Embrace Sustainability

In This Member Letter:

*Food For Thought Award Winner! *Energy Benchmarking with USGBC

*Green Money Savers *Embrace Sustainability + Spring Cleaning *New Recertifications

Dear Friend,

As we wrap up Earth Month it's important that we acknowledge our sustainability achievements. I encourage you to make a list of green accomplishments you're most proud of and share it with your staff and customers. They are among a growing percentage of the population that has a genuine affinity for businesses that support sustainable products, services, and practices. We must also remember that our call to be more environmentally friendly beckons 365 days a year. Embracing awareness and education every day can lead to valuable information which can lead to new metrics, cost reducing habits, and the ability to understand how to make progress as a sustainable business year after year.

- Ben Daugherty (GDA Program Manager)

Food For Thought Award Winner!

The Wolf Cafe is the

2022 Food For Thought Winner!

Owners, Denise and Bob Biribin, have been in the GDA program for over 9 years and currently have a waste diversion rate of almost 99%. They continue to excel in innovating new sustainable practices in every arena of the GDA Program including: recycling and waste reduction, sourcing and procurement, energy conservation/efficiency, water conservation, chemicals, awareness and education, and innovation. Congratulations to The Wolf Cafe for the well deserved Food For Thought Award celebrating their continued efforts for promoting sustainability as a core value of their establishment. Stop in to see for yourself!

2022's other Food For Thought finalists included:

Schlafly Tap Room (Honorable Runner Up)
Urban Chestnut - Grove
Sqwires
Principia College

$ustainable Money $avers

Smart Thermostat Sale Through Ameren

Stay ahead of heating and cooling costs with a smart thermostat. Unpredictable weather fluctuations can impact your energy consumption on any given day. Just a few degrees difference each day can lead to your bill going up or down each month. Smart thermostats allow you to control the temp, often from your phone, and some newer models are able to compute optimal temperatures on their own. That's a win for technology! Kaldi's Coffee - DeMun is one GDA member that takes advantage of a Nest which helps eliminate human error and maximize efficiency when setting temps.

Ameren Missouri's Smart Thermostat Sale

Energy Benchmarking

What is Energy Benchmarking?

Energy benchmarking is when you track your building's energy use and compare its performance to the past and to similar buildings and operations. Buildings waste 30% of energy used through inefficiency (EPA). Half of all energy savings are possible through low-cost or no-cost operational improvements (EPA). You may be asking yourself, well what can I do? Benchmarking is an important first step to saving energy, water, and money. If you don't own your building consider advocating this practice to your landlord. USGBC-MO Gateway Chapter will be discussing benchmarking and how to use Energy Star Portfolio Manager in a free webinar on Tuesday, May 3rd at 11:30 AM CST. Click the button below to learn more about the webinar and how to register.

Benchmarking Webinar - USGBC-Missouri Gateway Chapter (Tuesday, 5/3)

Special Thanks to GDA Members That Donated Food for the St. Louis Earth Day Festival Volunteers!

Sustainable Reads

Embracing Sustainability

In a 2021 survey 70% of consumers said they buy from brands that share their values (Forbes). In a different 2021 study, 85% of consumers said they have become greener in their purchasing, and more than a third of Gen Z and Millennial buyers say they're willing to pay a premium for sustainable products (Forbes). Companies that can authentically communicate their environmental practices to customers have a competitive advantage when it comes to attracting and retaining customers. And the good news is sustainable operations are becoming more affordable compared to past years. For more information read the full article here .

Spring Cleaning

Now is a great time to recycle broken down equipment. From refrigerators to ovens to small electronic kitchen devices, here are a few resources that you can use to drop these off at little to no cost and keep kitchen equipment out of landfills.

MRC - frequent drop off events, (636-223-0150)

ACE Metal Recycling (314-781-6860)

Additionally, be on the look out for used kitchen equipment as pandemic driven restaurant closings have created a large surplus of available used restaurant equipment.