Darden Restaurants headquarters awarded LEED Gold

Orlando, Fla. Darden Restaurants said that its new corporate headquarters building in Orlando, Fla., has been officially awarded LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold certification for New Construction from the United States Green Building Council. The 469,000-sq.-ft. facility, which opened in September, is the largest LEED Gold NC building in Florida.

Darden has undertaken a number of initiatives as part of its sustainability efforts, including:

• Setting goals to reduce per-restaurant energy and water use by 15% by 2015 and, long term, to send zero waste to landfills;

• Creating Green Teams in each of its 1,800 restaurants that focus on implementing programs aimed at reducing waste and energy and water usage; and

• Using LEED standards in its restaurant design process for all new restaurants and, where feasible, restaurant remodels.