Success Stories

Food Service/Restaurants

Business: Brothers’ Restaurant (Ashland)

Number of Employees: unknown

Vignette

• Replaced most standard incandescent lamps with compact fluorescent light bulbs.
• Installed controls to turn off lights in unoccupied rooms.
• Sealed areas where cold air leaked in the building.
• Replaced inefficient ductwork.
• Installed faucet aerators to reduce water use.
• Raised awareness among staff to point out drips and leaks and not run water unnecessarily.

FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $600/year (all activities).

Case Study

• Call Oregon Office of Energy, 1-800-221-8035

---

Business: Cannon Beach Elementary School (Cannon Beach)

Number of Employees: 10

Vignette

• When garbage cans are emptied, the custodian only replaces the plastic liners if they are soiled or starting to smell. Garbage can liners that have held nothing but paper and other dry wastes are not changed every day. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $90/year. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 25 pounds of liners/year.
• The foot pedal on a large bathroom sink was stuck in the "on" position. Fixing it cut water and sewer bills. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: as much as $1,348/year in water and sewer bills. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 345,600 gallons/year.
• Low-flow aerators were installed on restroom and classroom water faucets, saving water and the energy to heat it. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $154/year. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 39,600 gallons/year.
• Floats on tank toilets were adjusted to use less water per flush. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $142/year. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 40,500 gallons/year.
• Coils on refrigerator and milk coolers are vacuumed every 3 months to improve energy efficiency.

Case Study

None

---

Business: Central Oregon Council on Aging (Bend)

Number of Employees: 3

Vignette

Central Oregon Council on Aging operates a senior lunch program at the Bend Senior Center.

• It was observed that many clients would not eat their roll because they were too full. Historically, rolls were placed on every client's plate along with all other foods. Now, staff try to circulate among the clients with the rolls in a basket; those clients who want a roll are given one, while others can choose to pass. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $450/year. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 2,500 rolls (312 pounds)/year.
• Paying closer attention to the amount of food left over (unserved) after each meal and adjusting orders for the off-site kitchen reduced entree waste by 50% and side dish waste by 25%. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $990/year. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 1,200 pounds/year.
• Soup is served once a week. The kitchen switched to reusable (washable) bowls for soup for sit-down clients (previously, disposable polystyrene bowls were used). Disposable bowls (with lids) are still used for the meals-on-wheels program. The reusable bowls are washed, along with other dishes, in the on-site commercial dishwasher. Additional water, energy, and detergent costs total a mere $6/year. It requires an additional 5 minutes of volunteer time per week to wash these extra dishes. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $45/year. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 2,600 polystyrene bowls/year.
• Removed 25% to 50% of the lamps in the manager’s office and kitchen, which were both perceived as being "overlit". FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $30/year. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 650 kWh/year.

Case Study

None

---

Business: Coffee Resort (Milwaukie)

Number of Employees: 4

Vignette

• Repaired a major leak in the toilet. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $1,764/year. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 332,000 gallons/year.
• Purchases dish soap in bulk (larger containers), thus reducing packaging waste. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $20/year.
• Washes dishes in dish pans rather than the sink. This saves water, the energy to heat it, and detergent. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $67/year. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 950 kWh and 6,700 gallons of water/year.
• Reduced the number of outside lights. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $225/year. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 2,360 kWh/year.
• Offers reusable mugs for in-store coffee consumption, as an alternative to disposables. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $175/year. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 178 pounds of disposable cups/year.

Case Study

None

---

Business: Doubletree Hotels [formerly Red Lion Hotels] (Portland)

Number of Employees: unknown

Vignette

• By filtering and recycling water, the central laundry facility saves $35,900 annually in water costs and $16,000 annually in natural gas costs. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $51,900/year.
• Other comprehensive energy and water conservation measures include energy management control systems for heating, cooling, and lighting; chillers connected for more efficient operation; converting incandescent light bulbs to compact fluorescents; exit sign retrofits; more efficient ballasts in fluorescent fixtures; adjustable speed drives on fan motors; automatic fan controls for individual guest rooms; low-flow showerheads and faucets; and toilet tank adapters to reduce the amount of water used per flush. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: more than $200,000/year.

