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Greenville Business Magazine

Kitchen Sync Receives Two Awards From Green Restaurant Association

Oct 04, 2018 10:11AM ● By Kathleen Maris

Kitchen Sync, Greenville’s first and only Certified Green Restaurant, has been named the winner of two Green Restaurant Awards. Presented for the first time by the Green Restaurant Association (GRA), the industry’s standard-bearer for green certification in the U.S., the awards were presented to establishments across the United States for a variety of accomplishments that include: serving locally sourced and humanely raised foods, using renewable energy and high efficiency appliances, recycling containers, and composting food waste.

Kitchen Sync received top honors in the categories of Greenest Independent Restaurant and Water Conservation.

Locally owned and operated in Greenville by Kevin Feeny and his sister and brother-in-law Karin and John Farrell, Kitchen Sync is a 4-Star SustainaBuild Certified Green Restaurant, which is the highest rating offered by GRA. Kitchen Sync has earned 437.30 GreenPoints – the most of any independently owned restaurant – and has implemented 72 environmental steps. Some of those steps include on-site renewable energy, on-site food production (rooftop garden), use of reused/salvaged building materials, no bottled waters, and using only 100 percent compostable single-use service products such as straws and take-out containers. All single-use items are converted into compost that is distributed to local farmers. Each month, Kitchen Sync composts approximately 3,500 lbs. of organic matter and has approximately 80 percent less waste than traditional restaurant operations.

Within the Water category, Kitchen Sync has earned 33.25 GreenPoints, the most of any restaurant. It earned these points by using a high efficiency pre-rinse sprayer, low flow faucet aerators, high efficiency toilets and urinals, serving water upon request, and low-water landscaping.

“A big part of our mission is ecological stewardship,” says Kitchen Sync co-owner Kevin Feeny. “While recognition is nice, we really hope this annual award helps to advance industry-wide awareness of how the collective efforts of every restaurant in America can make a positive lasting impact on our local communities and the sustainability of our industry.”

“The restaurant industry has such an enormous environmental impact, and all of the Certified Green Restaurants are truly going the extra mile to preserve this earth for generations to come,” the Green Restaurant Association said in its awards announcement.

According to the GRA website, the restaurant industry comprises about 10 percent of the American economy and consumes about half of the average person’s food budget. If it were a country, the restaurant industry’s economic impact would be equivalent to the 11th largest economy. With that in mind, the GRA Certification standards provide a sustainable model for the 11th largest economy in the world.