Recently in Consulting Category

I read a line in a blog by Kwande Kefentse (CreativeClass.com) that stunned me... "cultural mapping and planning is one of the most important tools for creating prosperity out of space."

What does that really mean? That blog didn't have much further to say about "cultural mapping" so I went to the Internet.

Cultural mapping has been recognized by UNESCO as a crucial tool and technique in preserving the world's intangible and tangible cultural assets. ... www.unescobkk.org/culture/cltmapping

Cultural Mapping
In simple terms cultural mapping is a treasure hunt, or an asset audit, of a cultural entity, to find cultural capital. For more explanation. ...www.culturalmapping.com/

Cultural Mapping
Presentation delivered by Sam Coghlan, Chief Executive Officer, Stratford Public Library, Municipal Cultural Planning Pa. www.slideshare.net/erobson/cultural-mapping

The blog, www.culturalmapping.com/ seems to address this topic in the most depth.

"Your cultural capital is your strength - find it - use it - and prosper!"

In summary - cultural mapping is the process of identifying, recording, and investigating cultural assets, your strengths - that are either tangible or intangible and that make up the elements of that culture. These assets could be organisational, human, social, tribal, corporate, natural or built environments.

Cultural mapping is a participatory action method facilitated to identify your strengths, greatly enhanced through the use of our Cultural Mapping Software.

Cultural Mapping is an opportunity for organisations and individuals to collaborate, build relationships and map their history for sustainable success. To assist in creating tools to help understand each others value in working together, to create better [ valuable ] outcomes - With two way respect and understanding it is always a win/win situation. Creating less risk to the projects investment.

Founded by Jennifer Joi Field in 2006, Cultural Mapping was established in Australia as an independent socially responsible venture to provide clients with a way to identify and make the most of their strengths with a focus on: Creating joint value and Linking cultural development methodology with social entrepreneurship goals.

In the past Cultural Mapping has been used as a technique by some professionals in the 'Community Development' sector as a way of 'Mapping' community assets. How it was undertaken was largely dependent on who was doing it and why, most commonly it was used as a tool to identify the resources of communities and was referred to as 'Community Mapping'.

If one were to ask what is Cultural Mapping we would firstly have to say that it involves mapping the Culture of who or what you are, be it a tribe, organisation, community, group, school, association, business or an individual - to find your unique assets or strengths. Culture can in this case be defined as your intellectual property, your special way of being or doing, the purpose of your existence, the business you are in (or would like to be) or the special story that you alone have to tell.

Restaurants face specific challenges for sustainability, similar  to those faced by supermarkets -- food must be preserved at both facilities, limiting the ability to reduce refrigeration, and limiting the choice of certain materials in food preparation areas.  Green is definitely in the details!

The use of efficient equipment and on-site renewable energy can result in the savings of up to 15% of the total bill.  Check with your local utility company for rebates, incentives, and test kitchens that allow you to test new equipment  choices...and even recipe refinements.

Lighting accounts for 13% of a restaurant's electricity. A shift to energy efficient lighting can save 70% to 75% of that cost, reducing the total bill by 8%.  Solar light tubes, natural lighting, CFLs and LED lights are some of the options that reduce electricity use.

LED lights in 24/7 locations can be quite cost effective:  consider signage and exit signs! The cost of LED lighting systems are coming down fast.  Their cost effectiveness needs to be monitored for ROI and practical investment for savings as energy costs rise. 

More sophisticated technology can allow a restaurant to convert its waste oil into biofuels to generate power for delivery vehicles or electricity, or uploading into the grid for electricity savings.

Water-conservation measures such as waterless urinals and water-conserving spray nozzles also can help reduce the average restaurant water use that averages 300,000 gallons of water per year.

Health codes can prevent the installation of compact fluorescent bulbs above food preparation areas, but can make a significant difference elsewhere.

Consultants and small businesses that can audit green opportunities and provide connections with qualified installation firms can help these businesses save energy, save money, and provide their customers with more sustainable community services.

All is a day's work and a  satisfying career. 

According to the National Restaurant Association's 2009 forecast, approximately four in 10 full-service restaurant operators and almost three in 10 quick-service operators plan to devote more of their budgets to green initiatives.

New guidelines for going greener are available through the Green Restaurant Association, which has published Certified Green Restaurants 4.0 standards.

"Diners are increasingly environment-savvy," says Michael Oshman, executive director of the Green Restaurant Assoc.--which has been promoting sustainable restaurants since 1990. "Interest has spiked in the last year to 18 months, and businesses are responding." Calls asking for the GRA's consulting services have tripled in the last two years, he noted.

The new Green Restaurant standards allocate points for various categories, including

• energy use reduction
• water conservation
• waste reduction
• disposables
• chemical and pollution reduction
• sustainable food from local and organic sources
• sustainable furnishings that use recycled content or sustainable materials
• sustainable building materials

Newly built restaurants must accumulate 205 points via a specific matrix to achieve a Certified Green Restaurant Sustainabuild designation, as well as conduct a full-scale recycling program--including construction materials--and be free of Styrofoam and other polystyrene foams.

Restaurant chains, including Subway, McDonalds, Chipotle and Dunkin Donuts have pursued USGBC-sponsored LEED certification for individual units, through the Core-and-Shell or retail designations.

A member of the US Green Building Council since 2007--and a member of the LEED for Retail pilot program--McDonalds opened its first LEED-certified unit in 2005 at Abercorn Commons--the US' first LEED-certified shopping center--in Savannah, GA.

McDonalds' green program covers a wide variety of operational improvement programs including 

• high-efficiency rooftop mechanical equipment and boilers
• efficient interior lighting with skylights and daylight controls
• water-saving plumbing fixtures
• green roof
• stormwater management with permeable parking lot pavement and rain gardens
• LED exterior signage
• green power purchased through renewable energy credits

Many of these green stratgies can be scaled for small restaurants -- and many communities offer special programs to assist independent restaurants afford energy conservation.  The community benefits by reducing the peak energy load during heavy usage seasons and times of day, and restaurants can significantly reduce their energy costs.