Celebrating Earth Month: RPM Restaurants’ Commitment to Sustainability

At RPM Restaurants, sustainability isn’t just an empty phrase, it’s a core value shared among all of us. This Earth Month, we’re proud to highlight the ways we’re actively minimizing our environmental footprint throughout the Chicagoland area.

Our journey took a meaningful leap in late 2023 when we teamed up with the Chicago-based WasteNot Compost. Together, we’ve implemented a comprehensive composting program across all RPM Restaurants in Chicago, ensuring that all glass and cardboard is recycled, and all food waste is composted, significantly reducing landfill waste. 

Diverting food waste from landfills helps reduce methane emissions, a potent greenhouse gas released as organic matter decomposes. Composting not only minimizes this impact but also sequesters carbon and replenishes the soil with essential nutrients. This enriched soil supports healthier crop growth while decreasing reliance on synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, which can be harmful to the environment. By closing the loop through composting, we create a more sustainable food system, one that nurtures both the earth and future harvests.

Our dedicated Managing Partner, Kelly Clancy, emphasizes that “We have to take part in making a difference,” and that’s exactly what we’re doing. Under her leadership, our beverage program has become 100% recyclable, diverting over 300 pounds of glass from the landfill already.

Watch our feature on CBS News Chicago. 

Thanks to WasteNot Compost’s partnership, we’ve prevented thousands of pounds of food waste from ending up in landfills in just one year alone. It’s part of our larger vision: cooking without waste, composting thoughtfully, and achieving as close to zero waste as possible. With a focus on top-quality sourcing, the RPM Chef Team strives to use every part of what enters the kitchen by creatively repurposing ingredients, keeping food waste to a minimum. 

Read more about our WasteNot partnership.

Our Sustainable Partners

Our Executive Chef Partner, Bob Broskey, is committed to providing guests at RPM with sustainably sourced ingredients. This dedication is why partnerships with purveyors like Dayboat Fresh and Westholme Wagyu are so important to us.

Sue Buxton of Dayboat Fresh produces high-quality scallops by collaborating closely with local fishermen to maintain sustainable practices. By exclusively utilizing day boats instead of vessels that embark on long-term fishing trips, Dayboat Fresh significantly reduces their environmental impact and delivers an even fresher product. 

Watch RPM’s Executive Chef, Michael Cote, journey to Dayboat Fresh of Deer Isle, Maine.

Westholme Wagyu embraces a nature-led approach rooted in a simple yet powerful philosophy: “If we take care of the land, the rest will take care of itself.” Their cattle-rearing practices honor both the animals and the ecosystem, ensuring a more sustainable balance. With a diet of grasses, native shrubs, and a proprietary grain mixture—plus a life of movement rather than confinement—Westholme cattle are raised with care, resulting in healthier land and a more flavorful end product.

Follow Executive Chef Parter Bob Broskey as he explores the Westholme Rangelands of Northern Australia.

 

RPM’s Continued Commitment to Sustainability

But this is just the beginning. With each small step, RPM Restaurants are striving towards a sustainable future. Through the leadership of Clancy and Broskey, we aim to expand these impactful composting practices and more sustainability initiatives across Lettuce Entertain You restaurants nationwide.

Join us in celebrating Earth Month and our shared commitment to taking better care of the environment, one compost bin, recycled glass bottle, and sustainable choice at a time.