Case Study

• Call the City of Portland's Office of Sustainable Development, 503-823-7222.

---

Business: A grocery store

Number of Employees: 60

Vignette

This independent grocery store features an on-site bakery. Staff tracked how many of each type of baked good were not sold at the end of the day, and found that certain items were consistently being over-produced. By changing the quantities of each item baked to better reflect customer demand, the bakery reduced "shrink" (unsold product) by roughly 50%. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $23,000/year. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 13,000 pounds of baked goods/year.

Case Study

None

---

Business: Legacy Health Systems (Portland)

Number of Employees: unknown

Vignette

• Replaced disposable foam mattresses with reusables. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $81,527/year. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 16,350 pounds/year.
• Switched from buying juice in 32 oz. glass container to 60 oz. plastic container (containers are recycled; larger containers use less material). FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $125/year. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 2,500 pounds/year.
• Eliminated rarely-used items from custom packs of surgical supplies. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: more than $30,000/year. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 11,000 pounds/year.
• Consolidated duplicative admitting kits for maternity patients. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: more than $3,500/year. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 2,700 pounds/year.
• Reduces photocopying by keeping originals in shared files. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: more than $128,000/year. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 2,100 pounds/year.
• Customized the distribution of reports and newsletters; periodically checks distribution lists and only sends reports and newsletters to departments and individuals who request them. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: more than $10,000/year. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 4,100 pounds/year.
• Consolidated seven different patient forms into a single flow sheet. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $158/year. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 300 pounds/year.
• Eliminated unused third page of three-part carbonless form. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $199/year. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 60 pounds/year.
• Recycles cardboard, office paper, glass bottles, metal cans, and several resins of plastics.

Case Study

• Case study exists, call Metro, 503-234-3000.

---

Business: Local Scoop (Cannon Beach)

Number of Employees: 8

Vignette

This restaurant serves a bag of potato chips with most sandwiches. By watching "plate waste," it discovered that its portions of potato chips were generally too large, and a lot of chips were being thrown out. The restaurant switched to a slightly smaller bag of chips. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: more than $4,500/year.

Case Study

None

---

Business: Lynch Wood Elementary School (Portland)

Number of Employees: unknown

Vignette

• Students eliminated the use of straws, individual food wrappers, and single serving food containers in the cafeteria.
• The school reuses polystyrene packing peanuts and packing foam, and also recycles paper, plastic, glass, tin, crayons, batteries, and cooking oil.

Case Study

None

---

Business: Melanie’s Flowers (Cannon Beach)

Number of Employees: 2

Vignette

Melanie’s Flowers is a flower and coffee shop.

• Large packing boxes that flowers arrive in are saved and sent back with the flower supply company for reuse. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 190 pounds/year.
• When coffee is served in disposable cups, staff used to automatically "double cup" all drinks. Staff switched to asking if a single or double cup was preferred. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: more than $800/year in cup costs. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 390 pounds/year.
• Uses reusable, washable coffee filters. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $125/year. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 50 pounds/year.
• Installed toilet "dummy" (sealed bags filled with a weight, such as rocks) in the tanks of all toilets. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $20/year. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 5,100 gallons/year.
• Repaired leaking window.
• Reduced size of coffee club cards.

Case Study

None

---

Business: North Plains Elementary School (North Plains)

Number of Employees: unknown

Vignette

North Plains Elementary School implemented a "food choice" program in the school cafeteria. Previously, all hot lunch eaters were given a tray with the same food. The school made four significant changes:

• Provided two or three entrees to choose from each day.
• Introduced child-size "self service bars" stocked with uncooked fruits and vegetables and bread products.
• Allowed students to accept or decline other hot foods (cooked vegetables).
• Observed foods thrown out and revised ordering and production amounts.
• Average participation in the meal program increased from 61-73% while the average cost of food per meal dropped from $0.85 to $0.71. Food discarded per tray dropped 47%, and consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables increased significantly.

