HT
dishmachine
—uses
only
.92
gallons
per
rack
by
using
hot
water
rinse
water
to
clean
next
rack.
Typical
dishwasher
uses
1.5
gallons.
Saves
about
40%
more
hot
water.

28. Reduce
Water
Usage
• Waterless
Urinal
• Saves
40,000
Gallons/Yr

29. Whole
House
Water
Filter
• Filters
out
Sediment
and
Chlorine
• Long
lasWng
• Eliminates
need
for
disposable
filters
on
ice
machines
and
brewing
equipment

30. Waste
Handling
Program
• No
Dumpster
Downtown
• Composted
since
day
one
– 2009
contracted
with
Danny’s
Dumpster
to
remove
compost,
recyclables
and
landfill
waste
– 70%
of
our
waste
is
• compost
– Vegetable
Oil—picked
up
by
Blue
Ridge
Biofuels

31. Recycling
&
Compost
Center
• Compost
• BoAles
&
Cans
• Newspaper
&
Magazines
• Landfill
• Customer
love
it!

32. Reduce
Waste—Encourage
Reusing
&
ComposWng
• Real
Plates,
Mugs,
Glasses
&
Silverware
in
house
• Use
only
compostable
To
Go
supplies
– Cups,
To
Go
containers,
Napkins,
Potato
Starch
Cutlery
• Promote
the
use
of
reusable
containers
– Stainless
Water
BoAles
– Stainless
Steel
and
Ceramic
Travel
Mugs

33. Energy
Savings
• Our
combined
energy
costs
downtown
run
about
$20,000
• Aver
5
months,
our
south
locaWon,
with
LED
lighWng,
Rack
RefrigeraWon
system,
solar
and
heat
reclaim
hot
water
system
is
running
about
25%
below
our
downtown
store.
We
expect
to
save
at
least
$5,000/year
on
energy
costs
in
our
new
locaWon.

34. How
do
I
get
involved?
• Contact
the
AIR
Green
Team
– Randy
Talley,
randy.talley@thegreensage.net,
– Kevin
Wesmoreland,
kevin@thecornerkitchen.com
– Peter
Pollay,
peter@posanacafe.com
• Contact
BRSI:
Tim
Ballard
tballard@blueridgesustainability.org
• Visit
www.blueridgesustainability.org
for
more
informaWon

35. Presented
at
the
WNC
Culinary
Expo
April
16,
2012
Go
Green!
says
the
Green
Team!