Think it’s too hard to become a green certified business? Think again.
Julian Nelson, assistant brewer and server, beams as he offers us menus. “I love what they do here,” he says, “and I love what we represent, as well. I want to work in a place where I agree with the principles and the standards. We also make great beer that goes with our food, and the same principles apply to our brewery as well, for conservation and sustainability.”
To be certified green means having complied with the conservation standards set by the Napa County Green Business Program as part of the county’s efforts to preserve the unique character of Napa Valley and the whole of Napa County as an environmentally sustainable place where nature, agriculture, business and recreation can thrive. This is no small goal, and for an individual business to be green certified is no small accomplishment. But, we wonder, does “green” food taste better?
At another table, Cook Family Winery owner Glenn Cook and his son, Peter, were just finishing up their meal and looking pleased. They tell me they hadn’t been aware of the Green Business Program, or that the brewery is green certified, but that it’s nice to know. “I’m glad they’re doing it right and can be successful doing it green,” says Peter, and his father agrees. As you look around at the thriving patio filled with happy diners, it seems to be working, whatever they’re doing.
At Silverado Brewery, General Manager Michael Fadelli explains what green certified means to them. “We believe in farm-fresh sustainability. We support local farms. We get our meat where they don’t use any hormones or steroids, and our produce is organic—no pesticides or anything like that—so it’s great.” He attributes much of the inspiration for the culture of sustainability to owners Michael and Debbie Fradelizio, members of Slow Food.
Michael Fradelizio, who also serves as chief operating officer, added an important line to the company mission statement: “We will be as earth-friendly as possible,” and the brewery has maintained and developed that theme over its 13 years of operations. “Encouraging sustainability in both the brewery and the restaurant, as well as in our community, has always been at the forefront of our growth,” he says.
It’s not easy getting green
Green certification isn’t given out lightly. It’s the result of a rigorous conversion of values, habits, practices and, if necessary, equipment, undertaken with the guidance and assistance of the Napa County Green Business Program. Program Manager Danielle Schmitz explains that the program is all about using eco-friendly products and sustainable business practices. “The driving motive is to have businesses run their operations in the greenest manner possible,” she says, “to preserve resources, to save money, to understand that what we do has consequences and to make employees and customers happy. She says more than 95 businesses have been certified since 2008, and that the brewery, one of only two green restaurants in the county so far (the other is the Cucina Italiana in Lake Berryessa) has done good work.
“We got certified two years ago,” says Bernardo Ayala, chef at Silverado Brewery. “It’s quite a task. At first it looks very complicated and you’re wondering how you’re going to do it, but the Green Business Program in Napa is very helpful. Danielle gave me the packet of all the things to study and learn, and all the questions and a checklist, which has between 70 and 100 questions that we had to answer whether, ‘Yes we do,’ or ‘no, we do not.’ Our team went over all those things on the checklist and marked whatever we needed to work on, where we’d qualify and where we wouldn’t qualify, and then we just worked on those tasks until we got it done.”
He says it took about four months total—one month to absorb the package, and the rest making the adjustments. Some were simple or already in place, such as recycling and composting (which, to Bernardo, as a native of Mexico, where, as a child, they had no electricity or TV, and lived a farm life where everything was recycled, was normal). For example, scraps from the various work stations in the restaurant’s kitchen are fed to a herd of Mulefoot hogs that are kept on a Calistoga pasture—with delicious results—and oil from the fryers gets recycled and turned into biodiesel through the St. Helena High School ag program. Some other measures take time, he explains, such as replacing a walk-in freezer that’s not energy-efficient. All equipment replacement takes time, he says, but in the end, the efficiency pays off.
There were many things on the checklist. “They checked the recycling and composting program, which we already had, so that wasn’t a big deal,” he says. “Then they looked into sustainability, how we support it in the area. That was the easy part. We were doing it already. Then they asked about how to prevent pollution and about water use. And we just had to change a couple of hoses so we don’t waste too much water washing dishes. They checked the dishwasher machine as well. They checked to see the chemicals used are certified green. And they checked on how to save electricity.”
