New research shows restaurants practice sustainability

The National Restaurant Association recently unveiled new research that shows a substantial number of operators are implementing sustainability best practices into their businesses.

The survey of 1,000 full service and quick service operators found that nearly three quarters of operators recycled used fryer oil, fats and grease. More than six in 10 recycled their cardboard and paper, used compact fluorescent lighting and bought products made of recycled materials. About three in 10 installed faucet aerators to conserve water.

“More operators are looking at ways to increase efficiency – environmentally and fiscally,” said Scott DeFife, Executive Vice President, Policy and Government Affairs, NRA. “Restaurateurs today know a lot more about how sustainability can reduce utility costs and, in some cases, increase profitability.”

Key findings determined that:

• 74 percent recycled their used fryer oil, fats and grease
• 66 percent recycled cardboard and paper
• 63 percent used compact fluorescent lighting
• 61 percent purchased products made of recycled materials
• 48 percent installed low-flush toilets or waterless urinals 41 percent purchased products that can be composted
• 29 percent installed aerators on faucets
• 22 percent donated leftover food to food banks or similar organizations
• 17 percent composted food waste

Through its Conserve initiative, the NRA provides sustainable tips, tools and best practices for the food service industry. Learn more at Restaurant.org/Conserve.

NRA praises House & Senate Commerce Committee Passage of Travel Promotion Act

Today the National Restaurant Association (NRA) praised the House passage and Senate Commerce Committee markup of the Travel Promotion, Enhancement and Modernization Act of 2014. The bipartisan legislation reauthorizes Brand USA, the nation’s first global marketing campaign, to promote the United States as a destination for international travelers.

NRA’s Executive Vice President of Policy and Government Affairs Scott DeFife issued the following statement:

“We applaud the House and Senate Commerce Committee’s passage of the Travel Promotion, Enhancement and Modernization Act which the NRA has supported since its inception.  The restaurant industry relies on travel and tourism and the success of our member companies is closely tied to the promotion of Brand USA around the world. 

“We thank Representatives Gus Bilirakis (R-FL) and Peter Welch (D-VT) for their leadership in passing this critical legislation in the House and members of the Senate Commerce Committee for pushing this forward in the Senate.

“We urge the swift passage of the Travel Promotion Act in the Senate as Brand USA must continue its critical work in promoting the U.S. abroad and attracting international travelers to our shores.  Travel and tourism is vital to our industry and if restaurants do well, the benefits are felt throughout our nation’s economy.”

NRA’s letters of support to the House and Senate Commerce Committee can be found here and here.  

Gulf's governors asked to support access to locally sourced seafood

The National Restaurant Association has asked the governors in five Gulf States to support their local restaurants in a quest to maintain uncompromised, year-round access to seafood fished in the waters of the Gulf of Mexico.

In a letter sent today to Governors Bobby Jindal of Louisiana, Rick Scott of Florida, Robert Bentley of Alabama, Phil Bryant of Mississippi and Rick Perry of Texas, the NRA asked the Governors to “stand with us and support the commercial fishing sector that supplies restaurants in your state[s] and throughout the country.”

“In recent months, the Gulf of Mexico Fisheries Council has proposed changing the red snapper allocation in the Gulf to reduce the share that currently goes to commercial fisherman,” said Scott DeFife, Executive Vice President, Policy and Government Affairs, NRA. “We strongly oppose these efforts. If successful, these proposed changes could seriously harm the commercial fishing industry and the ability of restaurants to source red snapper from the Gulf. Ultimately these changes could result in shortages and lead to significant price hikes or an inability to fulfill our customers’ desires for locally caught seafood.”

DeFife noted that the Association supports existing catch share allocations for red snapper in the Gulf. The ability to continue to source the fresh, local seafood of the area is essential to the growth of the affected states’ economies and their various foodservice businesses.

“We are committed to helping ensure that this seafood is not only fished sustainably so its population continues to grow, but that the voices of small businesses here, their employees and customers, also are heard,” DeFife added.

In April, the NRA and its Gulf State partners joined Share the Gulf, a coalition of chefs, restaurateurs, restaurant associations, seafood suppliers, fishermen, consumers and conservationists, seeking to protect their access to fish in the Gulf States. The initiative, launched in 2013, aims to ensure the region’s restaurants and grocery businesses maintain an equitable share of the Gulf States’ red snapper catch.

NRA launches enhanced Conserve sustainability website

The National Restaurant Association has relaunched its Conserve website designed to educate restaurateurs about sustainability and showcase how applying greener business practices will save money and help protect the environment.

