• by Karlene Lukovitz  @KLmarketdaily, December 19, 2008

The Chipotle Mexican Grill fast-food restaurant chain is starting to introduce sustainable cutlery--and given that cities nationwide are instituting sustainability initiatives, it's likely that many other restaurants will soon be doing the same.

Chipotle has signed an agreement with supply-chain company HAVI/Perseco, which will use sustainable plastics from bio-based manufacturer Cereplast, Inc. to supply the chain with the green cutlery.

Chipotle will initially use the cutlery in its Millbrae, Calif. restaurant, with a system-wide rollout in Chipotle's approximately 800 locations expected in the near future.

About 900 U.S. cities are currently implementing initiatives to reduce environmentally harmful greenhouse gas emissions at the local level, including promoting public transportation and adopting green purchasing practices, according to Cereblast.

Some of these are legislatively mandated and others are voluntary, but the trend signals the likelihood of a growing need to comply with local sustainability initiatives for restaurants and other businesses going forward.