At Standing Stone, efforts to operate our restaurant and brewery sustainably are an important dimension of our commitment to the health of our community. Because of energy-saving improvements we have made to the restaurant and brewery facilities, the Oregon Department of Energy has called Standing Stone a leader in restaurant energy conservation.

We continually look for ways to reduce our natural resource consumption and meet our long-term goal of operating with zero net energy use. We are now working with SOLARC Architecture and Engineering, Inc. to further reduce our energy demand and generate renewable energy on-site. Engineers are now designing the first two of seven recommended improvements, which will cut our natural gas use by approximately 40 percent. By Winter 2007, we hope to fully implement their recommendations and reduce our energy demand by 60 percent.

We also have hired the company’s first Environmental Sustainability Coordinator. The coordinator, Ashland resident Risa Buck, is examining our operating practices, including chemical use and waste management, and finding more sustainable alternatives.

Standing Stone has been featured in several articles about sustainability: Beverage World's "Solve the Energy Efficiency Equation", the Ashland Daily Tidings, and an Oregon Department of Energy case study Environmental Design + Construction (pdf).