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Volante, a popular Italian restaurant on Concourse G at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP), is this year’s MSP 5-Star Service Award winner for sustainability.
The sustainability award, which began in 2014, was presented on Feb. 14 along with awards in five other categories. It recognizes a concessionaire that has gone above and beyond in its work to employ sustainable practices across its operations – from sourcing to management.
Operated by OTG Management, Volante was recognized for its consistent performance back of house, including a strong waste management program.
 The restaurant’s organics recycling efforts contributed to the 466 tons of organics that MSP sent to a compost site last year, said Tiffany Finley, the sustainability and strategy manager for the Metropolitan Airports Commission (MAC).
Pictured: The MAC's Tiffany Finley (left) and OTG's Chris Robertson.
As the MAC aims to increase its recycling and organics diversion rates, participation from concessionaires is key.
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Volante has taken extra steps to get all of its employees involved in the recycling program, said Chris Robertson, the terminal director for OTG.
“Our crewmembers are the driving force behind it,” he said.
While a lot of the activity takes place in the back of Volante, where chefs set up the bins for the various types of recycling -- including organics -- the bartenders and food servers are involved too, Robertson said.
When those front-side employees clear settings and remove food from plates, it’s now second nature to sort the organics and the recyclables.
“From day one, we had crewmembers who were excited to participate,” Robertson said.
Past winners include St. Croix Retail in 2014 for its strong local sourcing of upcycled jewelry and Aveda in 2015 for its long-standing support of sustainability, from product ingredients, to store design, to product packaging.
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