Food & Beverage

The green connection

By Meredyth McKenzie

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Green is the word around Executive Caterers, as the company takes steps toward helping the environment by incorporating green practices into its daily routine.

The decision to go green was made after Harlan Diamond, owner and president of the Mayfield Heights-based catering company, learned from employees about recycling and composting opportunities. As a result, the company began working with environmental organizations including Earth Watch Ohio and The Renaissance Group to find ways to become more environmentally friendly, says Michelle Adelman, Executive Caterers’ director of marketing.

The Renaissance Group performed an energy audit at Executive Caterers and came up with suggestions on ways the company could improve its impact on energy usage. Adelman says working with an outside source allowed the company to look at the overall picture and see ways it could improve. Finding ways to go green in an office is simple, Adelman says.

“Businesses should really start by looking at their use of everyday common things, like paper, ink and toilet products,” she says. “There are other minor things that they might not really be thinking about, like switching to fluorescent light bulbs or using motion sensors.”

Turning off computers and other equipment at night and when you’re out of the office can also cut down on electricity bills and save on energy, as can purchasing products locally or that are less harmful to the environment, Adelman says.

Executive Caterers also does its part by donating its used paper to the Mayfield Heights school district, which earns money by recycling it.

“Most of the school districts do have this program in place and would welcome the opportunity to earn additional money,” Adelman says.

But to really make a green program work, you have to get employees involved. You start by working with a small group of people in core areas on key issues, says Charles Klass, executive vice president of Executive Caterers. From there, real changes begin to be made, and the movement spreads throughout the company until it becomes a way of life within the organization.

“It’s an interesting process for a company that has been in business for a long time when you start looking at how you actually operate,” Klass says.

While Executive Caterers is still in the beginning stages of going green, it has already benefited. After installing a new heating, ventilating and air conditioning system, the company has reduced its energy usage by 30 to 40 percent annually and expects the system to pay for itself.

“As a business, it makes sense because they’ll save money in the long run,” Adelman says. “Ultimately, the benefit is to save our environment from our destruction.”

Adelman says going green is a learning process, but it is also a great feeling for the entire company once the movement picks up and the company begins incorporating green principles into its everyday operations.

“Going green’s not just about the trash,” she says. “It’s an overall concept and mind-set about the community coming together and sticking together. It’s really positive for growing relationships.”

HOW TO REACH: Executive Caterers, (440) 449-0700 or www.executivecaterers.com

How to go green

Starting out small is the best way for companies to incorporate the green movement, says Charles Klass, executive vice president of Executive Caterers.

“Try and not change the whole company overnight,” he says. “Try and pick the few areas where you feel you can get some success. From that, gradually build and then start looking at other areas.

“Pick the areas that would be most productive and least disruptive to the organization. You don’t want to make major changes in how they operate in the beginning.”

Getting support from the top is also an important ingredient in going green.

“You need to make believers out of the key people in the company,” Klass says. “If there’s not support from the top, it’s going to be hard to implement. You need a champion in the organization that can drive the process and expand it and get some fellow soldiers within the company.”

Executives interested in incorporating the green movement in their business practices can get involved with Entrepreneurs for Sustainability, or E4S, a networking group of about 4,000 Cleveland-area leaders who put the principles of sustainability into action, share information about the environment and promote the green movement among the business community. The group hosts networking events on the third Tuesday of each month in Cleveland and also hosts other events, including workshops and forums.

HOW TO REACH: Entrepreneurs for Sustainability, (216) 451-7755 or www.e4s.org