Walls made of wheat?

Pedal-powered delivery rickshaws? Uniforms made from recycled vintage clothing? As a concept, sustainability covers a great deal of territory. It includes sourcing ingredients locally. It means using biodegradable, recycled and recyclable materials for purposes ranging from building improvements to product packaging to staff uniforms. Purchasing and maintaining energy-efficient equipment helps, as does seeking out renewable energy options and reducing waste.

Though the task of going green may seem daunting, bakery operators throughout the country are finding that strides toward sustainability are good for their bottom line, as well as for the environment. In the 2009 Conscious Consumer Report: Redefining Value in a New Economy, published by national research firm BBMG, seven out of 10 consumers said they consider it important to purchase products with social and environmental benefits. More importantly, despite the economy, more than half said they would put their money where their convictions are by paying more for green products.

In the same report, seven out of 10 consumers agreed they avoid purchasing from companies whose practices they disagree with. About half tell others to shop for (55 percent) or avoid (48 percent) products based on a company's social and environmental practices.

When many people hear the word “sustainability,” they automatically think of ingredient sourcing. Maury Rubin, owner of New York's The City Bakery and two Birdbath Bakeries, opened in 1990, 2005 and 2009, respectively, agrees that sourcing is the “ground zero” of sustainability.

Although The City Bakery has always been green, with particular attention to the sourcing and pedigree of raw, organic ingredients, Rubin makes it a point to procure as much of his produce and flour as he can from nearby farms and mills that are at least east of the Mississippi. “Instead of schlepping a ton of flour 3,000 miles cross-country once a week, we were able to immediately reduce our carbon footprint on the largest volume item we purchase,” he says.

Customers at The City and Birdbath Bakeries also have come to understand — and even appreciate — the fact that if they want their favorite strawberry tart, they have to wait until the fruit is in season locally.

Recycling shed at Bernice’s Bakery.

At Monica's Waterfront Bakery & Café in Olalla, Wash., owner Monica Downen freezes local seasonal produce for year-round use. “But when the summer's blueberries are gone,” she says, “they're gone until next summer. Locally grown fruit not only tastes better, but it saves us money. Our customers also save money because we don't have to price our products to cover the costs of importing fruit.”

Michelle and Vinny Garcia, owners of two Bleeding Heart Bakery locations and one Smash Cake unit, all in Chicago, offer pastries made with house-made jams to satisfy their customers' off-season strawberry cravings. Michelle uses Twitter to keep customers apprised of limited edition items made from small quantities of fruit. “For instance, if a local farmer brings us only a pound of really cool currants,” she says, “Twitter lets us advertise that it's here, but it won't be here for long.”

When the Garcias moved from their original farmers' market stand to a permanent location in 2006, sourcing organic and local ingredients was a laborious and expensive task.

“The most frustrating thing was not having access to bulk quantities of the ingredients we needed, so we ended up paying retail prices for everything,” Garcia says. “Now that a growing number of restaurants are moving toward sustainable foods, we are able to get many of the ingredients we need in bulk at wholesale prices.”

But operators agree that committing to sustainability still isn't always easy or cheap. Garcia points out that many ingredient costs can be twice as high, and she has to make sure she has two backup suppliers for every product. However, she is able to maintain a 30 percent product mark-up without placing a financial burden on her customers.

For Downen, buying locally milled flour is a priority, even though it costs an extra $4 per bag. Instead of raising her retail prices, she makes up the difference in other ways. “Maybe we'll buy less advertising to balance out our budget,” she says.

Eric Lester, president, Pearl Bakery, Portland, Ore., also refuses to nickel and dime his customers to offset the higher prices of local produce, flour and dairy products. Instead, he uses a specialized accounting system that instantly tracks expenses, allowing him to adjust internal efficiencies to maintain his bakery's profitability.

Birdbath Bakery’s pedal-powered cargo rickshaw.

“I haven't had to raise my prices since the summer of 2008 when a bag of flour was about $30,” Lester says.

In addition to maintaining relationships with nearby ingredient suppliers, he tries to do business with local distributors as well.

“We have three criteria for our partners: Do they have products we need that meet our quality standards?Are the products sourced locally? And do the suppliers themselves follow sustainable practices?” Lester asks. “I even use a local CPA firm that files electronically to save on wasted paper.”

But not all products have to be local to be sustainable. While Liliana Valle and Randy Delgado, owners of North Carolina start-up wholesale bakery Mistti Cookie Co., source their flour and any other ingredients they can locally, they had to go to South America to get their organic chocolate. But, says Valle, the chocolate must be Fair Trade grown under sustainable conditions.

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