Welcome to BCA: Different Cultures One Direction



Sign up for Our Email Newsletter Email:

URBAN GREEN CONSORTIUM

We at the BCA believe that sustainability is the future of foodservice and hospitality. In recent years our industry begun to recognize the importance of reducing waste, promoting practices that are good for our health and our planet, and mitigating the environmentally devastating effects of industrial foodproduction. Sustainability encompasses more than food; it includes every step from the farm through the supplier to the kitchen and the plate. Foodservice and hospitality professionals can affect great change both by re-evaluating their own practices and providing an example to the rest of the industry.

Any industry professional who wishes to remain viable and competitive must now embrace sustainability as a social responsibility as well as a concrete standard. The agricultural, hospitality, and foodservice sectors are some of the largest energy consumers in America. We cannot afford--economically or environmentally--to continue with business as usual.

Building relationships between suppliers and vendors, creating a base of best practices, and equipping the future generations of hospitality and foodservice professionals with a an understanding of what it means to be truly "green" are the goals of the BCA's environmental efforts. For these reasons the organization has created the four pillars of foodservice sustainability under "The Urban Green Consortium".

Design - Foodservice and hospitality design will need to incorporate all aspects of green philosophy with an understanding of how LEED-certified best practices can be applied to appliance engineering, sustainable decor and landscaping design, and building design. Thoughtful and innovative planning in design, building, and renovation is essential to the future of the industry.

Operations - Foodservice operations need to be dramatically altered to promote sustainability at every step of production. Managers should think outside of the box and embrace new strategies for waste control, recycling, used oil recovery, composting, and bio degradable disposals. From an operational standpoint, many small adjustments can have an immense effect on energy costs and waste output.

Energy Efficiency - The foodservice industry is the largest energy consumer in North America. A thorough understanding of energy consumption from foodservice equipment, lighting, HVAC, and water conservation is the responsibility of every foodservice owner and operator. The country's future energy usage will heavily depend on the foodservice and hospitality sector.

Food Sustainability - The foodservice industry is due for a re-evaluation of relationships between food production, demand, availability and the resultant carbon footprint. Large foodservice employers and operators have a chance to truly influence farmers and processors to alter and improve their practices. Sustainable agriculture involves food production methods that are healthy, do not harm the environment, respect workers, are humane to animals, provide fair wages to farmers, and support farming communities.

Diet and Nutrition- The BCA believes that the health of inner-city communities is closely linked to the reach within the foodservice community. Understanding food choices and their relationship to health and sickness is a pivotal role for all foodservice professionals. Nutrition and physical education should work in tandem with the promotion of fresh foods to create healthier communities with lower rates of heart disease, childhood obesity, and diabetes. Obesity has reached epidemic proportions globally, with more than 1 billion adults overweight - at least 300 million of them clinically obese - and is a major contributor to the global burden of chronic disease and disability. The health consequences range from increased risk of premature death, to serious chronic conditions that reduce the overall quality of life. Of especial concern is the increasing incidence of child obesity.

Additional Information-

New York State Energy Research & Development Authority
NSYERDA works with the hospitality sector to improve the energy efficiency and profitability of hotels, motels, and commercial kitchens in New York with technical expertise, programs and funding. NYSERDA is continuing to help restaurant owners and managers of non-profits to find ways of reducing energy costs within their commercial kitchens, including capital purchases that reduce their energy and water consumption.
Download Article

Harlem Word: Alex Askew assesses positive changes for healthy food in Harlem.
Alex Askew, President of the BCA, shares his thoughts on the state of food access in Harlem and what can be done to increase the availability of healthy food.
Download Article

You can help us out by volunteering. All you need to do is send us an e-mail at info@bcaglobal.org or visit us at Volunteer Match.

BCA 7th Annual Global Food and Wine Experience
August 25, 2010

The BCA will again be hosting its annual Global Food and Wine Experience entitled "Celebrate Diversity in Food and Wine" at The Prince George Ballroom on Thursday, September 30, 2010 in New York City, from 7 PM to 10:30 PM. Wine and Food Enthusiasts will join wine purveyors, restaurateurs, and....

Johnson & Wales, Culinary Institute of America, and the BCA take historical step in honoring the first Black Graduate of CIA, Jefferson Evans, in honor of Black History Month
January 26, 2010

PROVIDENCE, Rhode Island (January 26, 2010) - On February 11, 2010, the national leaders in culinary education will partner with the first student chapter of the BCA to honor Jefferson Evans, the first black graduate of the Culinary Institute of America in 1947. Known as rival institutions for....