Aggie Dining at Texas A&M partnered with the Green Restaurant Association to implement 39 environmental steps that focus on reduction in energy consumption, water usage, waste and use of chemicals. Sbisa also has a full-scale recycling and composting program, and it sends its grease to FiltaFry and Restaurant Technologies, both of which recycle used cooking oil for biodiesel.
Established in 1912, Sbisa is one of the largest dining halls in the country and the largest dining facility at Texas A&M. Sbisa feeds thousands of Aggies and campus visitors every day. The building sits at one end of Texas A&M’s Military Walk.
“The restaurant industry has an enormous impact on our environment,” said Michael Oshman, CEO and founder of the Green Restaurant Association. “We applaud Texas A&M and Aggie Dining for improving its environmental practices in a transparent fashion that provides its customers with the information and integrity they deserve.”
Sustainability and environmental impact are very important to Texas A&M and Aggie Dining, said David Riddle, regional vice president of Aggie Dining.
“Thanks to the hard work of our staff at Sbisa, we have been able to make a big impact in our dining hall," he said. "Becoming a 3-Star Certified Green Restaurant® keeps our focus on continuing to help reduce our waste and consumption.”
About the Green Restaurant Association
The Green Restaurant Association is a national non-profit organization that provides the only official Certified Green Restaurants® mark in the country. Since 1990, the GRA has pioneered the Green Restaurant® movement and has been the leading voice within the industry encouraging restaurants to listen to consumer demand to green their operations using transparent, science-based certification standards. With their turnkey certification system, the GRA has made it easy for thousands of restaurants to become more environmentally sustainable in a profitable manner. The GRA has been featured on CNN, NBC Nightly News, NPR, and in The New York Times and The Washington Post. For more information visit www.dinegreen.com.
Courtesy of Brittany Coker, Aggie Dining
