News

The Valley Room here at Egypt Valley Country Club has earned the prestigious Certified Green Restaurant® status.

The Valley Room earned 116 GreenPoints™ in the Green Restaurant Association’s rigorous certification program. We are proud to be the first club in Michigan to earn this environmental certification.  

The Valley Room implemented over 20 environmental steps to meet the certification. If all of America’s restaurants followed in The Valley Room’s leadership of becoming a Certified Green Restaurant®, it would be a transformative step forward towards environmental sustainability.

“The restaurant industry has an enormous impact on our environment,” said Michael Oshman, CEO and Founder of the Green Restaurant Association. “We applaud The Valley Room at Egypt Valley Country Club for improving its environmental practices in a transparent fashion that provides its customers with the information and integrity they deserve.” 

Egypt Valley’s Executive Chef, Ben Stinson, is proud of the work he and his team have done to achieve this certification.

“It’s past time for all of us to start making important decisions about what kind of world we are going to leave future generations, and striving towards sustainability just seems like the right thing to do,” Stinson expressed.

When asked why he began working toward this certification, Stinson said that for as long as he’s been involved in the restaurant industry, it has had a problem with waste.

“Food waste, package waste from Styrofoam and plastics, and waste from non-efficient energy usage have been an acceptable part of the job for far too long,” Stinson explained. “We want to lead the charge towards real change and the Green Restaurant Association (GRA) has given us the roadmap to get there.”

LEADING ENVIRONMENTAL STEPS EGYPT VALLEY COUNTRY CLUB HAS TAKEN

• Recycling aluminum, cardboard and paper—keeping up to 50% of the Club’s total waste out of landfills.

• Cups and take-out containers are made with bio-based materials that can be commercially composted. 

• Energy Star dishwashers, freezers, refrigerators and steamers are 30-40% more efficient than conventional models. 

• 25% of the main dishes offered on the menu are vegetarian or vegan, which require significantly less energy and water to produce than meat-based dishes. 

• Wall-mounted range hoods capture more smoke and grease while using less energy than a free-standing hood. 

• Cold cups are made with materials recovered from community recycling.

• Low flow toilets use 20% less water than the current federal standard. 

• High-efficiency hand dryers in restrooms are least wasteful and most efficient. 

• A Clubhouse free from Styrofoam, keeping harmful chemicals and litter out of the environment.

Restaurants consume one third of all electricity in the retail sector. With issues of climate change, ocean pollution, and sustainable food at the forefront of this year’s headlines, it’s important to note the leadership in environmental sustainability at Egypt Valley. Stinson and his team are excited to implement greater environmental steps to achieve more GreenPoints and higher levels of certification.

“I like to find ways to distinguish ourselves from the competition,” Stinson said. “Being the only club in Michigan to be certified by the GRA is something we can all brag about!”