Frequently Asked Questions: Restaurants

Designation lasts for three years. After three years, a restaurant has the opportunity to renew its designation. We highly encourage all restaurants to renew their designations prior to expiration, as the renewal process is expedited for restaurants whose designations are still active. 

• Increased marketability – Not only do we provide you with tools to share about your own designation, we also help to connect you with customers and guests through social media, newsletters, advertisements, access to events, and other marketing efforts.
• Saving money and increasing profits – We can introduce you to opportunities such as grants, rebates, and sustainable solutions that can help to keep more money where you need it. 
• Having happier employees – Staffing challenges continue to have negative effects on restaurants. Restaurants with their sustainable designation can show that they value and care for their employees, contributing to a vibrant community within their restaurant and beyond.
• Joining a community of like-minded people – Being a part of the sustainable restaurant community allows restaurants to share advice and recommendations about how to optimize their businesses for sustainability and profitability. Additionally, designated restaurants are provided a plethora of resources and one-on-one assistance to help them improve.

Restaurants are recognized with one of four levels of designation: Bronze, Silver, Gold, or Platinum, based on their overall performance throughout the sustainability assessment. With the designation, restaurants receive physical and digital promo kits that include: A sustainability profile, designation window clings, table tents, certificate of designation, press release template, and digital assets for menus, website, and social media channels. In addition, all designated Sustainable Pittsburgh Restaurants are listed and their sustainability profiles featured in this searchable map with new updated filtering options to help people locate, patronize, and support your business.  

Associated fees to earn Sustainable Pittsburgh Restaurant designation are described in the chart below and addressed in the On Ramp section of the designation’s sustainability assessment. Fees are re-assessed every three years and cover access to Sustainable Pittsburgh’s custom online portal, participation in the Sustainable Pittsburgh Restaurant program, resource & technical support, and designation promotions. 

Fee waivers can be made available to businesses and organizations that are unable to pay but would still like to earn designation as a Sustainable Pittsburgh Restaurant. Contact restaurant@sustainablepittsburgh.org or 412-258-6642 to request a waiver. Please don’t let cost be a barrier to participating!

*If you are looking to earn designation at multiple restaurant locations, please contact us at restaurant@sustainablepittsburgh.org or 412-258-6642 for more information on fee structure.*

Any food-based business that resides in a brick and mortar establishment with a kitchen onsite located within the following Pennsylvania counties is welcome and encouraged to participate in the program and earn designation: Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Fayette, Greene, Indiana, Lawrence, Washington, Westmoreland.

Sustainable Pittsburgh is pleased to provide financial support for sustainability-based projects and improvements to participants of the Sustainable Pittsburgh Restaurant program when funding permits. Earning designation and joining our network of sustainable restaurants across the region is the best way to keep apprised of these opportunities as they become available to you.

Visit this link to create an account and complete the onboarding process. For more information you can view this short tutorial. How to use Sustainable Pittsburgh’s Performance Program Platform – YouTube

The Sustainable Pittsburgh Restaurant program provides a framework of questions to help your restaurant assess its sustainability progress to date and identify areas for future impact. Each response you provide will earn a given number of points.

Restaurants may earn a Bronze, Silver, Gold, or Platinum designation through the Sustainable Pittsburgh Restaurant program. To achieve a given level of designation, restaurants must both a) earn a given percentage of the points available in the program, and b) respond affirmatively to a set of required questions specific to each level. Point percentage and question requirements for each level can be found here!

A full listing of all categories and actions included in the program coming soon! 

Responses should be based on a restaurant’s current state of operations or policies or standards that are already in place. Responses should not be based on any actions that are intended to take place in the future. Once new actions are taken, a restaurant can reassess to work its way toward a higher level of designation.

We understand that restaurants are a fast-paced, busy environment and that time can be a factor. For this reason, any one person or team of people can be designated by the owner or management to complete the assessment. All we ask is that the owner or management reviews the completed assessment for accuracy and validity prior to submission.

Yes, a restaurant can reassess at any time during the duration of its three-year designation without an additional cost. Sustainable Pittsburgh staff can also assist with restaurants striving to achieve a higher designation level.

This designation program was developed by Sustainable Pittsburgh with the insights and expert guidance of the members of the Sustainable Pittsburgh Restaurant advisory committee. The development of this program was made possible through grant support from the Henry L. Hillman Foundation.

We are here to help! Contact us at restaurant@sustainablepittsburgh.org or 412-258-6642. We will update these FAQs accordingly, as one restaurant’s experience may be helpful to others.