Fall River Restaurant lauded for efficiency

Peter Love, Ontario's Chief Energy Conservation Officer, visited the restaurant and presented a Certificate of Recognition for Energy Conservation to owners Paul and Michele Zammit. The certificate is for: "Â…serving up a delicious platter of energy efficiency, combined with renewable construction materials and reduced greenhouse gas emissions, served with locally-grown organic food, proving that a culture of conservation can dress up your table and increase your profitsÂ….

"It's always exciting to see such commitment and initiative from entrepreneurs like Paul and Michele," said Mr. Love. "Green business is the future, economically, socially and environmentally and the owners of Fall River are to be congratulated for their efforts and for demonstrating what can be accomplished."

People are paying attention to the Fall River Restaurant. For the last four years, it has been listed in Where to Eat in Canada, and last June the Ottawa Citizen named it the "Greenest Restaurant in Canada".

The Zammits have made extensive improvements aimed at reducing their business' carbon footprint. These included: capturing kitchen heat to pre-heat hot water, burning used vegetable oil for space heating, insulating with straw bales and installing LED lights where possible. The single largest difference, according to the Zammits, is attributable to updating their fridge and freezer compressors to maximize energy efficiency.

"It's great to have our efforts, and the work of our trades people, recognized," said Paul Zammit. "We hope that other businesses see us as proof that environmentally sustainable practices are also economically sustainable."

The Zammits are planning to install even more eco-friendly innovations in the future. An old fashioned ice-house, which could cut the restaurant's $2,000 electricity bill by a third, is in the works. Solar panels, for water and space heating, will be installed by the end of this year and make use of an existing cistern. The Zammits are also assessing the feasibility of a renewable energy system installation, which could result in excess power being sent back onto the electricity grid.