McDonald’s celebrates innovations in energy savings, recycling and other environment-focused areas around the world.

Reusing air-conditioning condensation to water plants and clean. Repurposing advertising banners into fashionable tote bags. Recycling used cooking oil to power generators at a hospital. Today, Oak Brook, Ill.-based McDonald's Corp. celebrates these and dozens more examples of passion and innovation in the 2012 Global Best of Green report.

McDonald’s is the world’s leading global foodservice retailer with more than 33,500 locations serving approximately 68 million customers in 119 countries each day. Best of Green is a collection of best practices that focus on the environment and provide tangible positive impact for the company’s business and brand. The report illustrates progress in eight categories: energy, packaging, anti-littering, recycling, logistics, communications, green building and greening the workplace.

An e-learning module focusing on one of the most important and cutting-edge culinary regions on the globe.

The executive chef of two-unit Saul Good Restaurant & Pub in Lexington, Ky., admits to learning a lot of hard lessons about how chefs and owners should get along, but he’s gotten a crash course in doing it the right way from founder Rob Perez. Chef Mayer shares some insights into why he believes “ours is not the typical owner-operator and chef relationship.”

By Jeffrey Mayer

I’m like a lot of chefs: a culinary dreamer who has a certain philosophy about the foods I want to cook. But when I first started talking to Rob about Saul Good, I saw the opportunity to work with him as a chance to learn a hell of a lot from a successful, business-savvy guy, somebody who knows how to make a whole concept work.

Mediterranean salads top the list when casual diners seek change.

A Mediterranean-style salad holds the most appeal as a new flavor for diners at casual-dining restaurants, according to a Culinary Visions™ Panel study conducted by Chicago-based Olson Communications.

“When restaurants want to add new salads they should look to the Mediterranean for inspiration,” said Sharon Olson, president of Olson Communications. “We discovered a full 60% of customers are highly likely to choose that type of salad when they have ethnic salad choices that also include Latin and Asian.”

“Artisan” on the menu used to entice diners. Not so much today. And “local” trumps “organic.” Meanwhile, overall restaurant spending is expected to grow.

Interest in where food comes from, as well as changes in restaurant spending, will both drive the foodservice rollercoaster in 2012, according to Mintel’s latest report.

“Overall, restaurant economic prospects for 2012 look positive,” says Eric Giandelone, foodservice director at Chicago-based Mintel. “In spite of the down economy, Mintel estimates that the U.S. restaurant industry will be worth $416.4 billion in 2012, showing that operators really have listened to consumer wants and needs and made appropriate changes.”