Ted Turner's name is associated with a whole list of endeavors, but lately he's been focusing on "The Green Restaurant Revolution." Along with George McKerrow Jr., his partner in Ted's Montana Grill, Turner has toured the country, meeting with restaurant owners and discussing ways to make restaurants greener. The two have visited Atlanta, Boston, Philadelphia, New York City and Washington D.C. and met with celebrity chefs and journalists, hospitality professionals and culinary students, and restaurant operators. Discussions focused on what can be done in daily operations to make individual restaurants and the restaurant industry as a whole more environmentally friendly.

Ted's Montana Grill was founded in 2002. Since then, it has been committed to being green. Almost all of the paper, plastic, aluminum and glass products used at Ted's Montana Grill are recycled. Even the to-go cutlery is environmentally friendly: Rather than using plastic forks, the restaurant provides silverware made from potato starch. From lighting to cleaning products, Ted's Montana Grill strives to be eco-friendly in all of its locations scattered around 20 states.

"There are almost a million restaurants operating today in the United States alone," McKerrow said in a press release. "Imagine if each restaurant made only one small change to preserve resources what a huge impact we can make. We know we're only a small part of the equation, but together we can make a big difference."

Restaurant owners seem to be coming to the same conclusion that other business owners are reaching: Operating a green business saves money. Restaurants have high overheads when it comes to power and water and more and can save money through even minor efficiencies. It's great that Turner is supporting an effort to educate restaurant owners on environmentally-friendly measures, and I think many of those owners will embrace any opportunity to cut costs.

Highlights of the tour are available in a podcast featured on the Ted's Montana Grill website, as well as on the new National Restaurant Association website for conservation, Conserve.Restaurant.org. The National Restaurant Association provides a variety of environmental programs and products for restaurants, ranging from tips for conservation to leads for improved food service technology. The new website was partially funded by a grant from the Turner Foundation. It also received help from Energy Star (the U.S. Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency) and the Food Service Technology Center.

Photo — Ted's Montana Grill