Restaurant Neighbor Award: 2008 Finalist

Lazlo's Brewery & Grill, Fire Works Restaurant

Lincoln, NE

Telesis — the parent company behind Lazlo’s Brewery and Fire Works Restaurant — has a lofty goal: to be the city’s leader in recycling, water conservation, smart development and energy conservation. The company is well on its way to achieve that goal. Ten years ago, Telesis started a company-wide recycling program, last year recycling some 262 tons of packaging from its restaurants. Employees are deeply involved in the efforts, weighing in on the restaurants’ purchasing decisions and participating in the home recyclables pick-up program that the company offers employees at a reduced rate. To offset the amount of the energy used by the restaurants’ cooking equipment, Telesis created a database of its equipment to find the most energy- efficient pieces. It reduced kitchen energy by about 500,000 kBTUs. Telesis’s impressive sustainability initiatives have made a big impact on the community, helping save an estimated 400 metric tons of greenhouse gas; 400,000 pounds of waste; 200,000 gallons of wastewater; and more than 1 million kilowatt hours.

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