Darden Restaurants Reach Water Reduction Goals Four Years Early

August 9, 2012

In its second annual sustainability report, Darden Restaurants reported it has made progress in all goal areas across its more than 1,900 restaurants.

Most notably, the company exceeded its 2015 goal of reducing water consumption in each of its restaurants by 15 percent on aggregate and is more than half way toward meeting the same goal for reducing energy consumption in its restaurants.

Red Lobster image "Water scarcity, declining fish stocks, health and wellness and developing future talent -- these are just some of the issues shaping our operating environment, our communities and our business,” said Clarence Otis, chairman and CEO of Darden. “We recognize we have the responsibility to make a positive difference around a host of sustainability issues to drive the growth of our company, while also creating social value.

Overall, Daren reduced restaurant water usage by 17 percent on an aggregate basis between fiscal year 2008 and 2011, exceeding its 2015 goal of 15 percent reduction and conserving more than 1 billion gallons of water. The company also reducing restaurant energy use during the same three-year period, achieving more than half of its 2015 goal of a 15 percent reduction.

Darden Restautant brands It also completed new green building prototypes for Red Lobster, Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse, which will enable all new restaurants to align with Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification standards.

The following are other environmental accomplishments noted in the report:

Achieved 100 percent recycling rate for discarded fry oil, which totaled 20 million gallons in fiscal 2011.
Tripled the number of Darden restaurants that take part in single-stream recycling of glass, plastics and aluminum.
Increasing Darden’s landfill diversion rate by 14 percent.
Received the Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Star certification at its Restaurant Support Center facility in Orlando, which is now generating 20 percent more of its power from the 1.1-megawatt solar installation completed in December.

Darden Restaurants is the world’s largest full-service restaurant company, owning and operating more than 2,000 restaurants that generate more than $8 billion in annual sales. Additional restaurant brands include The Capital Grille, Bahama Breeze, Seasons 52 and Eddie V’s.

GRD Views: Congratulations to Darden on these impressive accomplishments. In only their second sustainability report, they have clearly demonstrated a broad sweeping commitment to green retailing decisions. – John Failla for Green Retail Decisions

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Keywords: green buildings, recycling, waste reduction

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