Tuesday, April 22, 2008—Austin, Texas—In conjunction with Earth Day, Catering by Rosemary proudly announced today the launching of its green division, now offering the Austin community the ability to host environmentally-friendly events, with the same individualized full-service care, uncompromised quality, and memory-making aesthetics as the company has been providing Central Texas for over  60 years.

Whether planning a lavish wedding or laid-back office party, Catering by Rosemary will work with each customer who requests an environmentally-friendly event to develop a menu of local, organic food, and research the best options for making the event as green as possible, from dishware to décor.

 “It’s our responsibility to do this for the community, and our world,” says Malla Laborde, general manager and chef at the café inside The Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum – one of Catering by Rosemary’s four Austin venues.

By using fresh local produce, the company can decrease the energy used in transportation; organic livestock means no potentially harmful hormones and antibiotics; and using china or disposable dishes that are more decomposable saves resources that would otherwise add to the landfill, where forgotten until we can no longer ignore its harmful effects, says Laborde.

Having worked at Whole Foods for two years and witnessing the benefits of exercising a green program, Laborde decided last year to begin researching how to make The Story of Texas Café more environmentally friendly. “I wanted to decrease our landfill contribution in the café. I knew it would take work, but we had to try. We all live in this world together.”

Through research and dedication, Catering by Rosemary now offers its ECO conscious perspective to the community at large. Its green division, which began this year and is picking up speed, inspires the realistic ideal that environmentally-friendly events of all kinds are not only possible, but easy…not to mention impressive.

Since last year, Laborde has also been applying research on going green to the museum café, and today the back of the café is 90 percent landfill free. Twice a week, a farmer who gave the café a 50-pound trash receptacle for free comes by and loads his truck full of the restaurant’s compost, consisting of vegetable trimmings that would otherwise land in the garbage. The farmer gets free feed for his pigs and goats, and in turn the café’s dumpster no longer smells. An organization picks up the café’s fry oil to use for bio-diesel, a much less polluting alternative to gasoline for automobiles. Recycling bins now separate the café’s bottles, sparing the landfill their indecomposable weight. The process of becoming environmentally friendly has taken time, help, and adjustments in routine, but Laborde says it has been much easier and cheaper than she had anticipated.

The more people take steps toward being more environmentally friendly, the easier and cheaper it will be for others to do the same as the momentum picks up. “The price of supplies will decrease as demand increases, and demand is going up,” said Pam Korte, vice president Austin region.

The next step – slated to be functioning by June – is making the front of the café green as well, where much of the initiative’s fate would rest in the hands of the customers. Therefore, Laborde realizes the necessity of providing the public with information on how and why to participate, by separating their garbage into the appropriately labeled bins. It’s a simple role, yes, but she understands it takes knowledge to inspire the habit. Catering by Rosemary is working to print information pamphlets about their efforts that will be available to customers, so that they will not only understand the process, but eagerly join in.

“Customers are eventually going to expect recycling programs wherever they go,” Laborde projects. She believes that eventually, all catering companies and restaurants will have to start offering green options as more people become witness to and active participants in their rewards.