because you care

How do you decide on a restaurant? Is it based on the food, the décor, the ambience, the cost of eating there or is it based on other factors?

What about the impact on the environment? How much is nature whining from your dining? For me this is more of a subconscious decision than something I take into serious consideration, but I am hoping to change that.

So how exactly do we do this?

There are so many factors that affect the eco-friendliness of a restaurant. An NPO in the US called The Green Restaurant Association has done the work for us in establishing certification standards for restaurants. From their certification standards we can determine how green your local restaurant is.

Adapted from their site these are some questions you can ask

• What systems do you have in place to reduce water usage? And to reuse it?
• What do you do to reduce waste? Do you compost your organic waste?
• Do you recycle?
• Do you use local, organic and fair-trade produce?
• Did you source your furnishings locally and what are they made of?
• Do you supply serviettes or reusable napkins?
• Do you wash with bio-based products?
• What do you do to conserve energy? Do you use any sustainable energy sources?
• What do you do to reduce your pollution?
• Do you encourage/subsidize people to use more eco-friendly options?

By asking a few of these types of questions you can ascertain whether the manager/owner is concerned about the impact his restaurant is having on the environment and their customers. Your discussion will at least increase their awareness.

Restaurants can be high waste, pollution-producers and energy-users. The way they lead in terms of how they cook, the products they buy, the way they decorate has a huge effect on their clientele and their local environments.

Business is not just about making money it is about giving back to the community and saving the environment. Support the restaurants that do this and reduce nature’s whining from your dining.

If you have any questions please be sure to drop me an email via www.SOMAMA.co.za website or leave a comment below.
For more information and for places to eat green visit

RSA (not as elaborate as international databases but a good start)
Urban Sprout
Live Eco

US
The Green Restaurant Association

UK
Chic Vegetarian Cuisine
Times Online
Sugar Vine (London specific)