Sustainability Practices

We are dedicated to operational practices that reduce emissions and waste to lighten our carbon footprint. This belief plays an important role in all of our decisions, including where we get our food, how we prepare our food, how we dispose of our waste, and the construction and function of our building itself.

Handmade sign saying "Thank you for buying locally"

Local Food

At least 50% of all ingredients from small farms, ranches, and food artisans within 150 miles

Focus on seasonality

Minimal products from outside California

Sustainable sourced timber used to construct the Low Carbon Building

Responsible Building

South San Francisco’s first high-tech conference center

LEED and Fitwel certified building

Solar-powered building with a 10,000 square feet photovoltaic array composed of 435 panels

Entire building targets Zero Net Energy within first year of operation

Constructed with Mass Timber, resulting in a lighter carbon footprint

Local farmer bringing in his bounty

Reducing Carbon Emissions

All-electric, solar-powered kitchen

Minimal dairy and beef

Menus put plants at the center of the plate

Minimize disposables, offer reusable to-go ware, and use only Forest Stewardship Council certified paper products when needed

Seafood is not air-freighted; the majority is sourced from local fisheries via our Fish to Fork program

No tropical fruits

Our chef grown and pickled banana, jalapeno, and havasu hots peppers

Eliminate production waste by creative repurposing of food scraps (juicing, dehydrating, etc.) 

Capture seasonal bounties with pickling, fermentation, and preservation techniques

Guest-facing waste awareness campaigns

Compost food that cannot be donated and all disposables

Recycle used cooking oil

Choose reusable cutlery and dishes over disposables whenever possible

Minimize or eliminate all single-use items, including straws, napkins, paper towels, and cutlery

Zero single-use plastic bottles

Consider the life cycle of disposables we source to lighten upstream and downstream impacts

Source disposables that are truly compostable with local waste systems including food service gloves and bags

Sustainably produced Fair Trade uniforms

Donate textiles and smallwares for creative reuse

Third-party waste audits

Source and Waste Reduction

Hands holding fresh coffee beans

Decreasing Deforestation

No palm oil products

Coffee served is either Certified Organic, shade-grown, or comes from Rainforest Alliance or Bird Friendly certified farms

FSC-certified and/or recycled paper for all office administration, paper towels, and napkins, with a focus on minimizing the use of all

 About Bon Appétit

Bon Appétit Management Company is an on-site restaurant company operating 1,000-plus locations in 33 states and is a recognized industry leader in environmentally and socially responsible practices, with awards from organizations including the Sustainable Purchasing Leadership Council, Acterra, James Beard Foundation, and many others.

  • A groundbreaking, companywide initiative requiring our chefs to buy at least 20% of their ingredients from small farmers, ranchers, fishermen, and food producers within 150 miles of their kitchens. We realized how much flavor was being lost in exchange for agribusiness efficiencies and we began a concerted effort to support local farmers in order to preserve flavor on the plate. In 1999, we formally launched our companywide commitment to buying locally and called it Farm to Fork. learn more -->

  • Our chefs strive to serve only seafood species that are rated Best Choice or Good Alternative according to Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch® guidelines for commercial buyers. We were the first food service company to address the problems with seafood, and we made the most comprehensive commitment to sustainable seafood of any national restaurant or food company to date. learn more -->

  • Switching our eggs to come from hens not confined to battery cages. These barren enclosures are so restrictive that the birds can barely move, let alone engage in most natural behaviors such as nesting, foraging, or even spreading their wings. In 2005, Bon Appétit was the first restaurant company to make a national commitment to cage-free shell eggs. learn more -->

    Then in 2016, we expanded this commitment to precracked (liquid) eggs — another first for food service. learn more -->

  • Updating and measuring our efforts to reduce the climate-changing impacts of our food choices. When Bon Appétit started our Low Carbon Diet program in 2007 — making us the first restaurant company to connect food and climate change — it was with specific targets in mind for how much carbon emissions we wanted to lose over five years. And we did it, meeting our goals and resulting in reductions of the equivalent of approximately 5 million pounds of carbon dioxide each month. learn more -->

  • Empowering farmworkers and setting standards. At Bon Appétit Management Company, we believe that farmworkers should not only be honored for their contribution to our food system, but enjoy the same rights and protections as employees in other occupations. We are proud to be a founding member of the Equitable Food Initiative, a unique partnership that brings together growers, farmworkers, retailers, and consumers to transform agriculture and improve the lives of farmworkers. learn more -->

Learn more about our companywide sustainable sourcing practices and pioneering Farm to Fork program at www.bamco.com/sourcing.