Bon Appetit Mgt. Co. CEO Fedele Bauccio has been named one of the winners of the first-ever Growing Green Awards, which are bestowed by the Natural Resources Defense Council. Bauccio won in the Business Leader category. The other two winners were Will Allen of Growing Power in the Food Producer category and James Harvie of Institute for a Sustainable Future in the Thought Leader category.
Bauccio has been a pioneer in addressing the connection between food and climate change through Bon Appétit’s Low Carbon Diet initiative, which is on track to reduce its associated carbon emissions by 25 percent from 2007 to 2010. To get there, Bauccio has made sweeping changes to the menu at Bon Appétit’s 400 cafeterias nationwide, reducing foods with largest global warming impacts (beef and air-transported ingredients), sourcing locally, and reducing food waste.
“Bon Appétit Management Company strives to change the way people view their food,” says Bauccio. “A decade ago, we created direct purchasing relationships with small family owned farms; today, we’re tackling food’s connection to climate change through the Low Carbon Diet initiative. I’m honored to be recognized by NRDC and the panel for our business initiatives.”
The winners will be honored at NRDC’s 2009 benefit, “Food for Thought,” an event that will also honor author Michael Pollan (The Omnivore's Dilemma) for his contributions to the field of sustainable food. The event will take place at San Francisco’s California Academy of Sciences on May 9.
