The only competition that recognizes sustainability in retail design, the A.R.E. Sustainability Awards honour retail projects for outstanding green building achievement. The competition draws entries from around the world. Entries are judged on innovation in design, integration, and benchmarks; the highest honour goes to projects that balance comprehensive sustainability with design aesthetic and functionality.

“We wanted the South St. Burger Co. concept at Bayview Village to be more than just ‘Gourmet Burger meets Haute Couture’. Sustainability has been a core design principle for South St. for a number of years. Validating South St Burger Co.’s sustainable initiatives through the LEED Certification process seemed like the next logical step in the evolution of the brand. Most importantly, we didn’t sacrifice design aesthetic to achieve sustainability” says Eric Boulden, president at Jump Branding & Design Inc.

The innovative design includes many elements that bridge fashion-forward design with a focus on green sustainable initiatives. Some of the key features include:

• Grill hoods with high tech heat exchange ventilation systems which reduce the store’s heating requirements by over 300 cubic meters of gas per month, a carbon savings of 6.84 tonnes/year
• High-efficiency fryers that reduce 18.6 tonnes of CO2 emissions annually from the four units alone
• An air-cooled ice machine that saves 264,000 gallons of water annually
• Also contributing to the restaurant’s low water usage rate (70 per cent below EPAct) are low-flow toilets, faucets with sensors and aerators, and low-flow, pre-rinse spray valves

Already having a brand mandate to source food ingredients locally where possible, 32 per cent of this location’s building materials were manufactured within 800 km (nearly 500 miles) of the project site and 12 per cent were both extracted and manufactured within that range. Building materials feature 85 per cent FSC-certified wood, 38 per cent recycled content, all low-VOC adhesives and coatings, no added urea formaldehyde, and reclaimed wood.

“South St. Burger Co.’s Bayview Village location was a chance to create a well-designed environment that customers would enjoy visiting. As a retailer, we have consciously made the effort to be greener in our design, and we will continue to invest in equipment and ingredients to achieve our mandate of ‘being the right choice’ for our customers” says Jay Gould, president and founder, South St. Burger Co.

Not only do these continued efforts make South St. Burger Co. and their employees proud, but they have been recognized with a number of industry awards for efforts in sustainability, including Foodservice + Hospitality’s Green Leadership Award in June 2011 and the Sustainable Design Award from the Association for Retail Environments, in May 2011 for their Shops at Don Mills location.

For further information or to arrange an interview with a spokesperson, please contact:

Jennifer Ouellette, Hill + Knowlton Strategies

(416) 413-4774 / Jennifer.Ouellette@hkstrategies.ca