Finally, he says, they did some education on how to be more green and shared that with the staff. He admits that part was time-consuming, in that training and changing habits takes time. “I explain to all my employees that we’re a green restaurant and we don’t use energy if we don’t need it,” he says. “There are some restaurants that will have all the ovens on at the same time for no reason. So when you train your employees to turn the oven off when they’re not using it, they get into the habit.”
The result has been rewarding all around. Not only does the restaurant save energy, conserve water, and reduce waste, employees feel good that they’re helping to preserve the special quality of Napa Valley, and they know they’re pleasing their customers. “Our customers here in St. Helena are educated in what they eat,” Ayala says, “and they’re looking to support restaurants that have good, sustainable food.”
Adds Fradelizio, “We’ve been very happy and grateful to work with the Napa Green Business Program. The people there have been instrumental in helping us organize our efforts and achieve our goals regarding sustainability in all the areas of our business operations.”
Easier for some
For restaurants, going green is complex, but for some businesses, the conversion is relatively straightforward. In offices, such as Mechanics Bank in Napa, which in 2007 became the first financial institution in the nation to have an office green certified, it’s “relatively easy being green,” says Corporate Banking Officer Manuel Gaspar. To comply, the bank had to meet the green standards for handling and minimizing solid waste, recycling, purchasing materials with recycled content whenever possible, reducing energy consumption, conserving water, adopting pollution prevention measures and reducing vehicle emissions.
Its compliance program measures ranged from major energy-saving adjustments, such as working with landlords as they added solar energy panels to generate electricity for all tenants of the Gasser Foundation Building (where the branch is located). The bank also worked with PG&E to create a system that shuts down the lights after a room has been vacant for a specified number of minutes, to seemingly small conservation steps, such as eliminating Styrofoam and other pollutants from the office, and using recycled paper when possible. Further, it reduced its paper output by installing dual monitors so people can work electronically the same way they work on paper, which reduced the need to print documents.
By participating in the program, the bank contributes to the county’s overall solid waste reduction by recycling and to the conservation of resources by purchasing, as much as possible, paper and products with recycled content. Like other companies, it works to track its progress and monitor results using the database and metrics system on the Napa County website. “We’re already ahead of the game compared to other banks and many local businesses,” Gaspar says. The bank is determined to become 100 percent green certified not only in Napa, but throughout its Northern California network. Gaspar, who says he’s proud of the certificate, adds, “It’s a great source of pride knowing we’re contributing as little as possible to pollution and conserving precious resources.” He says he gets positive feedback and even has convinced other businesses to pursue certification.
The program is adaptable
The checklists are broken down into four different areas, says Danielle Schmitz: water conservation, solid waste reduction, energy conservation and pollution prevention. Within each of the four categories, there are certain measures required—such as low-flow toilets, which use no more than 1.6 gallons of water per flush—and certain ones that are optional, so a business can tailor its program to its needs once certain benchmarks are met. Some businesses have a harder challenge than others, she admits. Hotels, for example, have so many “moving parts,” it can be hard for them to go through the program. Restaurants, too, are challenging, but as Silverado Brewery has shown, it’s not impossible. Some businesses aren’t even on the radar, such as filling stations, with the obvious issues of toxicity both in product and in the ground, while some are just ideal.
Susan Bell, a teacher at Howell Mountain Elementary School, is thrilled to announce the school was certified on January 26 of this year, and the metrics already show savings of money, energy and materials. She says the decision to get certified happened “organically.” Bell had been given the job of “recycling coordinator,” with a $50 monthly stipend. As she looked around, she began seeing things that would be good for the school to do to help reduce waste and conserve energy. She looked into recycled content paper towels and replacing all Styrofoam cups or trays with washable kitchenware, for example. “I worked very diligently on things I’d like to see changed,” she says. “Then, with a small group of parental support, I decided to go for the green certificate.
She’s pleased to say that when the school agreed, it was already half-way there in its practices. “We’d already accomplished much of the green certification checklist before we even started the program.” She credits Dave Briggs, an environmental specialist with the county of Napa who works with the school system (among other clients and organizations), for mentoring and helping her along the way. “He’s awesome. Without him, I think this would have been a much more difficult road.”
