On Dec. 9, the Los Angeles City Council approved moving forward with the Los Angeles Certified Green Business Program. The Los Angeles Community College District (LACCD) was announced as the leader for the new city program at a news conference at Ciudad restaurant today. The District will be joined by Green Seal Inc., the L.A. Area Chamber of Commerce, Green Globe and DineL.A./L.A. Inc. (The Los Angeles Convention and Visitors Bureau) in its work on the program.

Green Seal will use its restaurant standard GS-46 to certify restaurants and coordinate with the District on the Los Angeles Green Lodging Program GS-33 (run by Green Seal and LA Inc. in cooperation with the city).

Green Seal's Environmental Standard for Restaurants and Foodservices GS-46 is a result of extensive research in all areas of a restaurant's environmental impacts, with input from over one hundred stakeholders. Based on life-cycle research, the standard involves comprehensive evaluation of the sources of environmental impacts, including food selection, energy, water use, and waste.

The leadership standard for lodging properties GS-33 requires hotels to demonstrate sustainable business practices in the areas of waste minimization and reduction, recycling, energy efficiency, water conservation, indoor air quality and environmentally sensitive purchasing.

For more information, visit www.GreenSeal.org.