San Diego-based Souplantation and Sweet Tomatoes restaurants have earned a “Certified Green Restaurants” designation, making them the nation’s largest restaurant chain to receive the environmental honor for all locations.
The certification, from the the Green Restaurant Association, marks the second time the fresh soup and salad restaurant chains have been recognized. Each location was required to meet some 40 environmental standards for energy, water, waste, chemicals, packaging, and food.
Among the standards met by the restaurants were:
- Offering a menu that includes more than 30 percent vegetarian entrées. Every meat-free meal served has the same climate-change impact as not driving 10 miles.
- Installing water-efficient spray valves, saving 7.6 million gallons of water a year, equal to 300,000 showers.
- Recycling enough to save 12.5 million pounds of garbage from the landfill.
The environmental “report card” from the Green Restaurant Association is available online.
“At Souplantation and Sweet Tomatoes, being natural and being fresh are at the very core of who we are – whether that means working with local farmers to bring guests the freshest fruits and vegetables, or working with groups like the Green Restaurant Association to protect and conserve our natural environment,” said David Goronkin, CEO of Souplantation and Sweet Tomatoes’ parent Garden Fresh Corp.
“Souplantation and Sweet Tomatoes restaurants have made a powerful statement by becoming the first large national restaurant chain to have all of their locations become Certified Green Restaurants,” said Michael Oshman, CEO of the Green Restaurant Association.
Garden Fresh Restaurant Corp. operates 128 restaurants in 15 states under the Souplantation and Sweet Tomatoes names.
— From a Garden Fresh Restaurant Corp. press release
