Lenny Mendonca is not only involved on the local level, but also within the larger Bay Area region. He is currently the Chairman of the Bay Area Council, as well as on the board of The New America Foundation, Common Cause, ChildrenNow, DonorsChoose, and The California Business for Educational Excellence Foundation. He is also a trustee for the Committee for Economic Development, a member of The Advisory Council for the Stanford Graduate School of Business and a member of the Alliance for the San Francisco Unified School District.

On the environmental front, the Half Moon Bay Brewing Company recently became the San Mateo County Coast’s first ‘green” certified business. The Brewery teamed up with the County of San Mateo, PG&E, the Bay Area Green Business Program and the Coastside County Water District to obtain the certification from the Bay Area Green Business Program, which recognized the Brewery’s commitment to helping the environment by conserving energy and water, eliminating waste, pollution prevention and using resources more proficiently.

The Brewing Company has implemented a number of practices to benefit the environment since it opened (and will continue to do so), such as adhering to the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seawatch Program by using replenishable food and non-endangered fish (wild when possible); recycling more than 200,000 pounds of spent grain from the brewing process; using ENERGY STAR equipment; and donating 300,000 pounds of used cooking oil for use in a fleet of biodiesel trucks.

The San Mateo County Farm Bureau and San Mateo County Convention and Visitors Bureau recently awarded the Half Moon Bay Brewing Company with its second “San Mateo County: As Fresh as it Gets” Platinum Award, recognizing the Brewery’s commitment to buying and serving goods and produce from local San Mateo County farmers and seafood caught off San Mateo County’s coastline.

Another environmental cause important to the owners is preserving open space in the area and Half Moon Bay Brewing Company’s Co-owners John Dicker and Mark Haynes lead this charge, sitting on the board for the Coastside Land Trust (formerly Half Moon Bay Open Space Trust).

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