In November 2008, Park Avenue Catering became the first green certified caterer in Sonoma and Napa counties. The application and qualification process took only three months from start to finish, but the practices that led to it began more than 20 years ago.
I opened my first restaurant, Prospect Park in Santa Rosa, in 1986. I moved here from New York City. As a “city boy,” farming was foreign to me, but the results of great local products was always a wonder—and still is.
From its inception in 1986, my restaurant served foraged mushrooms, smoked chicken, lamb, cheeses and many other local products that were delivered by the people who produced them. When they couldn’t deliver, I’d stop by and pick them up at the farm. Over the years, I’ve met and worked with more and more local producers and farmers and have touted “Sonoma grown” products.
Buying locally is important, but it’s only one part of what it takes to be green certified.
In July 2008, I contacted the Sonoma Green Business Program, which is a part of the Bay Area Green Business Program (www.greenbiz.ca.gov), the central organization that audits green business practices and certifies local businesses. I wanted to be part of the growing movement toward green business.
The certification process starts with a simple application that asks basic questions about your business. It’s followed by a more in-depth questionnaire and checklist. The steps to green certification are compliance, implementation and continued efforts to maintain or improve your business’ standards. An ongoing employee training and awareness program is an important component.
There are three required audits: gas and electric (PG&E); water and sewer (county); and waste management (mine was overseen by North Bay Disposal). Each organization sent a representative to inspect the facility, and each listed what needed to be done for us to qualify. Each audit was thorough, and each auditor was well informed and able to answer my questions. Being a small business owner, I’m used to being the “resident expert” in almost everything. It was a pleasure to be able to rely on their expertise.
Not long before starting the certification process, we had replaced some of our equipment with Energy Star-rated units, so we were somewhat ahead of the game. Our landscaping had been recently converted to a drip system, so here again, we were already compliant.
We were required to replace all lights in our building with CFLs or T-8 florescent fixtures. They listed all replacement parts required and provided me with a detailed list and cost estimate including parts and installation. The cost was discounted by approximately 65 percent through the Small Business Energy Alliance (SBEA), which uses Energy Efficiency funds made available through the California Public Utilities Commission to “help small business owners save energy and money.” The estimated pay-off (through reduced energy costs) was slightly more than one year.
This leads me to one of the great hidden benefits of being a green certified business: Being green saves money. I’m pleased to confirm that what’s good for the environment is also good for business.
Here are a few of the measures that have resulted in savings:
• We’ve installed a double-carbon filtration system for drinking water in our commissary and now bring large, reusable jugs of water instead of individual water bottles to events. We estimate this has kept more than 10,000 plastic bottles per year out of landfill.
• We deliver our green waste directly to Sonoma Compost. This has reduced our garbage pickup from twice a week to once per week and let us switch to a smaller dumpster.
• The certification process has led to a greater awareness among my employees, which has led to better compliance. For example, my staff is more conscious of the thermostat in our offices. It’s kept at 68 in the winter and 78 in the summer. (“Bring a sweater, we’re a green company” is my winter mantra.)
• We’ve reduced paper use in our office by relying more heavily on email, printing on two sides when practical and by recycling “used” printed paper for note taking. (Our payroll checks are printed in two parts on a three-part perforated sheet of paper. The unused third section has been my personal source of note paper for many years.)
• We have timers on our lights and plastic air curtains in all our walk-in refrigerators.
• We’ve insulated our exposed hot water pipes.
As a result of the process, I created an “Environmental Report Card” for my company. So far, it’s a list of 58 practices we track, but we’re adding more. It lets us set goals and “grade” ourselves in each of the following main categories: office, food, kitchen, events and miscellaneous. Some examples of the individual “grades” are for recycling ink cartridges, carpooling to events, supporting sustainable seafood and using green cleaning chemicals.
Trying to be green can be overwhelming if you don’t know where or how to start. My best advice is you don’t have to do everything at once and you don’t have to have all the answers before you start. There are experts at the green business program who are very happy to advise you. Remember that a series of small steps can lead to big changes over the course of a year. It results in great gains for the community and the environment, and savings for your business.
Bruce Riezenman is owner/chef of Park Avenue Catering, a value-driven company dedicated to excellence in all aspects of hospitality. Contact him at (707) 793-9645 or bruce@parkavecater.com to find out more or if you’d like a copy of the company’s green report card.
