Besides Chocolate, Key Ingredient at Riviera is Sustainability

Peter Simon is selling more than delectable baked goods at the Riviera Bakehouse in Ardsley.  At Wednesday's energy conservation meeting in Dobbs Ferry Simon described his not-so secret ingredients to environmental delectability. 

Simon said he is promoting environmentally sustainable business practices as a smart economic move, as well as an ethically desirable one, to customers, employees and other local business people. 

"It's part of our DNA to think along these lines," Simon said. A self-described ex-hippie, Simon said that "I've been environmentally and politically active since high school and college. I knew we would eventually put these progressive ideas to work."

 Earlier this year, Simon—working with ISI Solar Solutions of New City—installed solar panels on the bakery's roof. He used the Federal and state credits to offset the initial investment, and said that he's saving about $ 450-$ 500 a month on the bakery's $3400 monthly electric bill.

Simon also took advantage of a Con Ed program, in which the utility "changed every fixture in the bakery and provided all the CFLs [compact fluorescent lights]," he said. Even the special spotlights in the bakery are LEDS [light emitting diodes) that Simon said "generate no heat."

There are other measures, too.  The bakery offers a 10- cent discount to customers who use one of Riviera's green travel mugs. And although Simon would ultimately prefer to offer a bag made of renewable resources, for now he's providing customers with a degradable plastic bag that will degrade in six months to two years (the previous bag could take up to a century to decompose). Simon also takes the organic waste to his garden at his home in Valley Cottage (where there are also solar panels on the roof) for composting.

 "You can't do 100 percent on everything all the time," admitted Simon. "If everybody makes a couple of small changes, you can make a dent. Do the things you can do."

For example, although Simon said the bakery is "not looking to go organic, we use as much local ingredients as we can and reflect seasonality." A Rockland supplier provides local produce, which now features corn, tomatoes and blueberries in the bakery's summer offerings.

"We don't use any imported chocolate," said Simon. The chocolate comes from Lake Champlain in Vermont, while the jams he sells come from Ohio, the teas from Baltimore, and the honey and maple syrup from Vermont.

Simon's environmental outreach effort for employees and customers includes gentle suggestions that customers bring in their own reusable bags when possible, re-use the Riviera bags they already have, or forego a bag when they purchase a single or small item.

"It's tricky," said Simon. "By being so public, and educating the customers and the employees, I'm hoping to have a long-range ripple effect."

Simon plans to do another energy audit, now that the solar panels have been installed, and take a look at upgrading the refrigeration. He's now in the process of installing a bike rack.

"It's a nice thing for the community," he said. "It's another little thing we can do."

Simon spoke about the The Riviera's efforts at Wednesday's meeting of the Dobbs Ferry Energy Task Force, which highlighted some other local businesses' successful implementation of sustainable environmental practices.

"I'm trying to sell other business people on the idea that there are good business arguments for becoming environmentally sustainable," said Simon, a co-owner of the Riviera Bakehouse with his wife, Kaye Hansen. Besides the economic benefits, like reducing energy bills, "people will notice, and you develop customer loyalty. It's good business strategy."

In fact, Riviera Bakehouse's solar project was recognized by the American Solar Energy Society (ASES). As part of a national tour, representatives from the organization will come to the bakery on October 2 to highlight the project and educate the community about the benefits of solar energy.

Simon is clear about what motivates him to pursue an environmentally sustainable business.

"The biggest question I get is 'why are we doing this?'" he said. "It's simple. It's for my six-year-old grandson, Kase. I want him to have a planet to live on."