EVOS: Sustainability Never Tasted So Good!

by Alison Lueders, Great Green Editing

This week we begin a series of posts to highlight and acknowledge companies who’ve earned the City of Tampa’s Green Business Designation. To earn this designation, companies undergo a rigorous evaluation of their business operations, including practices around solid waste, water, energy and more.

When the evaluation is complete, companies receive a Bronze, Silver or Gold rating that lasts for 3 years (although annual updates to metrics are required.) Companies also receive a Green Business certificate to display at their business location and a listing on the City of Tampa’s website for green businesses.

Today’s company is EVOS.

EVOS Logo

 

EVOS is a restaurant brand offering much healthier versions of those American classics – burgers, fries, shakes and wraps. Founded in 1994, the restaurant’s central focus has always been to provide full-flavored food without the guilt or after-effects of these traditionally high-fat, high-calorie choices.

They do it by offering:

  • fresh, organic ingredients from local sources where possible
  • humanely raised, hormone- and antibiotic-free beef and all natural chicken
  • airbaked fries that are made without oil

But the food is just the beginning. Each restaurant incorporates sustainable practices wherever you turn. The building materials include eco-friendly flooring, recycled wood panels and zero VOC (volatile organic compounds) paints. Guest menus are printed on recycled paper with soy vs. petroleum-based ink. Food takeout bags are made of bio-degradable plastic. The list goes on.

EVOS earned the Green Business designation in 2011. Like many businesses, it’s a challenge to be completely sustainable in every way. So EVOS also offsets part of each restaurant’s energy usage with renewable wind energy. As Found Michael Jeffers says, “Being good stewards of the planet and the communities we operate within is simply part of the company’s DNA.”

And what does the future hold for EVOS? First, growth! Three new locations are coming in 2013 – EVOS Carrollwood (Tampa), EVOS Plantation (Broward) and EVOS Doral (Miami-Dade). Second, continued innovation. EVOS will be pushing the sustainability envelope, looking for more green/recycled materials to use in building its restaurants, increasing the amount of “Made in America” furniture, fixtures and equipment, and sourcing more sustainable packaging and energy efficient fixtures and equipment.

EVOS is a great example of a successful company on a journey of continuous improvement with regards to sustainable business practices. I, for one, will be counting the days until the Carrollwood location opens. I plan to be a regular.

For more information about the Green Business Designation Program, contact Janet Harrison at 813-470-5055.