Globe model placed on plate with fork spoon for service


The Green Restaurant Association (GRA), a national non-profit organization that demarcates official Certified Green Restaurants, announces the winners of the 2026 Green Restaurant Award. These facilities support sustainability initiatives that aim for both conservation and cleanliness.

To measure the efficacy of environmental efforts, organizations are measured alongside eight categories: energy, water, waste, chemicals and pollution, food, and building and furnishing. For each element implemented within a category, Green Points can be obtained. The cumulation of these points demonstrates foundational steps toward eco-friendly operations.

One notable recipient, Carvers’ Cafe at Mt. Rushmore by Xanterra Travel Collection, received the 2026 Greenest Restaurant Award for earning the highest number of GreenPoints—477.65. The implementation of on-site solar panels (generating over 55 percent of its energy use), back-of-house compositing, and other innovations is what ultimately sets Carvers’ Cafe apart from its competition.

Additional winners are as follows:

Greenest Caterer: Gilded Tomato Company, Rehoboth, Massachusetts

Greenest Airport Contractor: SSP America, Ashburn, Virginia

Greenest Food Contractor: Compass Group USA, Charlotte

Greenest Small Chain: Barcade, New York

Greenest University: Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts

Greenest University Restaurant: Connecticut Hall at University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut

Greenest Independent Restaurant: Maine Beer Company Tasting Room, Freeport, Maine

Greenest NYC Restaurant: Well& By Durst, New York

Greenest Zoo Restaurant: Komodo Kingdom Cafe at Akron Zoo, Akron, Ohio

Greenest National Park Restaurant: Carvers’ Cafe at Mt. Rushmore, Keystone, South Dakota

Greenest Corporate Cafeteria: Mars Wrigley GIC – Better Moments Cafe, Chicago

Greenest K-12 School: Westtown School Dining Room, West Chester, Pennsylvania

Greenest K-12 Contractor: Filk Hospitality, Port Chester, New York

Reusables & Green Disposables Award: Broadhead Dining Hall at Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania

Energy Conservation & Renewable Energy Award: Carvers’ Cafe at Mt. Rushmore, Keystone, South Dakota

Chemical & Pollution Reduction Award: Putnam Dining at UConn, Storrs, Connecticut

Waste Reduction Award: Cougar Woods Dining Commons at University of Houston, Houston

Water Conservation Award: Connecticut Hall at University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut

Most Innovative Restaurant: Engrained at Loyola University Chicago, Chicago

Learn more about the sustainability strategies employed by these organizations that utilize green products and eco-friendly practices here.