Leading North American airport restaurateur and retailer Paradies Lagardère announced that more than 98.5% of the company’s 213 airport dining locations have earned the Certified Green Restaurant status from the Green Restaurant Association (GRA), a national nonprofit that has been helping restaurants become more environmentally sustainable since 1990.
Over the past year, Paradies Lagardère partnered with the Green Restaurant Association to strengthen its environmental impact across all certified locations. The company’s restaurant locations implemented 5,000-plus environmental steps, earning more than 21,450 GreenPoints and meeting the GRA’s rigorous environmental standards.
Ensuring Travelers Can Reduce Their Environmental Footprint While Flying
Based off of national restaurant averages, these 210 locations can save up to an estimated 7.6 million kWh of energy (equivalent to about 1,130 cars removed from the road) and 6.6 million gallons of water (equivalent to about 605 average backyard swimming pools), as well as divert 5.8 million pounds of waste from the landfill. The effort ensures travelers can reduce their environmental footprint by choosing to Dine Green while flying.
The GRA certification evaluates restaurants on energy and water efficiency, waste reduction and other key criteria, and Paradies Lagardère’s Level 1 certifications reflect documented progress across those standards. In total, 210 dining locations met the Level 1 Certified Green Restaurant requirements by completing a broad slate of improvements across energy; water; waste; reusables and disposables; chemicals and pollution; and food. The company is working closely with a remaining brand partner to implement the necessary upgrades—moving confidently toward extending certification across its entire portfolio.
Making Airport Travel More Sustainable
“This milestone reflects the passion and teamwork of so many people across our company,” said Valerie Davis, corporate social responsibility manager at Paradies Lagardère, who led the certification effort. “We’re incredibly proud to see our airport restaurants become Certified Green Restaurants. It’s a big step forward in our journey to make airport dining more sustainable and to show that even in fast-paced travel environments, meaningful environmental action is possible.”
“I applaud Paradies Lagardère on the certification of their locations,” said Michael Oshman, CEO and founder of the GRA. “The environmental practices of Paradies Lagardère and their 210 locations are a significant step forward for the restaurant industry and environmental change.”
The company will continue working with the GRA to pursue higher certification levels in the coming years as part of its broader sustainability strategy focused on responsible sourcing, waste reduction and carbon impact.
Learn more about each restaurant’s environmental accomplishments here.