A simplified version of this food choice program was also implemented at Charles F. Tigard and Metzger Elementary Schools in the Tigard-Tualatin School District.

Case Study

• Call Metro, 503-234-3000.

---

Business: Pizza Pipeline (Corvallis)

Number of Employees: 4

Vignette

Repaired a leak in the dishroom sprayer and installed low-flow aerators on sinks, reducing water, sewer, and energy bills. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $769/year. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 10,000 kWh/year and 116,000 gallons of water/year.

Case Study

None

---

Business: Royal Blend Coffee (Bend)

Number of Employees: 22

Vignette

• Royal Blend Coffee’s First Street Store in Bend added a bulk dispenser of skim milk and stopped purchasing and wasting cartons of skim milk. The dairy supplier provided the dispenser at no charge. Each 6-gallon plastic bag of milk replaces 24 one-quart cartons. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $767/year. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 812 pounds of packaging/year.
• Lamps were removed in the reception area, offices, and conference rooms, all of which were overlit. Exit signs were changed from standard incandescent bulbs to low-energy LED lamps. The lights inside and above the reach-in cooler in the bakery were also turned off. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $143/year. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 2,400 kWh/year.

Case Study

None

---

Business: The Village Baker (Bend)

Number of Employees: <10

Vignette

• Added a smaller bag for individual baked goods. Each small bag uses less materials and costs less money than a larger bag. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $156/year. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 290 pounds of bags/year.
• Changed shape of one specialty bread to fit in existing, smaller bag.
• Provides permanent-ware mugs for customers to use instead of paper cups for in-house purchases of coffee, other hot drinks. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $181/year. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 210 pounds of disposable cups/year.

Case Study

None

---

Business: Tualatin High School (Tualatin)

Number of Employees: ~100

Vignette

• Encourage teachers and students to copy, print, and write on both sides of the page.
• Eliminated print overruns of the school newspaper. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $1,260/year. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 260 pounds/year.
• Use a posting policy to discourage excess posters; install more bulletin boards, reduce number of posters. This reduces high custodial costs repainting damaged walls.
• Classroom garbage can liners are no longer changed every night unless obviously soiled. Lunchroom garbage can liners are only pulled between lunches if more than half full.
• Replaced paper food trays for a la carte items with wax tissue pickups. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $458/year. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 320 pounds/year.
• A mulching mower is used everywhere except the football field and baseball diamond. This saves mowing time, hauling expenses, and garbage bags. It also returns nitrogen and other nutrients to the soil, reducing lawn fertilizer needs. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: more than $10,000/year. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 37,800 pounds/year.
• Purchase cleaning solutions in concentrate. A dispenser unit is used to mix the concentrates with water at the correct ratio. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $300/year. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 350 pounds/year.
• Purchase remanufactured laser printer cartridges rather than new cartridges. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $1,200/year. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 72 pounds/year.
• Built in 1991, the school features glazed and double-paned windows, electronic ballasts, advanced fluorescent lights, and computer controlled heating and cooling. As a result of these design features, Tualatin High School uses 36% less energy per square foot of building space than the district’s other high school. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: approximately $35,000/year.

Case Study

• Case study exists, call Metro, 503-234-3000.

---

Business: Winchester Country Inn (Ashland)

Number of Employees: unknown

Vignette

• Reduced water heater and laundry temperatures.
• Using less water in the kitchen and garden.
• Sealed air leaks in the building.
• Installing higher efficiency lights and educating staff to turn fewer lights on.

FINANCIAL SAVINGS: Winchester Country Inn expects to save $3,000/year from these measures.

Case Study

• Call Oregon Office of Energy, 1-800-221-8035.

[print version]