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Darden Restaurants is embarking on a sustainable design initiative across its brands, including Red Lobster, Olive Garden, and LongHorn Steakhouse. Initially, eight restaurants will be designed to LEED standards. "Our goal with this initiative is to utilize each of the eight restaurants as a learning lab," says Suk Singh, senior vice president of development. "Every restaurant we build represents a 30-year investment, so we want to build them to last. But more importantly, we want to build them in a sustainable manner from both a construction standpoint and an operational one."
The Olive Garden in Jonesboro, Arkansas, which opened in January, is the first of the restaurants to sport a sustainable design. Green features include the use of recycled building materials, increased natural light, energy-efficient equipment and fixtures, and reclaimed heat.
