La Luna bistro

Adrian Richardson is Head Chef and owner of the highly acclaimed La Luna bistro in Melbourne. Its specialties, including house-made pasta and gnocchi, seafood and specialty breed meat from local producers, bring in a regular and loyal clientele.

“It began a few years ago when we were renovating and refitting the restaurant. The team here were really into the idea of sustainability: a couple actually study environmental science. So together with the architect and builder we got in touch with Sustainability Victoria.

It’s amazing when you start to list the things you want to do just how many can actually be done. We recycled light fittings and wood, used low-toxic paints, chose extremely long lasting and recyclable flooring - we also decided to go with green energy.

“GreenPower seemed to be the best for us so we got straight onto the phone. And that was it. No trouble. No drama. It was as easy as making a vegemite sandwich. We even changed our home over.

“When we received the GreenPower sticker we all agreed to put it on the window to let people know we’re using it. It’s a nice little thing for people to see as they walk past. Maybe other restaurateurs will even see it and think, hey, we can operate on green power.

“Another thing we’re pretty happy about is the curbside plots outside the restaurant. We asked the council if we could take them over and now we have fresh herbs, chillies and vegetables growing right outside our door. We use recycled water from the restaurant and our old flower arrangements as mulch, so it’s all developing quite organically.

“We’re also lucky that the team are pretty environmentally aware and take care to use energy efficiently, so appliances aren’t left running unnecessarily, for example. The fact that we’re trying to operate in a more sustainable way is one of the things that makes the staff proud to work here.

“The next thing we want to aim for is a low to zero carbon footprint. I know it can’t happen yet. But that’s the plan and even if we only achieve a part of it, we’re heading in the right direction.

“Having kids really makes you think about what you’re doing. I’d like to be able to do my bit for them.”