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Local store first to be green certified in Canada
by Rosalyn StevensMichael and Janet Kaplan have always done their part for the environment. In 1978, the pair opened Rainbow Natural Foods, one of the few stores in Ottawa to sell organic foods and supplements for healthy living.
They promoted environmentally sensible lifestyles and worked to decrease their footprint on the planet. Today, their hard work has paid off.
Rainbow Natural Foods became the first health food store in Canada to be Green Business certified, through the standards set by the Green Business League.
"It's nice to be recognized for the stuff that we've done," Mr. Kaplan said.
The certification was handed out by Carole Lair, president of Greenvolution, a certification company in Ottawa. In order to qualify, businesses must achieve a score based on environmentally friendly practices. In many cases, Ms. Lair said, business owners must make several changes to reach the required score the Kaplans hit the mark without any new work.
The store has always had a bike rack for employees and customers and has encouraged customers to use their own shopping bags by offering a discount to those who do. Today, the store charges for plastic bags and donates the proceeds to charity.
While changes to the building itself are not feasible, as the store is a tenant in the Britannia Plaza, interior work is underway. As the store expands green material much of it recycled is in use. New energy efficient lighting will be installed and the walls will be coated with low-vapor paints. Floors are cleaned with a homemade solution.
Ms. Lair said the certification process begins with an audit of existing practices and identifies areas for the business owners to improve. While the Kaplans' store met the qualifications for silver certification, they were also given opportunities to improve.
"The (items) that we really look at are waste and water reduction ... the products they're using and the toxicity of the store," Ms. Lair said. "We look at all the practices and the pollution as well."
Ms. Kaplan said the list of potential improvements is somewhat daunting, but added that they would work to achieve what they can. Ms. Lair said the process is far from complete once certification is given, noting that the groundwork for additional improvements exists with certified businesses more than uncertified. While this is the first health food store in Canada to reach the accreditation level, Ms. Lair said internationally businesses are doing their part.
"We have 261 (certification) colleagues in the (United States)," she explained, "and as you know, the States and Europe are way ahead of us (in Canada)."
She said she would maintain a relationship with the Kaplans to assist with further improvements and offer advice as needed to the business owners.
Mr. Kaplan said that while him and his partner have been working to promote organic foods and environmentally sensitive living, it was not an easy sell in the beginning. Today, he said even the larger stores are jumping on the bandwagon. He credits the awakening of environmental responsibility for the societal shift and added that the idea of genetically modified foods potentially steered consumers back to the natural side of food.
"It was somewhat satisfying to see some of the big guys do it," he noted. "Everybody should be a natural food store. There shouldn't be an unnatural food store."
Rainbow Foods is located at 1487 Richmond Rd.
Source: EMC Ottawa West
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