ENERGY STAR^® Commercial Food Service Newsletter

Green Seal Drafts New Restaurant and Food Service Operations Standard

In March 2008, Green Seal—a non-profit organization promoting environmental sustainability through product and business certification— announced the development of a new standard to help consumers identify environmentally preferable away-from-home food providers (e.g., restaurants, supermarkets, caterers). Green Seal initiated the process by inviting industry, non-profit organizations, and government programs to participate in the standard’s development, titled GS-46.

ENERGY STAR was intimately involved in the development process of GS-46, participating in conference calls and reviewing draft versions of the specification. On October 8, 2008, Green Seal released a draft of the standard and encouraged stakeholder feedback and comment. Green Seal is currently reviewing the feedback they received and, after analyzing these comments, will provide a final draft standard for stakeholder comment.

Once the GS-46 standard is finalized, restaurants can earn bronze, silver, or gold Green Seal certification. Each level of the standard builds upon the previous level and some of the requirements in the draft standard include:

• Monitoring restaurant energy bills with ENERGY STAR portfolio manager or an equivalent energy management or documentation system.
• Phasing out chlorofluorocarbon-based refrigerants.
• Replacing commercial food service (CFS) equipment with ENERGY STAR qualified or energy-efficient versions.
• Replacing heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems with ENERGY STAR qualified versions where applicable.
  

Learn more about the process and the current standard here .

Information about the Green Seal organization is available at www.greenseal.org.

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Recent ENERGY STAR Presentations: Promoting ENERGY STAR CFS Equipment

The ENERGY STAR program is actively promoting the benefits of CFS equipment that earned the ENERGY STAR, both at conferences and online. Jeffrey Clark, ICF International, recently presented at two events on behalf of ENERGY STAR: an Edison Electric Institute (EEI) conference and a National Restaurant Association (NRA) Conserve webinar.

EEI Conference, October 2008

Jeffrey Clark, ICF International, speaking on behalf of ENERGY STAR, and David Zebrowski, Pacific Gas and Electric Company’s Food Service Technology Center, spoke to an audience of quick-service restaurant representatives at EEI Fall National Key Accounts conference on October 14, 2008.

The two individuals described how and why energy efficiency should be implemented in commercial kitchens and how much money restaurateurs can save if they purchase ENERGY STAR qualified CFS equipment. The presentation was very well received and the event itself was an excellent networking opportunity for the ENERGY STAR program.

The EEI organization is an association of U.S. shareholder-owned electric companies, which represent approximately 70 percent of the U.S. electric power industry. EEI works closely with all of its utility members to represent their interests and advocating equitable policies in legislative and regulatory arenas.

ENERGY STAR would like to thanks EEI for the generous invitation to speak at their Fall National Key Accounts conference as well as the Southern Company and Duke Energy for moderating the event.

NRA Conserve Webinar, December 2008

The Conserve initiative kindly asked Jeffrey Clark, ICF International, to speak on behalf of ENERGY STAR for their recent webinar titled "Make your 2009 a Greener Year for Business" on December 2, 2008. Jeffrey outlined what actions restaurateurs can take in their commercial kitchen to improve energy efficiency for the coming year and how much restaurateurs can expect to save by implementing these sustainability steps.

The webinar also included presentations by restaurant owners, which outlined their experiences promoting sustainability in their business practices. The restaurateurs included: Laura Wood Habr, owner of Croc's 19th Street Eco-Bistro in Virginia Beach, VA, who found ways to increase traffic by hosting environmental awareness gatherings called "Green Drinks"; and Chris Dahlander, with the Texas-based salad concept Snappy Salads, who reduced operating costs by thousands of dollars annually through the adoption of conservation-minded business practices.

The audio and PowerPoint slides are available on Conserve’s Web site here .

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Call for Restaurant Case Studies

ENERGY STAR would like to reach out to all manufacturers and utilities working closely with restaurants that have undergone CFS equipment replacement or opened new branches with energy-efficient CFS equipment. The next ENERGY STAR CFS case study will highlight restaurants making innovative use of ENERGY STAR and energy-efficient CFS equipment. If you are aware of any good candidates for this case study or would like to nominate a restaurant, please contact Jeffrey Clark via e-mail at jclark@icfi.com or via phone at 202-862-2976.

Please find the currently available ENERGY STAR CFS case studies listed on the right-hand side of the ENERGY STAR CFS Web page: www.energystar.gov/cfs.

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Mark Your Calendars!

ENERGY STAR will attend or be speaking at the following conferences so mark your calendars. If you would like to meet with an ENERGY STAR representative and discuss any topics regarding energy efficiency, case studies, or deepening your organization’s collaboration with the ENERGY STAR program, please contact Jeffrey Clark at: jclark@icfi.com.

• National Grocers Association 2009 Annual Convention, February 3–6, 2009, in Las Vegas, Nevada. The theme of this convention will be “Changing Times: A Blueprint for Success.” Jeffrey Clark, ICF International, was kindly invited by Hobart to speak at this event and will discuss how ENERGY STAR CFS equipment is an excellent fit for supermarket chains. Information about the conference is available here.
• NAFEM Show, February 5–7, 2009, in Orlando, Florida. The ENERGY STAR team will attend this exciting biannual show to meet with manufacturers and distributors as well as host two specification development meetings on February 4, 2009. To learn more and register for the NAFEM Show, visit: www.nafem.org/thenafemshow.
• 2009 NRA Show, May 16–19, 2009, in Chicago, Illinois. Please look for future announcements regarding this important industry-wide event.

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Look for the next Commercial Food Service Newsletter in March!

