Restaurant Beatrice continues to raise sustainability standards for the industry

Photo courtesy of Kate Voskova.

Chef Michelle Carpenter is continuing to set the standard when it comes to sustainability in the restaurant industry.

As owner of Restaurant Beatrice in North Oak Cliff, her business is approaching a year since becoming the first restaurant in Texas to be a Certified B Corporation. Since earning the title in October 2024, Carpenter and the staff have continued to keep up with the rigorous social and environmental standards determined by experts around the world.

Although Carpenter has not had any other restaurants reach out to join them in that certification, she said her team is here for them to help reach that achievement at more than just their restaurant.

“We’ve had to do a lot of trial and error and figure things out,” she said, “but there’s a pathway and we want to share that knowledge.”

Now the restaurant is also the first to disclose a Greenhouse Gas Inventory in the state.

Nobody had done this type of data collection previously for independent restaurants, so when working with their carbon accounting partner, North Star Carbon & Impact, Restaurant Beatrice started from the ground up to find out how to make their report.

The report details the total emissions, breaks down the emissions for purchased goods and services, outlines current emission reduction practices and shows how they intend to reduce emissions as a result of the report, according to a press release. 

From the analysis, Restaurant Beatrice plans to connect more often with their suppliers to try and find better options to meet their sustainability goals, she said.

“Based on our report, we’re going to figure out what areas we can improve on,” Carpenter said. “For instance we realized we’re using too many gloves and the emissions factor on rubber gloves is really high so that’s one area for sure that we did not know that we can make an immediate impact on.” 

The restaurant industry is most vulnerable to the effects of climate change, due to how pricing and ingredients fluctuate with natural influences. Looking at more local products can be more expensive but making those changes can better their emissions, she said.

“We really, as business owners, have to make a statement on where we stand on the environment and try to improve things and not harm the environment as much as possible,” Carpenter said.

This is something that Restaurant Beatrice prioritizes, and Carpenter said she hopes it will become more common throughout the industry.