Caseus Tackles Its Carbon Footprint

A popular New Haven cheese restaurant is looking to place ambitious new items on the menu: fluorescent lamps and electronically commutated motors.

Jason Sobocinski (pictured in file photo), owner of Trumbull Street’s popular Caseus Fromagerie and Bistro, has drawn up the menu to cut his carbon footprint and keep his business sustainable over the long term.

He has teamed up with a recent Yale graduate named Max Webster to draw up the plan. Webster cofounded with Sherwin Yu an organization called Communificiency, which he called ​“a crowd-funding platform for energy efficiency focused on small businesses. We help businesses dramatically reduce their energy consumption, energy bill, and carbon footprint.”

Caseus is Communificiency’s pilot project. ​“Through contributions, we hope to raise $3,000 over the next month to retrofit Caseus’s lighting and refrigeration to save on their energy bills and reduce Caseus’s carbon footprint,” said Webster.

Additional money is coming from United Illuminating’s program called The Small Business Energy Advantage (SBEA), which helps business customers with putting in energy-saving devices.

Under the Caseus plan, ​“specialized contractor and construction workers will install sustainable refrigeration and lighting systems,” said Webster. ​“It is estimated that these changes will save Caseus about 13,648 kWh a year, translating to an annual savings of $2,800. It will also reduce the carbon footprint by about 11,300 pounds of CO2, equivalent to taking a car that travels 12,500 miles a year off the road.”

Webster said Caseus will install a range of new enviro-friendly lighting: LED’s, T8 fluorescent lamps with electronic ballasts, and compact fluorescent lamps.

Meanwhile, ​“the refrigeration people are going to install electronically commutated motors and evap fan controls for the two walk-ins,” he reported.

The project has so far drawn 20 contributors and a total of $968, 32 percent toward their goal. When one contributes, depending on the amount donated, Caseus provides a ​“reward”: $5 gets you a signed Caseus postcard with recipe, $50 a gourmet Caseus gift basket. And for $800, Sobocinski comes to your home and cooks a private dinner and drinks for six.

“It’s not just about being environmentally green, but also about participating in the community,” Sobocinski said. ​“Everyone gets something out of it.”

To donate, click here.

Ariela Martin, a student at Cooperative Arts & Humanities High School, is an Independent contributing writer.