Hobart Awards University of California Santa Cruz for CFS Sustainability Efforts

The University of California Santa Cruz (UCSC) dining department’s innovative sustainability and efficiency efforts have saved the university money and earned them recognition within the CFS industry.

In November 2008, the Fellows with the Hobart Center for Foodservice Sustainability (HCFS) awarded UCSC dining services a $5,000 grant for its comprehensive approach to foodservice sustainability during the 2008 Greenbuild Expo in Boston. Scott Berlin, UC Santa Cruz’s director of hospitality and dining, was also named an HCFS Fellow.

UCSC, a nationally ranked research university in Santa Cruz, California, was judged as having the best sustainability program from among numerous entrants nationwide. The university’s program stood out not only because of its best-practice sustainability efforts, but also because its innovative approach demonstrated attention to detail in all aspects of their energy efficiency initiatives.

Overall, UCSC decreased energy consumption and water use, reduced solid and water waste, and implemented a farm-to-fork program, in which the university makes an effort to buy its food supplies locally whenever possible. This not only keeps revenue in the local economy, but reduces the university’s carbon footprint as well.

Other initiatives UCSC’s dining services implemented include:

• Partnering with their local utility, Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E), to replace the university’s incandescent lighting, exit signs, and inefficient lighting ballasts with energy-efficient alternatives, saving nearly $10,000 annually in energy costs.
• Updating its purchasing practices to mandate that only ENERGY STAR qualified CFS equipment is procured (currently, UCSC uses 56 ENERGY STAR rated appliances).
• Initiating a "trayless Tuesday" campaign, where trays were removed from one of the university’s five dining halls—the university estimates that if all trays were eliminated, the school could save 30,000 gallons of water each month.

Learn more about the HCFS and Hobart on their Web site, at www.hobartcorp.com/sustainabledesign.

Information about UCSC’s sustainability initiatives is available here.

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Alliant Energy Promotes ENERGY STAR!

Alliant Energy, an energy-services provider with subsidiaries serving approximately one million electric and 400,000 natural gas customers in the Midwest, is the latest utility to promote ENERGY STAR with incentives for qualified CFS equipment.

Alliant Energy’s Interstate Power and Light Co. (IPL) prescriptive incentive program allows Iowa customers to receive incentives for purchasing CFS equipment that has earned the ENERGY STAR. The program begins January 1, 2009, and incentives include: $500 for ENERGY STAR qualified electric steam cookers; $250 for ENERGY STAR qualified hot food holding cabinets; and $100 for ENERGY STAR qualified ice makers.

Alliant Energy is also offering a $100–200 incentive for ENERGY STAR qualified solid door refrigerators and a $50–125 incentive for ENERGY STAR qualified solid door freezers. All equipment must be purchased after December 31, 2008 to qualify.

Alliant Energy instituted this incentive program with the goal of reaching end-users in the hospital, restaurant, and school sectors. In this effort, Alliant welcomes collaboration with equipment distributors, dealers, buying groups, trade associations, and other trade allies regarding cooperative marketing opportunities. For more information about Alliant Energy’s CFS equipment program, visit their Web site at www.alliantenergy.com/business, or call Dorothy Landt at (319) 786-4522. For more information on other incentive programs for ENERGY STAR products, please visit the CFS rebate locator.

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ENERGY STAR Product Development Update

Griddles
Based on comments received in response to the Draft 1 commercial griddle specification, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has decided to take the next two months to collect data, conduct research, and have additional discussions with manufacturers regarding the specification’s details. The goal of this research will be to further develop EPA’s reference data set, particularly for electric griddle models, and to determine how to appropriately address double-sided griddles with top plates that provide only partial cooking coverage.

EPA plans to release a Draft 2 specification in mid- to late-January 2009. EPA will also hold a stakeholder meeting in conjunction with the North American Association of Food Equipment Manufacturers (NAFEM) Show in Orlando, Florida.

Griddle Specification Stakeholder Meeting

Date: February 4, 2009
Time: 9:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. EST
Location: Room S310A in the Orange County Convention Center (OCCC).

Interested parties can RSVP to Rebecca Duff, ICF International, at rduff@icfi.com.

Ovens
EPA is working on the development of a Draft 1 commercial oven specification for release in January 2009. The Draft 1 document will propose energy efficiency performance levels for convection and rack ovens. EPA plans to host a stakeholder meeting the afternoon of February 4, 2009, prior to the NAFEM Show in Orlando, Florida. ENERGY STAR will send out an e-mail with the meeting specifics in the coming weeks.

Commercial Refrigerators & Freezers
On December 4, 2008, EPA sent out a Draft 3 Version 2.0 ENERGY STAR Specification for Commercial Refrigerators and Freezers. The Draft 3 specification reflects comments received on the previous Draft 2 document.Some key changes to this specification include:

• Revised definitions for solid and glass door cabinets. Under the new definitions, cabinets that include glass covering greater than 50% of the surface area on the front face of all outer doors on one side of the unit will be considered glass door cabinets for purposes of ENERGY STAR qualification.
• Clarification that factory-installed, manually-controlled accessories are required to be tested in the “ON” position in accordance with ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 72-2005.
• Clarification that energy management devices that are hardwired and cannot be adjusted by the operator may be operational during testing provided they meet the requirements outlined in the official interpretation on ANSI/ASHRAE 72-2005 (Interpretation IC 72-2005-01).
• New Version 2.0 effective date of December 1, 2009.

For more information on the ENERGY STAR product development process and current specification efforts, visit www.energystar.gov/productdevelopment.

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