She says her principal, Tom Stubbs, was impressed with the results from the start. “He noticed our energy costs were starting to go down. By using overall consciousness, turning off the lights, putting computers on standby, we’re creating a savings, and people are noticing.”
One of the most visible savings for Howell Mountain Elementary is the absence of one of the previously typical two garbage dumpsters, which, says Bell, costs about $450 per month to empty. Other than the visual impact, the program makes it possible for Bell and other businesses to keep track of their savings.
Danielle Schmitz says the Howell Mountain Elementary School’s metrics are exemplary. So far, she has figures showing that, since enrollment, through recycling, composting and all other measures, it’s diverted 99,515 pounds of mixed recycling, which is 56,411 pounds mixed recycling waste diverted per year. It’s saved 317,453 pounds of CO2 since enrollment, which is 180,046 per year. It’s saved 54,844 kWh of energy since enrollment, which is 31,105 kWh per year, and 104,747 gallons of water since enrollment, which is 59,402 gallons per year. It’s diverted 145,724 pounds of solid waste from landfill since enrollment, which is 82,649 pounds per year, and it’s reduced hazardous waste production by 21 gallons since enrollment, which is 12 gallons per year. The metrics were determined with help from the Green Business Program.
“So if I gave Danielle the numbers of how much food we composted per week, how much garbage were we diverting by recycling or how much energy we were saving by using different types of light bulbs and energy-efficient printers and such—she was able to tell us how much energy we were saving.” It turns out that, by simply no longer buying throw-away forks for the cafeteria, Styrofoam trays or throw-away bowls and plates, the school is saving about $150 per month—over and above the dumpster, she says. This, for a small school, in a time of deep cuts, is huge.
Pollution control is another area where she made big changes, such as using a foam soap that reduces the harmful chemicals released into the water (instead of the usual, antibacterial liquid soap); in fact, all cleaning products are now Earth-friendly. Not everyone was on board with all the changes, and the antibacterial soap was something Bell needed help from the Program to explain. “Danielle was always available and all too willing to be helpful and get me any information I needed, be it an article to convince parents that antibacterial soap isn’t necessarily the best way to go or to explain some of the other important issues I was trying to change for the better.”
Buy-in is crucial
“I don’t think this is too difficult,” says Bell. “I think the most important thing is to have the diligence and the vision. You just have to say, ‘This is what I want to do,’ and take it one step at a time. Among the most important objectives of this project were to teach our students about Earth stewardship and to set the standard for other schools to follow.
“I’d say it’s also important for a school system to have your administration supportive of what you’re doing. My administrator, Tom Stubbs, was totally supportive, as was one of our parent groups and the teachers, by and large. So in other words, you have to have buy-in and support.”
This applies for all businesses across the county. Clearly, the experience of these green certified businesses continues to be that customers like to do business with responsible companies and like to feel part of an effort to do what’s good for the place where they live (or love to visit). Who doesn’t feel good to know, for example, as you eat a chemical free burger out on the veranda at the Silverado Brewery, that the oil from the fries gets recycled and turned into biodiesel? Who doesn’t feel slightly better, when waiting for a loan officer in Mechanics Bank in Napa and being offered a coffee in a recycled paper cup, knowing all the Styrofoam is gone from the office and you’re helping it keep a green profile? And what parent doesn’t feel good seeing children taking responsibility for their impact on their world?
These businesses admit the change takes effort, but all say it’s worth it. “I wish more restaurants were not only conscious of sustainability in food but also about the chemicals, electricity and water use,” says Ayala, summing up what all the others say. “Basically, I’m very happy doing what we’re doing.” The program is ready to help others do and feel the same.
For information about the Napa County Green Business Program, contact Danielle Schmitz at 707-259-5968 or dschmitz@nctpa.net. Marin and Sonoma counties also have green business programs. Find out more at www.co.marin.ca.us/depts/CD/main/comdev/advance/sustainability/greenbusiness/gbiz_index.cfm (Marin County) or www.sonoma-county.org/sonomagreen (Sonoma County).
