Majority Rules: American Consumers Expect Restaurant's Green Claims To Be Verified

BOSTON, May 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Technomic, the industry's leading fact-based research firm for 40 years, released findings today that outline an overwhelming response from consumers in regards to their "green" dining expectations.

The survey reported consumers displaying strong feeling about how they value the verification of green claims. In addition, those consumers chose which type of certifier or recognizer is most trustworthy in providing green distinctions to restaurants:

May 2010 Technomic Consumer Survey Findings:

• 82% will decrease or stop going to a restaurant that is falsely claiming to be green.
• 94% trust a restaurant's green claims when they are verified by an organization as being true.  Only 6% trust self-reported claims that are not verified.
• 79% said they are more likely to dine at a Certified Green Restaurant® over one that is not.
• 79% would deem an organization to be untrustworthy if they found that the organization was awarding "green" restaurant decals without requiring the restaurant to meet certain environmental standards.
• 91% of consumers polled said that they expect a certifier or recognizer of "green" restaurants to perform annual audits of the restaurant's green claims.

"The statistics show that consumers have strong opinions about two things," says Michael Oshman, Founder and CEO of the Green Restaurant Association." They want to dine green... and they want it to be legitimate.  We've known that for 20 years, but this is the first time that we've had in-depth data to demonstrate that consumers expect real and verified environmental changes in their favorite restaurants."

Another powerful statistic restaurant owners should keep in mind is this one regarding employee morale: when asked how they'd feel if the business they work for became a Certified Green Restaurant®, 78% of people polled said they'd be more excited to work for a Certified Green Restaurant® than a restaurant that does not have the Certification.

"In the era of greenwashing, it's imperative to provide consumers with information they can trust," says Oshman. "When it comes to certifying a restaurant as green, transparency is key. The consumer needs to be able to see the exact steps the restaurant has taken, and they need to know those steps were verified by a non-profit environmental organization with science-based standards."

To set up interviews, please contact GRA Communications Manager, Colleen Oteri, at 617-737-4425, or email [email protected].

Visit dinegreen.com for more information about the GRA's certification standards.  

About the Green Restaurant Association

2010 marks the 20th anniversary of the Green Restaurant Association's (GRA) founding in 1990. The Green Restaurant Association is a national non-profit organization that provides the only official Certified Green Restaurants® mark in the country. For two decades, the GRA has pioneered the Green Restaurant® movement and has been the leading voice within the industry encouraging restaurants to listen to consumer demand and green their operations using transparent, science-based certification standards. With their turnkey certification system, the GRA has made it easy for thousands of restaurants to become more environmentally sustainable in a profitable manner.  The GRA is endorsed by scores of national environmental organizations such as NRDC and Environmental Defense, and esteemed trade organizations including the New York State Restaurant Association, Orange County Restaurant Association, and America Public Garden Association. The GRA is also an Energy Star partner. In 2010, Citysearch announced the GRA as their official Green Restaurant® listing partner. The GRA has been featured on CNN, NBC Nightly News, NPR, in The New York Times, The Washington Post, and more. For additional information visit www.dinegreen.com.

SOURCE Green Restaurant Association