Location is one of the first Darden Restaurants to receive sustainability recognition
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Darden Restaurants (Orlando, Fla.) announced that its Red Lobster restaurant in San Antonio, Texas, has been awarded LEED silver certification for new construction from the United States Green Building Council (USGBC). The location is one of the first Darden restaurants to be LEED silver certified.
The 7029-square-foot restaurant, which opened in March, features a number of sustainable design elements, including: recycled building materials; increased use of natural light; and energy efficient equipment and fixtures.
"This new restaurant is an example of what we're currently doing to make our business even more sustainable,” says Red Lobster president Kim Lopdrup. “Through these efforts, we're able to better protect and enhance the communities where we do business, while setting ourselves up for long term success."
The effort is part of Darden Restaurant's Sustainable Restaurant Design initiative, which is part of the company's broader sustainability efforts aimed at limiting business impact on the environment, while also enhancing the operational efficiency of its restaurants. Darden aims to reduce energy and water use in its 1800 restaurants, which includes Red Lobster, Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, The Capital Grille, Bahama Breeze and Seasons 52, by 15 percent by the year 2015.
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