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BRSI and Asheville Independent Restaurants partnered to make Asheville the nation’s “Greenest Dining Destination!”  Read more about the Green Restaurant Initiative here.

April 23, 2012: Watch the Video Here!

Restaurants employ thousands of workers, open early, close late, use millions of gallons of hot water every year, serve hundreds of meals daily, and play a very important economic role in the community.  How sustainable can these resource-intensive businesses become?  Asheville is close to becoming “America’s Greenest Dining Destination” due to the leadership of restaurant owners who have committed to Green Restaurant Certification.   The Blue Ridge Sustainability Institute was instrumental in getting a NC Green Business Fund grant to improve the energy efficiency of 17 local restaurants, but these restaurants have gone above and beyond to commit to sustainability in all aspects of their businesses.

The Blue Ridge Sustainability Institute’s April 23 Green Mondays showcased a few of the dedicated AIR restaurants who have gone green, as well as the Green Opportunities (GO) Kitchen Ready Program recently launched in collaboration with AIR.  Topics discussed: the challenges and rewards of being eco-friendly, paying a fair wage, composting, sourcing local food, going solar, and training the next green collar restaurant workers.  Tim Ballard, BRSI’s Green Restaurant Project Manager, moderated the session.  Panelists included:

• Tony Smith, Operations Manager for the Green Sage,
• Miki Kilpatrick, Co-Owner of HomeGrown,
• Dan Rattigan, Co-Owner of the French Broad Chocolate Lounge,
• Sherrye Coggiola, Owner Operator of Neo Cantina, and
• Mark Rosenstien, GO Kitchen Ready Manager

Thank you all for a “healthy” discussion!  Read a review of this Green Mondays here.

Green Mondays are held in the Board Room of the Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce Building from 3:00-4:30 p.m. Green Mondays are funded by a grant from Progress Energy, with support from the Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce and Purplecat Networks.

Monthly Green Monday events take place at the Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce located at 36 Montford Avenue, Asheville

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Watch the video here!

• Dr. John Brock, Executive Director of Warren Wilson College’s Environmental Leadership Center

• Grace Campbell, a Lecturer in Humanities at University of North Carolina – Asheville

• Pamela McCown, Coordinator of A-B Tech’s Institute for Climate Education

• Ashley Edwards, a Sustainability Technology student at A-B Tech

•  Dr. Paul Knott, Director of Lenoir-Rhyne University’s Center for Graduate Studies of Asheville

Green Mondays are held in the Board Room of the Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce Building from 3:00-4:30 p.m. Green Mondays are funded by a grant from Progress Energy, with support from the Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce and Purplecat Networks.

Monthly Green Monday events take place at the Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce located at 36 Montford Avenue, Asheville