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Announcing the 2025 Green Restaurant Awards

  • Michael Oshman
  • 1 day ago
  • 8 min read

These Green Winners are Leading the Green Restaurant Movement


  

North America- On the eve of Earth Day 2025, the prestigious 2025 Green Restaurant Awards recognize the restaurants and organizations in the restaurant industry which have accomplished a high level of environmental achievement in their respective categories. The Green Restaurant Awards include categories such as: 

  • Greenest Restaurant 

  • Greenest University 

  • Greenest Caterer 

  • Energy Efficiency Award



    HERE ARE THE WINNERS:



GREENEST RESTAURANT 

Certified Green Restaurant® that received the most GreenPoints™ 

MUSE Global Kitchen is a 4 Star Certified Green Restaurant® in Calabasas, California which has implemented 71 environmental steps and earned 573.08 GreenPoints™, the most GreenPoints™ of any Certified Green Restaurant®. MUSE Global Kitchen serves 100% vegan food and has on-site solar panels that produce more than 65% of its annual energy usage. Along with those extraordinary steps, they compost pre-consumer and post-consumer food waste, purchase organic food products, use reusable products, and much more. 

 

 


GREENEST CATERER 

Certified Green Caterer™ that received the most GreenPoints™ 

4 Star Certified Green Caterer™ Big Delicious Planet (BDP) is the Greenest Caterer in America, earning more GreenPoints™ than any caterer. BDP has earned 454.66 GreenPoints™ by implementing 113 environmental steps since they became a 4 Star Certified Green Caterer™ in 2013. This caterer offers 25.66% vegetarian and an additional 14.16% vegan food options. With a geothermal heat pump, a heat recovery system, and windows covered in window film that blocks solar heat, BDP is making significant strides in saving energy.  

 

 


GREENEST SMALL CHAIN 

Small Restaurant Chain with the most Certified Green Restaurants® 

Barcade’s chain of 9 restaurants across the U.S. are all Certified Green Restaurants®. With an average of 46 environmental steps and 198 GreenPoints™ per restaurant, this chain is making significant sustainability strides. Barcade requires each of its new locations to open as a Certified Green Restaurant®. 

 

 


GREENEST UNIVERSITY 

University or College with the most Certified Green Restaurants® 

Harvard University has 19 Certified Green Restaurants® located in Cambridge and Boston, MA. Collectively, these Certified Green Restaurants® have taken more than 1,000 environmental steps to earn over 4,200 GreenPoints™. 

 

 


GREENEST UNIVERSITY RESTAURANT 

Dining facility at a college or university with the most GreenPoints™ 

4 Star Certified Green Restaurant® Village Center Dining at University of Colorado Boulder is the 2025 Greenest University Restaurant. Village Center Dining has implemented 71 environmental steps to earn 402.86 GreenPoints™. This Certified Green Restaurant® generates 16% of its energy usage with on-site solar panels. The dining hall composts in back-of-house and front-of-house, has 100% LED lights, reuses greywater for irrigation, and uses bulk packaging for 80% of condiments and 100% of milks and creamers. 




GREENEST INDEPENDENT RESTAURANT 

Independent Certified Green Restaurant® that received the most GreenPoints™  

4 Star Certified Green Restaurant® Maine Beer Company, located in Freeport, ME, has implemented 65 environmental steps to earn 406.07 GreenPoints™. This Certified Green Restaurant® is making significant strides in the Energy Category, earning over 238 GreenPoints™ for Energy Star appliances, occupancy sensors, 100% LED lights, on-site renewable solar energy that generates over 37% of its energy usage, and more. 

 


 

GREENEST NYC RESTAURANT 

New York City-based Certified Green Restaurant® with the most GreenPoints™  

4 Star Certified Green Restaurant® Well& By Durst, located in New York, NY, has implemented 73 environmental steps to earn 302.36 GreenPoints™. This Certified Green Restaurant® has 100% LED lights, Green-e Energy Certified Green Wind Power that offsets 100% of energy usage, and BOH and FOH composting. 

