Among Kendall's steps are adding water aerators, putting
out 3 trash cans (recycling, compostable & garbage), and getting
rid of disposables in the cafeteria (he saw people eating out of To Go
boxes in the cafeteria). Changing to dimmable CFL light bulbs cost $1000 and saved $950
in the first year. Dean Koetke
was honest about his mistakes as well - they learned the hard way that
recycled trash has to be in a recyclable bag and that compostable trash
smells bad.
Kendall
offers a 10-minute video on their website (www.kendall.edu)
that provides simple suggestions for sustainability.
Fish Stories
Both
Kendall College and the contract feeder Compass Group Canada have
struggled with sustainability on their menus. Kendall is concerned
about shrimp - imported shrimp are doing bad things to the environment
in Southeast Asia and in the US - every pound of shrimp brings up
five pounds of other creatures. But how can they avoid teaching future chefs about a menu item
they may eventually work with?
Compass
Canada is also aiming for a sustainable seafood policy, according to
Laurie Brager, Director of Sustainability, because "over-fishing
is the number one problem facing oceans." She said that 68% of the fish
purchased goes into foodservice. Compass worked with several non-profit
"science partners" and decided to eliminate one product at a
time, starting by replacing cod with pollock. This is not done with a wave of a
wand - purchasing had to work with fisheries; menus needed updating, as
did nutritional info; clients and customers had to be educated (the
science partners held lunch & learn seminars).
Ms.
Brager said that there has been some resistance to change, but noted
that these sustainability activities have engendered good will among
their college clients.
Sustainability is a Challenge, not a Fad
Don
Fisher is so full of information and energy - we learn something new
every time we see him. As
President/CEO of Fisher-Nickel, Inc., he oversees one of our industry's
greatest resources. Go to www.fishnick.com and find free reports on
appliances they have tested for energy and water efficiency; or find
the free life cycle cost calculator. These guys are so highly regarded as an independent lab that
LEED uses their recommendations to help build the
"prescriptive" list of acceptable cooking appliances to gain
LEED certification.
Fisher
has some key concepts -
1.
Kitchens uses
five times more energy per square foot than the rest of the building.
2.
If foodservice
had to gas up each appliance every morning, operator's would think
differently about them
3.
The cook line
wastes 80% of its energy
4.
Green sounds
good, but it's sustainability we're after (example: LED lights are
sexy, but CFLs or CMH (ceramic metal halide) lights are better)
Hoods are
a favorite topic - LEED prescribes a 35% reduction in design (full
speed) ventilation rate (cfm)and demand controlled ventilation. Fisher believes that a good hood,
properly installed with side panels, and with the cooking equipment
pushed back toward the wall so air doesn't flow up the backside, will
provide that 35% reduction.
The two
biggest ventilation problems: island hoods and no communication between
the kitchen designer and the mechanical engineer.
LEED Canada
Jeremy
Carkner, Project Manager with Morrison Hershfield Consulting Engineers,
gave an overview of LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental
Design) in Canada. The aim of
the program is to integrate social and environmental goals with
financial considerations by, among other things, avoiding fragile
landscapes and urban sprawl and moving toward mass transportation and
green roofs. Data shows green
buildings increase productivity, increase property value, and reduce
energy, water and waste. Operating costs are lower, while construction costs increase
about $4/square foot - netting a payback in 5-8 years.
LEED
certification is gained by following construction guidelines; points
are awarded for meeting goals in categories: site, indoor, materials,
energy and atmosphere, and water throughout the entire building.
The LEED
Canada Initiative will be performance based, which allows for
continuous improvements in technology.
