Green Restaurant Association's Five Steps to Green Status

The process used by the GRA has five steps:

1. An initial audit. "This step achieves two goals," Oshman says. "It recognizes the actions a restaurant has already achieved in terms of sustainability, and it generates a list of additional actions." 2. Getting started. In a collaborative manner the GRA assigns an expert to work with the restaurant to prioritize and implement the next steps. The goal is to find the "low-hanging fruit," meaningful actions of sustainability that the restaurant could immediately achieve. This creates a platform for green action items of increasing magnitude and significance. 3. Performance audits. The GRA will then audit the restaurant to document successfully implemented green action items. 4. Certification. A successful audit results in Certified Green Restaurant status. The restaurant can use the certificate in its advertising and display it in the facility to show customers they are dining in a "green restaurant." 5. Continuous improvement. "There is no 'rest stop' in the path toward sustainability," Oshman says. "Sustainability is an ongoing process. There are always new products and ideas. The certification we offer must be earned annually by a restaurant based upon their ongoing implementation of increasing sustainable performance."

The GRA views sustainability as a path, not a destination. To move forward on this path requires ongoing outreach and engagement with customers, suppliers and associates.

"Our focus in working with restaurants is based upon achieving real world changes with actual vendors, employees and customers," Oshman says. "Some of our members have a strong sense of urgency and are driven to achieve Sustainability leadership in their market segment. Others are not ready for certification, but they do want to learn more, try some of the products or suppliers we recommend and begin the process."