Why get certified?

Get credit for the work you’re already doing

If you are reading this, there is a good chance you already care about the impact of your restaurant and are likely taking actions to minimize your negative environmental and social impacts and maximize the positive. The problem is that there isn’t consistent communication about these things from restaurant to consumer, and what little exists isn’t always reliable in its definitions and standards. By getting certified through Growing Reason, we do the hard part of evaluating restaurants against best industry standards so folks can more easily discover and choose your restaurant for the great work you’re doing compared to your peers. This allows diners to make better dining choices with minimal effort and have a positive environmental and social impact when they choose to dine out.

By the way, even if you’re just beginning this journey, we want to help lay a clear path for your restaurant to get there, because this movement only happens one bite at a time. We’ll help you find ways to further improve your current restaurant operations, with either less negative impacts on climate change and the environment, or more positive impacts on the community that supports you, and that you support back.

If you need more convincing, here are some compelling facts:

Climate change poses a growing risk to companies across various industries, from agriculture to finance. Restaurants in particular are at greater risk as they are dependent on natural resources and commodities, such as food and water, but are not themselves commodities, and instead provide convenience or luxury service experiences.

The entire food system – which includes the production, packaging, transportation and disposal of everything we eat – accounts for 21-37% of all human-produced greenhouse gas emissions. By 2050, our food could account for almost half of all carbon emissions released by human activity unless more steps are taken to reduce its environmental impact. - sources 1, 2

There remains hope to reduce these risks if our restaurant industry takes action. Today, restaurants in the US alone make up almost $1 Trillion in annual consumer spend. - source

More and more research show folks are caring more about their individual impact on climate change and their local communities as they change their spending habits to reflect this. “62% of Gen Z shoppers prefer to buy from sustainable brands, and a staggering 73% are willing to pay more for sustainable products. Moreover, Gen Z and Millennials are the most likely to make purchase decisions based on personal, social, and environmental values.” - source

Whether you’re in it for your own sustainability goals, to provide a better experience for your customers, or to run your business more efficiently, there are many benefits to benchmarking your restaurant’s sustainable practices against the best in the industry.

“Companies with better environmental, social and governance standards typically record stronger financial performance and beat their benchmarks, according to research from Axioma. Axioma said the majority of portfolios weighted in favor of companies with better ESG scores outperformed their benchmarks by 2.4% over 4 years” in their report ending in 2018 - source

Folks want to know the great work you’re already doing. Make it easy for diners to discover you and trust that you provide a more sustainable dining choice with Growing Reason certification.