Locals at the Old House has earned top honours for innovative initiatives that have reduced the restaurant鈥檚 environmental impact.

By working with Leaders in Environmentally Accountable Foodservice (LEAF), Locals is the first B.C. restaurant to earn the top rating of Level III certification.

鈥淭he LEAF program provides third-party validation as to the degree to which a restaurant is environmentally friendly,鈥� chef Ronald St. Pierre said. 鈥淗undreds of indicators were used to determine where we stood in regards to our green efforts.

鈥淲e were still in our old location the first time we applied to the program, and were awarded Level I LEAF certification. When we moved to the Old House two years ago, we were able, with extensive renovations and implementation of new systems that better supported green practice in many departments, to achieve our Level II certification. This past year we were able to build upon our improvements by changing to a line of green eco-logo certified products from Planet Clean.鈥�

The restaurant also upgraded some of its kitchen equipment to Energy Star appliances, and it has a thorough recycling program.

鈥淲e would like to see more B.C. restaurants take up the challenge and become LEAF certified,鈥� St. Pierre said.

Established in Calgary in 2009, LEAF is a non-profit organization that helps restaurants reduce their environmental impact and makes it easy for diners to identify green restaurants. The organization provides a benchmark to measure the environmental sustainability of foodservice establishments in Canada and fosters sustainability by working with communities to support local economies.

To learn more about the LEAF program visit www.leafme.ca