Commercial Kitchens Guide

March 20, 2017

AWE’s Commercial Kitchens Water Use Efficiency and Best Practices Guide will help improve water efficiency in commercial kitchen operations. Unlike other commercial efficiency resources which are designed for planners and utility staff, this guide is specifically designed for members of the commercial kitchens, food service, and hospitality industries. It covers day-to-day best practices, case study summaries, and strategies for efficient management of the most common high-use equipment. The guide also includes specially developed elements that aim to encourage continued action among commercial kitchen industry users, and between industry users and water utilities. Among them is an Action Plan document that readers can use to help guide them in making decisions about the equipment in their kitchen, as well as an overview of the Region of Waterloo’s Restaurant Certification Program and the East Bay Municipal Utility District’s Water Smart Certification Program and East Bay Municipal Utility District's Water Smart Certification Program.

The Guide is concise and straightforward in its design, specifically made for busy commercial kitchen industry professionals. At less than 50 pages, it remains a comprehensive resource full of easily digestible information and graphic representations to help a commercial kitchen manager make more water-efficient decisions. Written with the perspective of efficient business management in mind, the Guide walks readers through the critical steps that lead to water efficiency and that make sound business sense. It begins with tracking water use and performing a use assessment to determine areas of improvement within the kitchen. Then it moves on to how-to's for making quick and easy changes, and then on to offering tips about optimizing large-scale equipment such as Dipper Wells and Combination Ovens, while efficiently using water. Water, energy and monetary savings are included in the case studies which cover the iScoopShower Dipper Well, the ENERGY STAR® boiler-based steamer, and the ENERGY STAR® high-temp heat-recovery dish machine. 

The Guide was prepared by the Alliance for Water Efficiency for its membership, working with the following project team partners:

  • Fisher-Nickel, Inc.
  • Metropolitan Water District of Southern California
  • East Bay Municipal Utility District
  • Region of Waterloo
  • AIQUEOUS, LLC

Member-Only Benefit

The Commercial Kitchens Water Use Efficiency and Best Practice Guide is available in U.S. and Canadian versions, and is a member-only benefit. Click here to request your copy today

AWE Members: Hardcopies are available for distribution to restaurants in your service area. Order copies of the guide at $6 apiece, with a discount of 20% for orders of 25 or more copies. Click here to email the AWE team to learn more.