 

 


GREENEST ZOO RESTAURANT 

Certified Green Restaurant® located at a zoo that received the most GreenPoints™ 

4 Star Certified Green Restaurant® Base Camp Café at the Cincinnati Zoo in Cincinnati, OH has implemented 93 environmental steps to earn 367.20 GreenPoints™. This 4 Star Certified Green Restaurant® is significantly reducing its energy usage with window film that blocks solar heat, duct sealing, low flow restroom hand sinks, over 94% LED lighting, Energy Star appliances, and more. 

 

 


GREENEST NATIONAL PARK RESTAURANT 

Certified Green Restaurant® located at a national park that received the most GreenPoints™ 

4 Star Certified Green Restaurant® Carvers’ Café at Mt. Rushmore in Keystone, South Dakota has implemented 80 environmental steps and earned 477.65 GreenPoints™. Carvers’ Cafe has on-site solar panels that produce over 57% of its annual energy usage, on-site BOH composting, and much more. 

 

 


GREENEST CORPORATE CAFETERIA  

Certified Green Restaurant® located in a corporate office that received the most GreenPoints™ 

4 Star Certified Green Restaurant® Mars Wrigley GIC – Better Moments Cafe, located in Chicago, IL, has implemented 80 environmental steps to earn 352.07 GreenPoints™. This café is making significant strides in the Energy Category, earning 130.88 GreenPoints™ for a heat recovery system, Energy-Star appliances, occupancy sensors, and more. 

 



GREENEST K-12 SCHOOL 

K-12 School Cafeteria with the most GreenPoints™ 

MUSE Global Kitchen, also the winner of the 2025 Greenest Restaurant Award, is the greenest K-12 School Cafeteria in North America. This 4 Star Certified Green Restaurant® in Calabasas, California has implemented 60 environmental steps and earned 573.08 GreenPoints™, the most GreenPoints™ of any K-12 Certified Green Restaurant®. 

 

 


GREENEST K-12 CONTRACTOR 

K-12 Contractor with the most Certified Green Restaurants® 

Flik Hospitality has 25 Certified Green Restaurants® located across the U.S. in K-12 schools. These Certified Green Restaurants® have collectively taken over 1,080 environmental steps to earn more than 4,630 GreenPoints™.  



REUSABLES & GREEN DISPOSABLES AWARD 

Received the most GreenPoints™ in the Reusables & Disposables Category 

4 Star Certified Green Restaurant® Chauncey’s Choice at Coastal Carolina University in Conway, South Carolina earned 128.58 GreenPoints™ in the Reusables & Disposables category. This restaurant serves all to-go orders in reusables, supplies reusable dishes in-house, uses 100% reusables for staff meals, and more. 

 



ENERGY CONSERVATION & RENEWABLE ENERGY AWARD 

Received the most GreenPoints™ in the Energy Category 

4 Star Certified Green Restaurant® Carvers’ Café at Mt. Rushmore in Keystone, South Dakota earned 339.66 GreenPoints™ in the Energy category. This restaurant has an on-site solar array that generates more than 55% of its energy use, 100% LED lighting, and three walk-in coolers with strip curtains, each of which saves enough energy to power a residential home for an entire year. 

 



SUSTAINABLE FOOD AWARD 

Received the most GreenPoints™ in the Food Category 

4 Star Certified Green Restaurant® MUSE Global Kitchen earned 103 GreenPoints™ in the Food category. This restaurant purchases Certified Organic food, is 100% vegan, and has on-site food production. 

 



CHEMICAL & POLLUTION REDUCTION AWARD 

Received the most GreenPoints™ in the Chemicals & Pollution Category 

4 Star Certified Green Restaurant® Putnam Dining at UConn earned 61.25 GreenPoints™ in the Chemicals & Pollution category. This Certified Green Restaurant® is located in a brownfield redevelopment building. Putnam Dining at UConn also uses a green certified pest management system, green hand soaps, and green cleaners. 

 



WASTE REDUCTION AWARD 

Received the most GreenPoints™ in the Waste Category 

4 Star Certified Green Restaurant® Cougar Woods Dining Commons at University of Houston in Houston, TX earned 99 GreenPoints™ in the Waste category by reducing the amount of waste that ends up in a landfill with back and front of house composting, weekly food bank donations, and reusable plates, cutlery, and recycling plastics, glass, aluminum, paper, cardboard, grease, batteries, electronics, appliances, and renovation materials. 

