LONDON—The first international restaurant rating system that enables diners to choose restaurants that match their sustainability priorities wherever they are in the world was launched recently by the Sustainable Restaurant Association (SRA).
Some of the best restaurants in the world have already completed the SRA rating and a number of others have committed to doing so. Narisawa, the two Michelin-starred restaurant in Tokyo, won the Sustainable Restaurant Award, sponsored by Zacapa, at The World’s 50 Best Restaurants this year, by achieving the highest score among the 50 Best Restaurants to complete the SRA’s new Global Rating survey. Noma, in Denmark and 8 1/2 Otto e Mezzo BOMBANA, in Hong Kong, completed the top three in this award.
The SRA’s Global Sustainability Rating means diners in New York, Paris, Tokyo or Sydney for example, who care about where their food comes from, how restaurants manage their energy, waste and water and how they treat their staff, can check their credentials.
Additional internationally known restaurants that will be among the first to undertake the Global Rating include: Soho House group with sites in Miami, West Hollywood, Toronto and Berlin, as well as Virgin Limited Edition, boasting sites in Australia, Kenya and South Africa. D&D London, which already has a Two Star group rating for its London restaurants, will be undertaking the rating for its international restaurants including Botanica in Tokyo, and sites in Paris, New York and Istanbul.
System Will Push Industry Toward Sustainability
“We are very happy to be working more closely with such a prestigious organization as the Sustainable Restaurant Association,” said Virgin Limited Edition’s managing director, Jon Brown. “The global rating system will be a fantastic way of ensuring the highest restaurant standards around the world and will no doubt help push the whole industry towards a more responsible way of operating.”
The SRA recently awarded Eurostar’s catering operation a One Star Rating and announced its new partnership with Virgin Atlantic Airways which will see the airline’s entire in-flight catering outfit rated.
“This is wonderful news for anyone, like me, who cares about where their food comes from and how it is produced,” said Raymond Blanc OBE, president of the SRA and chef patron of the world-famous Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons, which has a Three Star SRA rating. “It is encouraging to know that when I am eating out, anywhere in the world, I can check if the restaurant is doing the important things that will help lead to a more sustainable future for us all.
“This is the birth of an international common language of restaurant sustainability,” Blanc added. “The world’s best chefs have a duty to operate responsibly and I would urge more of my fellow chefs around the world to take the test.”
May Positively Impact Animal Welfare
A number of NGOs have welcomed the SRA’s move, including Compassion in World Farming (CIWF) and Waste Resources Action Programme. Philip Lymbery, chief executive of CIWF, said, “CIWF works closely with the SRA and we recognize the tremendous impact it has had on sustainability across the hospitality sector, in particular helping to engineer a genuine increase in the welfare standards of meat served in restaurants. Animal welfare worldwide will improve significantly if the SRA can replicate its success with its global rating.”
The SRA, the United Kingdom’s premier sustainability focused industry body, has been conducting restaurant ratings since 2010. More than 500 U.K. restaurants including Le Manoir and Restaurant Andrew Fairlie at Gleneagles have completed the rating, described as the Michelin Stars of Sustainability by The Sunday Times. It is the only fully independent and comprehensive assessment of restaurants’ environmental and social responsibility and covers three main areas: Sourcing, Environment and Society.
Diners can check ratings by clicking here. Restaurants that would like to take the sustainability rating can sign up here. Follow this link for more articles on the Sustainable Restaurant Association.
