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Greening Ethnic Restaurants

Ritu Primlani, founder of Thimmakka’s Resources for Environmental Education, is on a remarkable mission. Through her brainchild, Greening Ethnic Restaurants (GER), Primlani reaches out to Indian and other Asian eateries with little environmental knowledge and transforms them into “green” enterprises. That’s no easy feat, considering that restaurants consume more energy per square foot than any other industry, gobbling water and producing huge amounts of solid waste. Add in the difficulty of approaching overworked restaurant owners who rarely speak fluent English, and the task seems nearly impossible. “Given that these are small, family-owned businesses, they really don’t have the money or time to make changes,” says Primlani. “They may want to help the environment, but it just doesn’t seem possible.” So Primlani focuses on fianncial benefits, demonstrating how environmental changes can increase efficiency and save dollars. Participating restaurants, mostly in the San Francisco area, spend a maximum of 24 hours a year improving in four areas: water and energy conservation, waste reduction and pollution prevention. Environmental experts assess the premises pro bono, accompanies by GER volunteers who translate for the owner. After the assessment, the restaurant chooses several environmental measures to enact. GER helps research and implement the reforms, often using […]

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Empower to the People

by Jacquelyn OttmanThe most successful brands connect with their customers emotionally in addition to logical facts and rational appeals. Effective green product marketers connect with concerned and aware consumers willing to pay a premium to buy green products by empowering them to clean the air, purify the water, or help save endangered forests and species.Product purchasing and consumption are the #1 ways in which Americans act upon their environmental worries. Ask an American adult what he/she is doing to save the planet and their responses most likely will center on product-related behaviors like turning off the lights when leaving a room, recycling products and packages (and more recycling), and looking for green labels when shopping. These activities are more prevalent than donating to environmental groups or voting for green candidates, for instance.So showing people how products will help them address environmental issues is a key quiver in a green marketers arsenal.EducateAccording to Ropers Green Gauge, 50% of American adults say they would do more for the environment if only they knew how. So, education is critical. Does your product save water or energy? Does it help cut down on waste that must be landfilled? Does it contain fewer toxics that […]

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Kraft Announces Product Realignment Towards Sustainability

Kraft Foods (KFT), a US-based food maker, told the audience at an investor conference that it is making major changes to its product lines and the way it markets products. As a result of shifting consumer demand, Kraft is increasingly focusing on health and wellness products. It has created four platforms for the sector, Weight Management, Nutrient Delivery, Performance Nutrition, and Natural and Organic, from which it will begin transforming its existing lines and launching new products. The company has eliminated trans-fatty acids from its key brands like Triscuit and Chips Ahoy, and will begin selling them in smaller 100-calories packs that contain less than 3g of fat. It will also follow the lead of many other food companies and launch a new line of low carbohydrate foods, beginning with the CarbWell salad dressings. In Nutrient Delivery, Kraft is reformulating its Kool-Aid lines to include 100% of the daily values of certain nutrients and will launch a line of smoothies with increased calcium fortification. The company is also launching a broad line of natural and organic foods through Back to Nature, a small natural cereal maker it acquired last year, beginning with cookies, crackers, pastas and cheeses. Management reaffirmed its […]

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