|
The Celtics’ championship celebrations are over, but Boston can still stay green. Earlier this month, restaurateurs from Boston and throughout the state gathered at The Institute of Contemporary Art for the Green Restaurant Revolution, a breakfast hosted by the Massachusetts Restaurant Association. Chef Todd English moderated the event that featured entrepreneur Ted Turner and his business partner, George McKerrow Jr., with the objective of stimulating conversation, ideas, information sharing and actions that can yield solutions to reducing the industry’s environmental impact. That it did, with a little humor added to the mix.
 |
Turner is also a restaurateur and co-owns the Ted’s Montana Grill chain with McKerrow. The 50-chain restaurant has New England locations including Westboro, Mass., Cranston, Rhode Island, and South Windsor, Conn., and its mantra of “Eat great. Do good.” encourages all patrons and employees to do their part to help the environment. Turner and McKerrow explained to the room filled with restaurant owners, chefs, luminaries and others in the industry just how they try to accomplish this, along with the expected Southern candor. First off, they both stressed that all locations recycle, are 99% plastic free, no Styrofoam is allowed in the restaurant, all bottles are glass, and bamboo flooring is used in dining rooms, among other practices. When English asked how they implement changes and change the mentality of their employees and customers, McKerrow stated, “We start the conversation and get them willing to make some changes at home, like recycling and using mass transit. But with all conversations, you need to follow up and follow through.” |
| Photos by Jeanette McCarthy |
“We’re all terrified about having to raise prices while our customers are trying to make ends meet,” McKerrow acknowledged. “You want to save every penny you can.” While most people equate “going green” with just saving the environment, saving money is also a major part of the green initiative, and many don’t realized that certain green steps can also save you money. As Turner pointed out, “Changing all lightbulbs over to CFLs [compact fluorescent lightbulbs]—you can get a big bang out of that and it’s an easy, no brainer. And watch your air conditioner; that can also save you money.”
 |
When English asked about how a restaurant deals with the carbon footprint on importing goods, McKerrow immediately acknowledged: “We have to think about transportation in terms of cost and carbon imprint. For instance, the Fiji Water company called and wanted us to offer their water on our tables. But I had a problem with the plastic bottles and transporting water all the way from Fiji.”
As English explained to the panel as well as the audience, I’m a big fan of what’s in season and what’s local,” McKerrow agreed. “The average food item in restaurants or stores travels 1,500 miles, so we’re taking a hard look at purchasing locally,” McKerrow added. “This is the way to make the biggest impact. You can source locally, but you’ll work harder at it. Our country has to get more of a neighborhood mindset, so that when you buy locally, you help your neighbors.” And Turner added: “It will take all of us pulling together. It’s the right thing to do.”
|
| Photos by Jeanette McCarthy |
 |
Instead of completely eliminating some items customers are accustomed to, McKerrow explained that with some research, you can find alternatives. For example, switching to recycled paper isn’t difficult at all. Plastic stir sticks for cocktails are used for a few seconds and spend an eternity in a landfill, so the Ted’s Montana Grill chain replaced them with wooden ones. To-go containers are typically plastic or Styrofoam, but the chain uses containers that degrade in 50 days and to-go silverware made out of potatoes. Plastic straws are not allowed in the restaurant, so they use a paper straw that degrades in one-third of the time. Turner explained that the waitstaff is instructed to ask if a customer wants a straw before they put one on the table, and they also ask before refilling water glasses. “You have to evaluate what’s practical and evaluate on a customer’s want, need and service,” McKerrow explained. “There are 13 million team members in the restaurant industry. Right now, ‘green’ is the buzz word, but a lot of people still aren’t doing it.”
While the breakfast event didn’t reveal earth-shattering revelations of how restaurants can be greener, it did offer some humor and the sense that it’s not very painful to enforce some green initiatives in your establishment. Eliminating plastics and Styrofoam, starting a recycling program, and buying a few more things locally are fairly easy steps to take in the green movement. “I’ve watched the country grow with urban sprawl and we, as business leaders, need to impact that. If you want to make changes, a restaurant is a great way to get people to follow you,” McKerrow stated. “It’s about doing the right thing in small steps, not quantum leaps. But small steps add up.” |
| Photos by Jeanette McCarthy |
|
Going Green 
