By David Benoit
Special to the Reporter

While world leaders converged in Bali to discuss a new set of regulations and promises on making the environment last a bit longer, the Commonwealth was recognizing some of the people right here in Dorchester who play a hand in making Boston's environment a bit cleaner.

The Ashmont Grill, after all, turns the grease from their fries into bio-fuel. It utilizes local agriculture and farms for as much of its produce as it can, and tries to be as green as possible. Team these eco-friendly measures with over forty new jobs and a location easily accessed by public transportation, and you get a description of the highly sought Sustainable Business.

That is why Ashmont Grill and owner-chef Chris Douglass were awarded the state's Smart Growth/Smart Energy Award at the Fifth Annual Massachusetts Smart Growth/Smart Energy Conference. Douglass' restaurant was one of five recipients of the award, which is given to companies that work hard at building sustainable businesses for their communities. Douglass said the award was a nice recognition for the business, but that it also helped him see that more could be done.

"I'm grateful for it and it's also humbling in a way and it makes us look at our programs and ask if there is more to do," Douglass said. "If I am going to be held up, I want to make sure I am worthy of this award."

He said the first of the year will bring some new changes to the restaurant, but he is also looking into the feasibility of a green roof, and solar energy. Douglass has already taken many steps to being a leader in green building in the city, so much so that he was also recognized in the spring by the Mayor with an inaugural Green Award. When he renovated his building, the hardwood was all recycled wood, and as little impact as possible was made on the environment. One of his initial moves was to contact the Green Grease Monkeys, a unique outfit in Jamaica Plain, about the oil used to make his French fries.

"We call them and they come and take [the oil] and convert it," he said. "And they just do a fine filtering, I think, and they have a business of converting diesel cars and other diesel trucks to burn on this grease. So they go down the street smelling like French fries."

Along with the grease, Douglas was also recognized for his use of local produce and agriculture. During the growing season in Boston, the Ashmont Grill largely bases its menu off of the goods they can purchase from local organic farmers, reducing the cost of transportation, and contributing to the local economy.

"It's a little bit of a curse because it costs me some money, but it's something I feel strong enough about to support the local economy," he said, though it has its benefits for him as well. "I also think the flavor and getting the local produce and cooking seasonally, its just the way that I like to cook, the flavor is better."

Jim Hunt, the City's Chief of Environmental and Energy Services, praised The Ashmont Grill as an example for how to build a business in the city.

"They're a model not only of sustainable development but a sustainable business," Hunt said. "In addition to the renovation, they are sustainable in their operation. They are helping to add to the vibrancy of the neighborhood with new jobs and using local food."

Hunt also recently accepted an award on behalf of the city from the Commonwealth for its leadership in helping to shape the future of green development, particularly in being the first city in the country to implement green building zoning codes. Hunt believes the small efforts like the Ashmont Grill may, in the long run, be just as important as the worldwide conferences in places like Bali.

"I think cities have stepped into what we felt was a leadership vacuum on the national level and on the state level, though Governor Patrick has been doing a good job making changes and progress," Hunt said. "Really it is going to take local solutions, we have local impacts to make the changes."