GreenPath

As a global leader in the hospitality and entertainment industry, Delaware North is committed to sustainability and responsible stewardship. In 1990, we created GreenPath® as a dedicated, proprietary platform to help us organize and accelerate efforts throughout the company to reduce our environmental impact. 

GreenPath initiatives have saved millions of gallons of water, reduced energy consumption and diverted thousands of tons of solid waste. GreenPath has been recognized by organizations such as the U.S. National Park Service, U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Travel Association, as well as numerous airports, municipalities, and sports and entertainment venues, among others.  

We are proud of the impact that our GreenPath initiatives have made. We also recognize there is more that must be done – and more we can do, so we continue to place priority on initiatives that promote environmental sustainability and reduce our environmental impact.

Key Branches of GreenPath

Environmental Management
To minimize the impact of our operations, we establish goals and implement improvements focused on sourcing responsibly, eliminating waste, conserving water and reducing energy consumption.

We reduce the waste we send to the landfill and promote a circular economy through a number of initiatives, including recovering surplus food for donations, composting food scraps, recycling as many materials as possible, promoting reused, and integrating innovative best practices and technologies.

We strive to reduce our energy and water consumption by improving conservation and efficiency through both technical (equipment and fixtures) and behavioral change.

Community Involvement
We are committed to being an active, contributing member of every community where we do business.

We actively engage through volunteerism, philanthropy, services and events, and our associates roll up their sleeves in and around their communities, participating in events such as roadside cleanups, fund raising, electronic recycling initiatives and tree planting.

Facilities & Asset Protection
We take very seriously our role as stewards of the special places in our care – including national and state parks across the United States – and invest in projects that offer long-term value for future generations.

Healthy Living
We are committed to quality and to serving food that is safe, fresh, nutritious and sustainable, and we promote health and wellness initiatives for guests and associates throughout our operations.

Local ingredients and flavors, meaningful local partnerships, onsite gardens and diverse menu options are all part of our steadfast commitment to operating locally as a global business.

Interpretation and Education
We operate in some of the world’s most treasured locations and view communication and education as essential to raising awareness, engaging visitors and activating change. We are proud of our efforts to offer Interpretative and educational programs that offer memorable experiences and enhance guest and associate understanding of unique natural and cultural resources.

Goals & Commitments

Sourcing
We take pride in providing our guests with the highest level of food quality and nutrition. This starts with our ingredients, and we actively work to improve the sustainability and transparency of our supply chain. This includes ingredients (meat proteins, plant proteins, produce, dairy and beverages, etc.) as well as supplies (single-use disposables, cleaning chemicals, paper products, equipment, fixtures and more).

Animal Welfare
We are committed to maintaining high standards of animal welfare and work with suppliers that adhere to the highest applicable standards. We support humane practices throughout the animal lifecycle aligned with the Farm Animal Welfare Committee’s Five Freedoms: freedom from thirst, hunger and malnutrition; freedom from discomfort; freedom from pain, injury and disease; freedom to express normal behavior; and freedom from fear and distress.

Eggs
We are committed to global sourcing of 100% cage-free eggs (shell, liquid and processed) by 2025. As of September 2022, we have achieved 92% in our U.S. operations and 85% in our worldwide operations.

Unfortunately, due to an outbreak of avian influenza in the U.K in early 2023, the government has prohibited hens from being outdoors. Our U.K. operations are currently sourcing barn eggs that meet RSPCA standards, and we look forward to resuming the sourcing of free-range eggs as soon as they are available.

Broiler Chickens

In the United States and Canada, we are requesting that our chicken suppliers work towards meeting the following welfare standards by 2024:

• Improve welfare outcomes associated with fast-growing breed strains according to Global Animal Partnership (GAP) standards.
• Provide enriched environments, including natural light, hay bales, litter, perches, and lighting per GAP standards.
• Ensure maximum stocking density is equal to/less than six pounds per square foot per GAP standards.
• Render birds unconscious prior to shackling, using controlled or low-atmosphere stunning.
• Provide details on compliance by a third-party auditor.

In the United Kingdom, in 2020, we formally joined the European Chicken Commitment to expand animal welfare initiatives at our U.K. operations. By 2026, we will require our suppliers to meet the following requirements for fresh, frozen and processed chicken in our supply chain:

• Comply with all EU animal welfare laws and regulations regardless of the country of production.
• Implement maximum stocking density of 30kg/m2 or less. Thinning is discouraged if practiced and must be limited to one thin per flock.
• Adopt breeds that demonstrate higher welfare outcomes: either Hubbard JA757, 787, 957, or 987; Rambler Ranger; Ranger Classic; and Ranger Gold, or others that meet the criteria of the RSPCA Broiler Breed Welfare Assessment Protocol.
• Meet improved environmental standards, including at least 50 lux of light, including natural light.
• Provide at least two meters of usable perch space, and two pecking substrates, per 1,000 birds.
• On air quality, the maximum requirements of Annex 2.3 of the EU broiler directive, regardless of stocking density.
• No use of cages or multi-tier systems.
• Adopt controlled atmospheric stunning using inert gas or multi-phase systems, or effective electrical stunning without live inversion.
• Demonstrate compliance with the above standards via third-party auditing and annual public reporting on progress towards this commitment

To advance all of these efforts, we are participating in the U.S. Working Group for Broiler Welfare organized by Compassion in World Farming and in 2023 will share a more detailed roadmap and progress update that includes each of the Better Chicken Commitment components in the U.S. and European Chicken Commitment components in the U.K.

Pork
We are committed to eliminating gestation crates from our supply chain and fully transitioning to group housed pork by 2025, and ideally sooner should the supply chain allow. We look forward to sharing updates at least annually as we move toward this goal.

Veal
We intend to eliminate the use of confinement crates for veal products from our supply chain and are working with our suppliers to make this happen as soon as possible.

Seafood
Where possible we source seafood products from sustainable sources, as defined by industry programs such as the Monterey Bay Aquarium, Sustainable Fish Cities and other recognized certifications.

In the United Kingdom, we are a signatory to the Sustainable Fish Cities pledge and have removed all fish designated as ‘fish to avoid’ on the Marine Conservation Society red list and promote the use of more sustainable species, which are continually reviewed.

Plant-Based Protein
We acknowledge the benefits and growing consumer adoption of plant-based proteins, including vegan and vegetarian options. We continually evolve our menus and offerings based on consumer insight and strive to offer plant-based entrees whenever possible, in line with guest preferences and client requirements.

Coffee and Tea
We source sustainable coffee and tea products identified by third-party guidelines such as Rainforest Alliance and USDA Certified Organic whenever possible.

Single Use Packaging
We proudly eliminated the purchase and use of Styrofoam in 2019.

In the United States, by 2025, our goal is to source 100% of single-use packaging products from materials that are recyclable, renewable, compostable or contain post-consumer content. We aim to select products with credible certifications such as Forest Stewardship Council or Biodegradable Packaging Institute.