The nation's restaurant industry will see $400 billion in sales in the coming year. Imagine what the ecological impact would be if all the nation's restaurants were environmentally friendly? The potential to make an impact on our nation's ecological stability would be tremendous.

This is where The National Green Restaurant Association comes in. Based in San Diego, the association helps restaurants and other food service entities go green by establishing recycling programs and efficient waste management and energy usage, in additional to facilitating green product procurement.

The association's model provides a convenient way for all sectors of the restaurant industry, which represents 10 percent of the U.S. economy, to become more environmentally sustainable. One of the newest Certified Green Restaurants is The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf. With eight locations in San Diego and more to come in the year, the stores are the newest entity in San Diego to go green. Founded in 1963, The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf is a privately held chain of specialty coffee stores in the United States.

The Coffee Bean & Tea, one of 35 Certified Green Restaurants in San Diego County, is committed to creating an environmentally friendly environment in its stores, including establishing a recycling system and implementing energy-efficient practices.

In addition to The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, San Diego boasts other Certified Green Restaurants including well-known establishments such as Georges at the Cove and Woodstocks Pizza. There are a total of 35 Certified Green Restaurants throughout San Diego County. Piloting the program at its San Diego stores, the Coffee Bean is evaluating implementing GRA's program throughout its 200 locations worldwide.

The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, like other GRA clients, committed to completing four environmental steps annually. Following a GRA environmental assessment, the Coffee Bean committed to establishing a comprehensive recycling system, introducing non-toxic cleaners, implementing new energy efficiency practices and products and offering environmental employee education programs. The coffee and tea shop also is committing to a bonus step of ensuring that its dish stations are more water efficient.

As Certified Green Restaurants, members have access to a database of environmental solutions for the restaurant industry. The GRA also helps its members work with vendors, utilities, government, manufacturers, recyclers and any other solution provider to ensure a professional implementation of its members' four steps.

"Going green is a win for everyone," said Lynda Baker, San Diego district manager for The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf. "We are helping the environment, educating our employees and customers and through the GRA four-step process, and saving money. What could be better?"

Related Links

The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf: www.coffeebean.com

The Green Restaurant Association: www.dinegreeh.com

Projected savings if all U.S. restaurants used the Green Restaurant Association's energy efficiency program

9.9 billion kWh (kilowatt-hours)

$1.3 billion

13,408,981 pounds of nitrous oxides

236,803 pounds of sulfurous oxides

4,755,798 pounds of carbon monoxide

8,404,106,100 pounds of carbon dioxide

345,338 pounds of reactive organic gasses

473,606 pounds of particulate matter

Source: Energy audits of certified green restaurants and data from the National Restaurant Association