 



WATER CONSERVATION AWARD 

Received the most GreenPoints™ in the Water Category 

4 Star Certified Green Restaurant® https://www.dinegreen.com/g/res17475 at Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden earned 44.75 GreenPoints™ in the Water category. This Certified Green Restaurant® has an underground water harvesting system to store rain water, uses high efficiency pre-rinse spray valves, low flow kitchen and restroom hand sinks, Energy Star qualified appliances, low water landscaping, and more.  

 

 


SUSTAINABLE SEAFOOD AWARD 

Received the most GreenPoints™ for Sustainable Seafood 

This year, 4 Star Certified Green Restaurant® Cougar Woods Dining Commons at University of Houston and 4 Star Certified Green Restaurant® Mars Wrigley GIC – Better Moments Cafe in Chicago, IL, tied for the 2025 Sustainable Seafood Award. These two restaurants each earned 15 GreenPoints™ for serving 100% sustainable seafood. 

 



GREEN MARKETING AWARD 

Certified Green Restaurant® which markets their certification in the most creative and effective way 

3 Star Certified Green Restaurant® Fresh Food Company at Western Kentucky University in has earned 19.5 GreenPoints™ in the Education & Transparency category. With certification signage, a sustainability event hosted on campus, and more, this Certified Green Restaurant® is implementing creative and effective marketing to be transparent about its sustainability and to educate its students and the public. 

 

 


GREEN SOCIAL MEDIA AWARD 

Certified Green Restaurant® with the most effective and creative social media about its certification 

Certified Green Caterer™ Tall Guy and a Grill showcases its certification across Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn. With regular social posts about its sustainability steps and a sustainability story highlight on Instagram, this Certified Green Caterer™ is promoting its certification in effective and creative ways. 

 

 


GREEN EMPLOYEE LEADER 

An employee in the restaurant industry who is a champion of sustainability at their Certified Green Restaurant® and in the restaurant community 

We are proud to recognize Valerie Davis as the recipient of the 2025 Green Employee Leader Award. Through her exceptional leadership and dedication, Valerie has played a pivotal role in bringing numerous airports into the Green Restaurant Association’s certification program. Her passion for sustainability shines through in her relentless efforts to guide and encourage airport partners to adopt impactful environmental changes. Valerie’s commitment to upholding the GRA’s rigorous standards contributes meaningfully to a greener, more sustainable foodservice industry. 


 

GREEN LEADER 

A consumer or anyone at large who is influencing restaurants to become Certified Green Restaurants® 

Gregory Godfrey, Vice President of Marketing & Communications at the Flatiron NoMad Partnership, and Deepka Sani, Director of Board Relations and Individual Giving at Madison Square Park Conservancy (MSPC), are the winners of the 2025 Green Leader Award! 

 

Greg and Deepka were instrumental in launching NYC’s First Green Dining Destination™ in the Flatiron and NoMAD neighborhoods. Due to their tireless dedication and support, the Green Restaurant Association, Flatiron NoMad Partnership, and MSPC were able to recruit a strong roster of highly reputable local restaurants in the Flatiron/Nomad. These restaurants succeeded in attaining the Certified Green Restaurant® and banded together to form NYC’s First Green Dining Destination™, a beacon of sustainability attracting people from all over the world to The Place to Dine Green™.  

 "I applaud all of the 2025 Green Restaurant Award winners on their commitment to improving their environmental impact,” said Michael Oshman, CEO and Founder of the Green Restaurant Association. “These Certified Green Restaurants®, organizations, and employees have set an example for others across North America to follow. By taking great environmental leadership in the restaurant industry, the 2025 Green Restaurant Award winners are proving it’s possible for any restaurant, organization, or employee to dramatically improve their environmental footprint today.” 


 

About the Green Restaurant Association  The Green Restaurant Association is a national non-profit organization that provides the only official Certified Green Restaurants® mark in the country. Since 1990, the GRA has pioneered the Green Restaurant® movement and has been the leading voice within the industry encouraging restaurants to listen to consumer demand to 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 has been featured on CNN, NBC Nightly News, NPR, and in The New York Times, and The Washington Post. For more information visit www.dinegreen.com. 


 
 
 

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