Marketing Your Eco-Friendly Restaurant...Without Greenwashing!

Eco-friendly restaurants are the hot-button topic in the foodservice industry at the moment. The general public is getting increasingly knowledgeable about concepts like energy efficiency, water conservation, biodegradables, and green cleaning and have started trying to incorporate these into their daily lives. However, as this movement progresses, more and more companies are trying to market themselves as green, and customers are getting weary. Here are some ways to market a legitimately green restaurant without customers thinking you are guilty of "greenwashing" and the best part is that all of these marketing techniques will also help the environment.

The Preliminaries

Know Thyself
The first step to green marketing is to know how eco-friendly you actually are. What areas have you put considerable effort into? Where could you use some improvement? You can focus your marketing effort on your particular strengths; however, you should start taking some steps toward improving those weak areas. Having a clear understanding of where you stand will also let you answer any questions skeptical customers and the press have about your legitimacy.

Educate Your Employees
You cannot hope to market your restaurant as green if your employees are not well informed of both your policies. The customers who choose your restaurant specifically as a result of your green promotional efforts are bound to ask their servers questions. They should have a deep understanding of all the environmentally-preferable steps that have been taken in the restaurant. They should also be very clear on any green policies you have in place. For example, are employees required to follow a specific start-up and shut-down schedule for kitchen equipment to save energy? Have you implemented a water by request program? Do you compost and recycle? Do you only use green cleaners? These are all things that your employees need to know and actually do.

Promotion

Rewarding Customers' Eco-Friendly Practices
One of the best promotional tools you have is to acknowledge and encourage your green customers. This will create repeat customers and will frequently get you some word of mouth traffic. You can give customers who ride their bikes a 10% discount. Give a free coffee or desert for customers who took the bus. You can give coupons to customers who bring their recycling to your restaurant. The possibilities are endless for engaging your green customers, it just takes a little ingenuity.

Buy Local and Give Back

Buying locally is a widely acknowledged green practice and it has a legitimate benefit to the environment by lowering transportation waste. Many restaurants are already using their local food as a promotional tool, by discussing it on their menus and highlighting dishes that are made entirely from local food. This is a great marketing tool, however, you can go one step further. If you already compost, donate it back to the local farms you purchase your food from. This will not only help your food suppliers stay in business by cutting down on some of their expenses, it is also a great PR opportunity. Local newspapers, magazines, and blogs love hearing about how businesses are helping the community. Another place to donate your compost is to community gardens.

Fundraising, Events, and Tastings
Hosting various events in your restaurant is one of the fastest and most effective ways to establish a presence in the green community. If you have a favorite environmental charity or non-profit, host an event for them. Develop partnerships with event coordinators for various non-profits by offering special deals for their organizations and you will have a great opportunity to get consistent repeat business. If you do not have the best space for these large of groups, try hosting other events. You can host organic wine and food tastings, with all the food and wine donated by other businesses. If you are a kid friendly establishment, have a "Learn About the Environment Day" for children where you talk to them about water conservation, energy conservation, and waste reduction and show them using your own practices. Promote this to parents and schools. The most important component of any of these ideas is to get PR. It is not enough to get people to come to the events themselves, you need to gain the attention of a wider audience. Contact newspapers, radio stations, TV, bloggers, and magazines about your events, and make sure you get exposure.

Get Involved Online
This is one of the easiest steps that a surprising number of restaurants skip. Develop a website and actively promote it online! When people search for green restaurants in your city, you should be the first result that comes up. While online promotion is a topic that needs its own post (or several), the first step you should take even you decide not to have a website is to get into restaurant directories that specifically cater to green restaurants. Here are some great places to start:

The Eat Well Guide
The Great Green List

I'd love to hear everyone's thoughts!


Ashley Howard is a LEED Accredited Professional as well as the co-founder of the Certified Green Commercial Kitchen program. She lectures around the country about the steps kitchens can take to "go green."