CRAFT Beer Market, Toronto ON — Level 1 LEAF Certification
Before we dive deeper into what makes this evaluation version so exciting, let’s understand how a LEAF Evaluation works:
LEAF Evaluations comprise a set of comprehensive and holistic questions that assess the sustainability of a foodservice provider — whether they are restaurants (independent, franchise or chain), public or private institutional foodservice providers, cafés, food trucks or catering services. We also recognize that as a result of the pandemic, foodservice providers are taking new shapes and forms, and thus have created the space for them (i.e. take-out only establishments).
The evaluation questions encompass ten categories, from food sourcing to supplies, energy and water usage to building design, chemicals to furnishing and decor, waste and recycling to employee well-being and policy. Based on an establishment’s score, it would be awarded a LEAF Certification level ranging from Level 1 to Level 3, with Level 3 certifications being the highest. Once an establishment receives their certification, they can then proudly show the world their badge of sustainability and join our list of Green Restaurants in Canada!
Compared to the previous version (4.2) introduced in late 2019, the LEAF Evaluation 5.0 has many exciting key developments that have resulted from dozens of hours of discussion, assessing each question with thoughtfulness, intention and critical thinking.
Below are some of the new changes to come in Version 5.0:
New medium of evaluation
The evaluation system will transition from simply being a spreadsheet-based inputting format to also include other technologies. Our new inputting medium is more user-friendly and more streamlined for data input, collection, and analysis. In the future, we hope to develop and move into a LEAF-specific evaluation software — leveraging the synergy of spreadsheets and automation marks the first step of that bigger picture!
Elimination of evaluator’s discretion
Although each LEAF evaluation is performed by LEAF Accredited Consultants that are trained to ensure consistency, the new Evaluation 5.0 has eliminated all possible avenues for evaluator discretion by providing clear, specific, measurable and objective metrics that standardize the evaluation. Your establishment can get peace of mind that, regardless of the evaluator, you can count on your evaluation score to be generated in an equitable and fair manner.
Large expansion of educational section
As LEAF starts its organizational shift towards not only providing sustainability certification but also education, the LEAF Evaluation reflects this by expanding our section on training and education. It acknowledges all types of education — from passive to active, from within the establishment’s employees to educational outreach within its customer base, industry or greater community, from formal to informal training occasions. With this section, we aim to communicate the importance and often overlooked yet extensive opportunities for sustainability education within the foodservice industry. We will also be providing comprehensive educational modules on our new partner Restogreen’s platform, helping interested foodservice providers start and further their sustainable practices.
More comprehensive sections
Not only has the Education section of the LEAF Evaluation been more thoroughly-developed, each and every other section has simultaneously deepened. Gaps have been identified and filled, as well as more alternatives have been considered such as new regulations and adaptations.
Greater focus on food waste
According to Project Drawdown, a world-renowned and research-backed resource for climate change solutions, “reduced food waste” is the single most impactful solution to curb carbon emissions — reducing and/or sequestering 90.70 gigatons of CO2 within a plan to keep temperatures from rising under 2C by 2100. Reflecting this impact of food waste, there is a greater focus in the LEAF Evaluation 5.0 on this topic — hoping to not only raise more awareness on the issue, but to drive real-life action.
Increased preparedness for establishments and evaluators
We know from the back end the amount of effort, time and details that both our evaluators and the establishments need to undergo in order to complete our evaluations. This is why we have developed a new Evaluator Package that includes specific instructions, templates, and our updated Evaluation Manual that goes through each question in the evaluation in detail. We will launch a training program for all evaluators and ensure that before they visit your establishment, they are completely up to speed about how their evaluations will look like and what to prepare for.
Newly-developed scoring framework
Complementing our new evaluation system is our new scoring system and framework that has been developed based on various international sustainability standards. In order to ensure the credibility, quality and evidence-based impact of LEAF’s Certification, our evaluation scoring framework is developed around the Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) dimensions as well as the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). LEAF is committed to a constant improvement of our methodology to reduce foodservice providers’ environmental forkprint, and the measurements in this updated scoring framework are fully standardized to either measurable percentages or Yes/No questions.
More thought behind the questions: leaving no one behind
Last but most definitely not least is the holistic bigger-picture of our evaluation update. Over the past 8 months, the Evaluation Team has truly dived into the LEAF Evaluation with a critical lens -- really looking at the underlying premises behind the questions. Our new evaluation not only includes questions framed with more equity in mind, but also creates the space to recognize all levels of effort, from small baby steps to great innovative leaps. We have also added questions that allow establishments in underserved areas (i.e. rural communities) to demonstrate their commitment to sustainability in alternative ways that may otherwise be restricted to more urbanized communities. Although LEAF was founded with the mission to increase environmental sustainability, we understand that environmental sustainability is deeply intertwined with all other dimensions of sustainability and that in order to advance the UN SDG’s “Leave No One Behind” motto, we need to exemplify and reflect it within our evaluation design as well.
We know that these are not small changes, and we want to assure you that the transition will be smooth and supportive. Current members will not be affected immediately, but seeing as maintaining LEAF Certifications require regular renewal, LEAF-certified establishments should be prepared to undergo an updated evaluation process in the coming future. Indeed, LEAF evaluations are dynamic, adaptable and under constant review to communicate new regulations, innovations and best practices in the sustainable foodservice world.
