A core part of citizenship at Darden is our commitment to reducing the environmental impact of our physical footprint – which includes our more than 1,700 restaurants, 10 distribution centers and our corporate headquarters. To help drive performance, in 2009 we established a set of targets to reduce per-restaurant energy and water use by 15% by 2015, and work toward sending zero waste to landfill over time.
We have already exceeded both our water and energy use goals by reducing per restaurant water use by 22.5% and per restaurant energy use by 17%. A broad range of initiatives – from retrofitting lighting with more efficient bulbs and implementing new energy management systems to deploying water-saving cooking technologies and installing irrigation optimization systems – have enabled us to reach these goals. At the same time, we know there is more work to be done – and we’re committed to doing just that.
