Atlanta Goes Green And So Does MLA

All week we've been telling you about great Atlanta restaurants doing their part to go green. We here at MLA are also striving to go green. We’re picky when it comes to food, but not about recycling. Clean plate club members that we are, we recycle it all: paper, cardboard, plastic, grocery bags and glass. We’re fortunate that our building offers paper recycling, and our office manager takes everything else to the recycling center once a month. We take our own bags when we shop for home or office. More MLA must-do’s include telecommuting, using rechargeable batteries and eco-friendly light bulbs, and turning off the lights and unplugging electronic “suckers” when we’re not using them. Every little bit helps! Is your workplace making green changes too?

Atlanta Goes Green: El Taco Serves Sustainability With Its Salsa

Fifth Group Restaurants opened The Original El Taco in October with a commitment to providing a fun, community cantina and a heaping helping of sustainability. One way El Taco has been green from the start is through its partnering with Renewable Choice Energy to purchase renewable energy credits (RECs) that will offset 100 percent of the Tex-Mex cantina’s electric energy consumption.

RECs are produced by wind farms, biomass facilities and other clean, renewable energy sources. Those purchased for El Taco are equivalent to planting 1,038 mature trees, not driving 257,444 miles a year in an average car or taking 21 cars off the road for one year. The eatery is also offsetting the emissions that are produced by heating the building with natural gas. A commitment that helps save natural resources, supports farmers and ranchers who make money by leasing their land, reduces CO2 emissions for cleaner air, and increases the demand for new REC projects while reducing our dependence on fossil fuels and generating awareness for clean technology projects. Now that is something I can eat to.

The Original El Taco: 1186 North Highland Avenue, NE; 404-873-4656.