The GRA has a two decade proven track record of helping restaurants positively change their environmental impact in a way that benefits the bottom line, employee morale, and public relations. The GRA helps restaurants with the following suite of services:

1. Environmental Assessment
2. Environmental Consulting
3. Certification
4. Green Public Relations and Marketing

Environmental Assessment

The GRA performs a comprehensive Environmental Assessment of the restaurant in relationship to Green Restaurant^® 4.0 Certification Standards. This provides the GRA with the necessary baseline of points to help each restaurant improve its environmental practices and become a Certified Green Restaurant^®.

Environmental Consulting

The Green Restaurant Association is the industry expert in helping foodservice operations become more environmentally sustainable. Since 1990, the GRA has been building the world’s largest database of environmental solutions for the restaurant industry. Each restaurant client is assigned its own GRA consultant, who works closely with the restaurant to provide real and actionable solutions. Whether your goal is to decrease costs, become zero waste, or simply make a few changes that customers will see, GRA consultants will provide detailed solutions to help you reach your goals. GRA’s consulting services include:

• Setting up a full-scale recycling program
• Identifying specific steps needed for Certification
• Determining the priorities of the restaurant i.e. employee morale, saving money, sourcing local food, etc.
• Selecting the best equipment, packaging, food, etc. and finding distributors that carry these recommended products
• Providing content for educational signage throughout the restaurant
• Providing annual employee education
• Finding local farms
• Securing rebates
• Performing cost analyses
• Troubleshooting

In this day and age of the popularity of “Green”, it is ever important for consumers to be able to rely on their favorite businesses’ environmental claims. Certification has proven to be an important distinction to communicate the credible and real changes that any restaurant has accomplished. The GRA’s Green Restaurant^® 4.0 standards are both rigorous and achievable.

The GRA offers 3 types of Certification options: 

1. Existing Restaurants
2. New Builds
3. Events

The GRA verifies each step with invoices and other documentation to ensure that each restaurant has reached the minimum points for certification. Recertification happens each year that a restaurant continues to be in good standing with Green Restaurant^® 4.0.

This transparent and credible process provides the mark of integrity and objective demonstration of environmental sustainability. Becoming a Certified Green Restaurant^® offers a powerful message to customers that your restaurant is truly making environmental changes.

The GRA has been successful in helping its restaurants achieve positive media exposure in such outlets as CNN, NBC Nightly News, New York Times, and Washington Post.  The GRA helps its restaurants through press releases, media events, and other PR activities.

Each Certified Green Restaurant^® has access to the GRA’s Communications Manager, who is a resource to help restaurants integrate the certification message into menus, websites, table tents, and other marketing opportunities.

Certified Green Restaurants^® are listed in various national restaurant guides, including Dinegreen.com’s Guide of Certified Green Restaurants^®.