Chicago’s north side Uncommon Ground has been named the “Greenest Restaurant in the Country” and will open their doors for a media tour and invite only reception next week. On December 13th Mayor Emmanuel’s office, the Green Restaurant Association, and the Green Chicago Restaurant Coalition will be celebrating with Uncommon Ground for implementing 116 environmental steps making them a 4 Star Certified Green Restaurant in 2011.

This honor is something that doesn’t come lightly. With society shifting towards both eco and socially responsible initiatives, Uncommon Ground is setting the stage for restaurants across the nation to consider green and locally sourced options for cost savings and health benefits.

With two locations in Chicago, Uncommon Ground is celebrating their 20th anniversary at the Lakeview establishment. The Devon location just celebrated its fourth anniversary and was named the number one green restaurant in America, with the Lakeview location topping the list at number two.

“I’m proud to have in our City of Chicago the Greenest Restaurant in the Country,” says Chicago Mayor Rahm Emmanuel. “Uncommon Ground is a great example of what our city can do and what our country can do, use water and energy more efficiently, grow more sustainable food, while boasting the world’s most sustainable businesses.”

The independently-owned and operated restaurant produces no waste, powers its vehicle with used fryer oil, harnesses the sun to heat their water, and feeds customers with locally sourced, sustainably produced products, as well as from their own Rooftop Farm.

From Uncommon Ground’s beautifully appointed reclaimed wood amenities, to featuring the first Certified Organic Rooftop Farm in the nation, the owners Michael and Helen Cameron couldn’t be more excited about the award.

“We are proud to raise the bar and now be the Greenest Restaurants in the country,” says Helen Cameron from Uncommon Ground. “We truly care about operating a Certified Green Restaurant and we challenge restaurants around the U.S. to exceed our record of environmental accomplishments. As an industry we have the potential to make a huge difference in taking better care of our planet – and ourselves.”

Each Certified Green Restaurant goes through a thorough process of certification to meet the Green Restaurant Association’s (GRA) rigorous environmental standards. The GRA vets each step and point that each restaurant implements and the GRA audits each restaurant annually so that the restaurants’ claims can be accurate.

“We are proud of Uncommon Ground’s incredible accomplishment of becoming the Greenest Restaurants in the Country,” says Michael Oshman, Green Restaurant Association Founder and CEO. “Uncommon Ground is leading the way for American restaurants and the American economy, demonstrating that green practices are both good for the planet and the bottom line. They have truly raised the bar today of what all restaurants can accomplish.”

In addition to being named the Top Green Restaurant in America, Uncommon Ground has racked up a venerable who’s who of awards in the industry including:

- “Best New Restaurants” – Chicago Magazine 2008
- “First Certified Organic Roof Top Farm in the Country” –  M.O.S.A. 2008
- “Recipient of the ‘Governor Sustainability Award’” – 2010 & 2011
- “Winner of the ‘Mayor’s Landscape Award’, City of Chicago” – 2009, 2010, & 2011
- “Winner of the prestigious ‘USGBC Environ-motion Award’” – March, 2009

Uncommon Ground offers environmentally friendly, contemporary comfort cuisine with an emphasis on seasonal, regional and organic ingredients. The bar features famous house-infused organic cocktails, a selection of local craft beers and an eclectic American wine list. National music acts perform nightly in an intimate acoustic listening room while art openings feature local Chicago artists.

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Unilever Food Solutions’ latest World Menu Report, “Sustainable Kitchens: Reducing Food Waste” demonstrates the issue of food waste hits a nerve with U.S. consumers who eat out at least once a week. Nearly 80 percent of U.S. diners surveyed express concern about the amount of food thrown away every day in restaurants, cafeterias and other out-of-home venues.

A single restaurant in the U.S. can produce approximately 25,000-75,000 pounds of food waste in a year depending on the size of the establishment, according to an extensive analysis of restaurants by the Green Restaurant Association (GRA).

The global report, commissioned by Unilever Food Solutions, surveyed 4,000 diners in the United States,United Kingdom, Germany, China, Russia, Poland, Brazil and Turkey to measure consumers’ attitudes toward the food service industry’s food waste disposal methods and sustainability practices.

The report’s focus on sustainability highlights one of the fundamental initiatives that Unilever Food Solutions is dedicated to addressing through its enhanced consultation services, specifically its “Your Kitchen” service. Through this service area, Unilever Food Solutions works with restaurant chefs and operators and provides tools to help chefs run efficient kitchens that help them work smarter rather than harder.

“The findings of the World Menu Report demonstrate that the spotlight on food waste is extending from in home to out of home,” said Kara Phillips, channel marketing manager at Unilever Food Solutions. “Research has shown that a high proportion of food wasted in professional kitchens is generated at the preparation stage, so we have a role to play in helping chefs and operators to reduce these waste levels.”

Food waste comprises about half of a restaurant’s waste stream and is the largest component of landfills(1). The World Menu Report findings noted that 72 percent are concerned with the environmentally friendly disposal of food waste and more than 60 percent felt that there should be more transparency about the sustainable practices of restaurants.

The World Menu Report also noted that reducing food waste can provide financial benefits for operators, including a reduction in disposal costs and increased kitchen efficiency. In addition, nearly half of the surveyed U.S. diners say they would spend more for meals at restaurants and food service locations that are taking steps to limit food waste.

With Americans spending 49 percent of their food budget in the restaurant community, the impact restaurant chefs, operators and their guests can make on reducing food waste is very significant.

As part of a global effort, Unilever Food Solutions North America is kicking off a nationwide program, “United Against Waste,” designed to help the foodservice industry tackle the issue of food waste by creating awareness, providing tools and resources and sharing best practices with operators in all sectors of the industry.

“Small, incremental steps can result in big differences – and we need to do more than simply spark debate about this topic,” said Steven Jilleba, CMC executive chef, Unilever Food Solutions North America. “As an industry, we need to look at stock management, menu flexibility, portion sizes and many other elements involved in the journey from farm to fork in order to be able to begin tackling this problem.”

Chefs and operators looking to improve their sustainability practices and reduce food waste at their restaurants can visit www.unileverfoodsolutions.us/reducewaste. Through this website, interested operators will be able to:

• View the full World Menu Report: “Sustainable Kitchens: Reducing Food Waste”
• Access tips and best practices for reducing food waste
• Join the “United Against Waste” campaign and receive an informational packet.  It includes campaign decals for restaurant entrance doors or windows and back-of-house food waste receptacles to show participation and a commitment to tackling the issue.
• Request a one-on-one consultation with a Unilever Food Solutions representative to help pinpoint specific sustainability practices they can implement in their restaurants
• Submit their food waste reduction best practices and success stories

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