Café Gabriela in Oakland pays
more for compostable cups
and other materials as a way
of greening its operation.
Greening your café
Putting environmental
principles into practice is
good business, as well as
good for the planet.
BY PAN DE METRAKAKES
C
harity may begin at home, but environmentalism
definitely can begin in your coffeehouse.
When it comes to environmental awareness, exotic sourcing
of coffee and tea may get most of the attention. But "greening"
your café can actually be just as plausible in the short term—
and can pay off faster, in terms of both good publicity and
actual savings.
There are many aspects of a coffeehouse operation that can be
environmentally improved, and it's not necessary to do them all
at once. "Greening" can be carried out one step at a time, in a way
that fits an individual café's budget (and the staff 's schedule).
The Green Café Network is a nonprofit organization that
helps cafes adopt environmental practices. It stresses the
importance of incorporating green standards into everyday
operation, says director Kirsten Henninger.
"When we mention green, we're talking about green
practices—things you do every day as a retailer to reduce your
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environmental impact," Henninger said in a lecture at the
SCAA Expo in Portland, Ore., earlier this year.
Henninger advises starting with "low-hanging fruit."
In many cases, the lowest one is lighting. Switching from
incandescent to fluorescent lights can lower power costs
enough to pay for itself in four years or less, even if they have
to be installed by a contractor.
"Most cafés that are at all savvy or interested in this, they
tend to tackle lighting right away," Henninger says. The
traditional rap on compact fluorescent lights (CFLs) is that
their light is harsh and unflattering, but that's no longer a
barrier, Henninger says; fluorescent lighting is available that's
just as "warm" as old-fashioned incandescent. As an added
incentive, many electric utilities offer rebates to business that
switch to fluorescents. (Another aspect to look into with your
electric utility is whether they provide green energy. Many
utilities serve as conduits for other electric companies that
provide power from windmills or other green sources; in some
cases, it's actually cheaper.)
LOOK FOR THE STAR
Making the right choices to cut energy consumption
extends beyond lighting. Refrigeration, heating and cooling
and water heating are all candidates for energy conservation.
When installing or replacing refrigerators and other energyconsuming appliances, it pays to look for ones certified under
the U.S. government's Energy Star program. Other choices
