Owners and chefs say they are submitting their restaurants to independent scrutiny by the Sustainable Restaurant Association (SRA) for three reasons: They believe it’s what consumers want, it’s good for business and they believe sustainability is important.
Mark Linehan, managing director of the SRA, said: "Consumers tell us they would rather eat in a sustainable restaurant and now they have a simple means of finding somewhere to eat out that not only serves good food but also matches their values.
"Competition has never been tougher and by putting their sustainability claims to the test restaurants are establishing a genuine point of difference."
The SRA Star Rating system is fast-becoming the industry standard. To be an SRA Sustainability Champion, restaurants provide answers and evidence to 70 questions across 14 areas of sustainability. The SRA then assesses the results, collects evidence in support of answers and rates the restaurants accordingly.
To date, 14 restaurants have achieved the top rating - Three Stars - which means they’ve scored at least 70 per cent in the survey of their all-round sustainability. One restaurant to have attained this result is Ode in Devon which, with 88 per cent, gained the highest rating to date.
Tim Bouget owner of Ode said: “We are delighted with our Three Star rating and to be recognised nationally for our efforts. With increasing customer awareness the SRA rating system is a great way to benchmark all hospitality businesses, big and small, and communicate how we’re doing to our customers.
“It also encourages us all to look at our policies and procedures to make our industry more sustainable.”
Diners looking for an SRA Star Rated restaurant and more details of the results can go to the SRA website www.thesra.org. Restaurants interested in being rated should contact Ed Franklin ed@thesra.org.