The rebooted website (Restaurant.org/Conserve) offers numerous videos, case studies, best practices and personal accounts of becoming more sustainable, reducing energy and water consumption, decreasing food waste, recycling, composting and operating business in environmentally and economically responsible ways.

“Practicing sustainability is no longer a trend, but an important aspect of the restaurant industry’s daily operations,” said Scott DeFife, Executive Vice President, Policy and Government Affairs, National Restaurant Association. “With this new and improved website, we are well on our way to helping restaurateurs increase their efficiency, reducing the amount of energy, water and waste they generate while saving money and being environmentally aware at the same time. By sharing the experiences, best practices and knowledge of industry leaders who are meeting their sustainability goals, we can assist those who are just beginning their own sustainable journeys.”

Well known restaurateurs, such as George McKerrow Jr. of Ted’s Montana Grill, Clarice Turner of Starbucks and Dan Simons of Founding Farmers restaurants, as well as celebrity chefs Rick Bayless, Amanda Freitag and Gale Gand, are just some of the experts sharing their sustainability experiences on the new website.

Conserve program director Jeff Clark said the redesign was driven by the goal of engaging operators, who would use the site as a guide moving forward, and refer to it often once they are immersed in their own sustainability plans.

“We know restaurant operators are extremely pressed for time and have an inordinate amount of responsibilities to juggle daily, so we needed to provide them with easily accessible, smart and solid information presented in an entertaining to help them achieve their goals,” said Clark. “We are pleased with this new and improved site, and think it will help operators and their employees understand not only how to practice sustainability, but more importantly, why they should do it at all.”

Laura Abshire, the NRA’s director of sustainability, said sustainability is one of the most talked about topics among restaurateurs and their customers, and is a discussion that continues to grow and become more relevant every day.

“Learning through the advice, tools and tips of others in environmentally sound and fiscally feasible ways will help our industry reduce its carbon footprint, make a big impact and see a great return on investment,” Abshire said. “That is a winning proposition on all fronts.”

Created in 2009, the NRA’s Conserve sustainability program is an education tool that shows restaurateurs how to reduce energy, water and waste, and save money and resources at the same time. More than 230 restaurant locations currently use the program.

Engage with the Conserve Program on social media. Follow us on Twitter @ConserveNow and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/RestaurantsConserve. 

National Restaurant Association Joins ‘Share the Gulf’ Sustainability Initiative

As part of its efforts to support sustainability practices in the foodservice industry, The National Restaurant Association today announced it has joined Share the Gulf, a coalition of chefs, restaurateurs, restaurant associations, seafood suppliers, fishermen, consumers and environmentalists working to protect their access to fish in the Gulf States.

“The fresh, local seafood of the Gulf States is essential to the growth of the region’s economy and its varied foodservice businesses,” said Scott DeFife, Executive Vice President of Policy and Government Affairs for the National Restaurant Association. “We are committed to helping ensure this seafood is not only fished sustainably so its population continues to grow, but that the voices of small businesses, their employees and customers, also are heard.”

The initiative, launched in 2013, aims to ensure the region’s restaurants and grocery businesses maintain an equitable share of the Gulf States’ red snapper catch.

“Our goal is to make sure Gulf seafood continues to be shared fairly and sustainably so that all of us can enjoy it for generations to come,” said Stephen Stryjewski, executive chef at New Orleans-based Link Restaurant Group and Share the Gulf co-chair. “We believe – and science shows ‑ that if Gulf fisheries are well managed, there will be a growing population with plenty of snapper, grouper and other fish to go around. We are committed to sitting down and working together to find a productive, fair and reasonable solution about how to share the Gulf.”

In addition to the NRA, the Louisiana Restaurant Association, Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association, Texas Restaurant Association, Mississippi Restaurant and Hospitality Association and the Alabama Restaurant & Hospitality Alliance, as well as dozens of restaurants and seafood companies, are supporting the initiative, which is fighting proposed changes to regulations that would take a portion of the red snapper reserved for restaurant and foodservice use and make it available for recreational fishing instead.

To join Share the Gulf, go here. Visit the NRA’s Conserve program to learn more about sustainable practices for the restaurant industry.

Restaurateurs across the country call on Congress to end government shutdown, raise debt ceiling

The National Restaurant Association announced the launch of a broad-based grassroots effort among its members, urging Congress to end the government shutdown and raise the debt ceiling in order to maintain economic confidence.

