Aramark and Samsung reach sustainability milestones

Aramark continues to aid Samsung in achieving milestones regarding environmental sustainability. Cafe Eight Five in Ridgefield Park, N.J. was recently awarded a 2 Star Certified Green Restaurant by the Green Restaurant Association (GRA) for its sustainability efforts.

The GRA standards provide a transparent way to measure restaurants’ environmental accomplishments and provide next steps restaurants can take to increase environmental sustainability, according to the association’s website. Restaurants can earn “green points” across a variety of categories including water, energy, waste, reusables and disposables. In order to qualify for two-star certification, restaurants must earn 100 green points. Additionally, it must use no polystyrene foam as well as partake in recycling and composting.

Cafe Eight Five is a polystyrene-free facility and minimizes waste by using sustainable materials and supporting recycling efforts.  In order to minimize overproduction, the team uses production sheets that instruct staff on how much to produce as well as work with security daily to determine headcount in the building, said Scott Passaro, district manager for Aramark Workplace Experience Group.

The Aramark team at Samsung also partners with Table to Table, a food donation company that collects unused food weekly and donates it. Additionally, Aramark helps to reduce the carbon footprint of the food served at Samsung by sourcing locally, reducing the use of single-use plastics and packaging and offering more climate-friendly menus, said Passaro. Currently, at least 20% of the main dishes are vegetarian or vegan and all their containers are biodegradable.  Additionally, they do not offer single use plastic bags, Passaro said. Samsung also offers ceramic mugs and reusable bottles to all its employees that can be left in the pantries for the facilities team to wash.

 “We are taking steps every day—in partnership with our clients like Samsung—that simultaneously reduce our greenhouse gas emissions footprint and promote equity and wellbeing throughout our value chain,” said Alan Horowitz, vice president of sustainability at Aramark.

Aramark’s efforts with Samsung are a part of the company’s larger sustainability goals under its plan, “Do well. Be well.,” in which Aramark aims to address the environmental impact of its operations.

“Through this plan we work in partnership with customers and clients to reduce inequity, support and grow our communities, and protect our planet by focusing on the climate impact of our practices, operations, and client service offerings. This includes efforts to source responsibly, operate efficiently, minimize waste and reduce packaging,” Aramark said in a statement.