“The restaurant industry provides opportunities to over 13 million Americans, and the ability to sustain business while maintaining consumer confidence is greatly impacted by our nation’s economic health,” said Scott Defife, Executive Vice President of Policy and Government Affairs, the National Restaurant Association. “The debate over government funding and the debt ceiling, while important, is cutting into restaurant operators’ bottom-line every day the government remains closed. The shutdown is negatively impacting the livelihood of our restaurant customers and our workers. Congress must act now to end the government shutdown and restore economic certainty.”

The NRA is directing its members to  America’s Restaurant Advocates initiative, an industry-wide, national grassroots advocacy program that connects restaurateurs with elected officials on issues critical to the industry. The Association is encouraging restaurant operators to sign a letter and share their personal stories with their elected officials.

Ahead of the Oct. 1 shutdown, the NRA, along with more 250 other organizations, called on Congress to pass a continuing resolution to fund the federal government into the next fiscal year, raise the debt limit, reform entitlement programs, and tackle tax reform. In a joint letter, the groups said that government shutdowns can cause even more uncertainty in a fragile economy.

In his recent Economist Notebook, the NRA’s Chief Economist Bruce Grindy noted that both consumers and restaurant operators already had low expectations for the economy, and the shutdown will only add to the uncertainty in the months ahead.

Only 23 percent of restaurant operators said they expected the economy to improve in six months, according to the NRA’s September 2013 Restaurant Industry Tracking Survey. Another NRA survey found that only 21 percent of consumers said they expected the nation’s economy to be better in the next six months. 

Senators introduce 15-yr. depreciation bill

Sens. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) and John Cornyn (R-Texas) have introduced a bill to make permanent a 15-year tax depreciation schedule for restaurant improvements and new construction, leasehold improvements and retail improvements.

 

The National Restaurant Association supports the bill, which would allow restaurateurs, landlords and other owners of commercial property to continue to write off property improvements and the cost of new restaurant construction over 15 years. Without congressional action, the current 15-year depreciation schedule will expire and revert to a 39-year schedule at the end of the year. NRA research shows that restaurants undergo significant renovations every six to eight years, on average.

“Restaurants experience heavy wear and tear serving 130 million guests a day at nearly 1 million establishments nationwide,” said Scott DeFife, NRA executive vice president, policy and government affairs. “Making the 15-year depreciation provision permanent provides restaurant operators with the predictability needed to plan for future investments, and we commend Sens. Casey and Cornyn for their leadership on this critical issue for our industry.”

"Small businesses are the backbone of our economy," Casey said. "We should provide them with the certainty they need to grow."

The original cosponsors of the bipartisan legislation are Kay Hagan (D-N.C.), Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), James Risch (R-Idaho), Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Mark Begich (D-Alaska), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), David Vitter (R-La.), and Roger Wicker (R-Miss.).

NRA continues push for permanent 15-year tax depreciation schedule for restaurants

The National Restaurant Association today applauded Senators Bob Casey (D-Pa.) and John Cornyn (R-Texas) for introducing legislation (S. 749) to make permanent a 15-year tax depreciation schedule for restaurant improvements and new construction, leasehold improvements and retail improvements. 

Under the bipartisan bill, restaurateurs, their landlords and other commercial-property owners could write off the cost of improvements to property, as well as the cost of new construction for restaurants, over 15 years, which is more in line with marketplace reality rather than 39 years. The current 15-year schedule for these investments is set to expire at the end of 2013.

“Restaurants experience heavy wear and tear serving 130 million guests a day at nearly one million establishments nationwide,” said Scott DeFife, Executive Vice President, Policy and Government Affairs, National Restaurant Association. “Making the 15-year depreciation provisions permanent provides restaurant operators with the predictability needed to plan for future investments, and we commend Senators Casey and Cornyn for their leadership on this critical issue for our industry.” 

National Restaurant Association research shows that restaurants undergo significant renovations every six to eight years, on average.

DeFife added that the measure would help create jobs beyond the restaurant industry, as construction spending has a significant ripple effect throughout the rest of the economy. The industry spent $6.1 billion on new construction in 2011, adding approximately 172,000 jobs to the economy.

The quicker depreciation schedules would apply to new restaurant construction as well as investments in property such as interior walls, wiring, partitions, plumbing, and energy-efficient heating and cooling systems in restaurants, offices and other commercial space.

The National Restaurant Association is a leader of the Depreciation Fairness Coalition, a group of restaurants, trade associations, and other organizations that support permanent extension of the 15-year depreciation schedule for restaurant improvements and new construction, leasehold improvements, and retail improvements.

The following Senators are original cosponsors of the legislation: Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), James Risch (R-Idaho), Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Mark Begich (D-Alaska), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Kay Hagan (D-N.C.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), David Vitter (R-La.), and Roger Wicker (R-Miss).