| Overall Rating | Silver |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 48.20 |
| Liaison | Lauren Poole |
| Submission Date | Dec. 10, 2021 |
Colorado School of Mines
OP-8: Sustainable Dining
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
1.88 / 2.00 |
Lauren
Poole Sustainability Coordinator EHS |
Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor host a farmers market, community supported agriculture (CSA) or fishery program, or urban agriculture project, or support such a program in the local community?:
A brief description of the farmers market, CSA or urban agriculture project:
Since 2017, we have held 5 farmer’s markets. We have partnered with Freshpoint and GoFarm, a local co-op, to provide local produce for each event. The events are focused around supporting local farmer partners and educating the campus community about local agriculture. The first 50-100 students at each event, received a free bag of produce and the remainder of the produce was available to students, faculty and staff to purchase. In Fall of 2019 we took students on a farm tour to Infinite Harvest to learn about locally grown hydroponic lettuce.
Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor host a sustainability-themed food outlet on-site, either independently or in partnership with a contractor or retailer?:
A brief description of the sustainability-themed food outlet:
Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor support disadvantaged businesses, social enterprises, and/or local small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) through its food and beverage purchasing?:
A brief description of the support for disadvantaged businesses, social enterprises, and/or local SMEs:
At Sodexo, Diversity and Inclusion is embedded in our business and our values. We believe that diversity in our workforce gives us access to the best talent, and our D&I culture provides the ability to attract and retain this talent. This belief transcends into our supply base. We know that working with suppliers that mirror our consumers and our communities makes our company more relevant in the markets in which we operate. We also know that we want to partner with companies that have the same convictions about utilizing talent in all its forms.
The Partner Inclusion Program leverages best practices from Sodexo operations around the world in support of a commitment that all countries will develop strong and sustainable relationships with suppliers in at least one of the following categories:
• Small-and medium-sized Enterprises (SME’s), including social and micro-enterprises
• Suppliers from minority and other under-represented and/or protected groups (as defined in country), with an emphasis on women-owned businesses
• Major Sodexo suppliers will demonstrate a diverse workforce composition, actively embracing diversity and inclusion and promoting local supply chain inclusion.
Sodexo has publicly committed to having an inclusion program and tracks their progress by country annually for both women and underutilized suppliers as defined in country as well as spend with local small businesses or SME (Small Medium Enterprise) with goals of 25% SME spend globally focusing on diverse SMEs by 2025.
Supplier Diversity Procurement Policy in the US
The use of diverse suppliers and partners throughout the organization brings better value to our customers, clientele and the communities in which we live, work, and serve. As a result, we will:
• Hold all management personally accountable for increasing Supplier Diversity spend through our Diversity Scorecard
• Include qualified diverse vendors in all RFP’s handled by Supply Management.
• Establish supplier diversity goals for the divisions and company, reporting our supplier diversity spend on a quarterly basis.
• Actively seek diverse vendors through Sodexo’s supplier diversity website, our membership in diverse organizations and our attendance at various events.
• Require all manufacturers to establish a supplier diversity program within one year of contracting.
• Include supplier diversity as part of the business review process.
Currently in the US, Sodexo utilizes over 3000 national, regional and local diverse and small businesses. Our vendors include those that directly service our operations as well as those that provide services or products to our regional and corporate headquarters staff.
Sodexo sources opportunities for current and potential diverse vendors through a number of methods:
• Identify and contract with new vendors:
• Continue to grow our contracted diverse vendors.
• Utilize top down and field up support of diverse vendors
Estimated percentage of total food and beverage expenditures on products from disadvantaged businesses, social enterprises, and/or local SMEs:
Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor host low impact dining events or promote plant-forward options?:
A brief description of the low impact dining events and/or plant-forward options:
We offer customized meals where guests may request a plant-based protein versus a meat option. For instance, guests may request a black bean burger or another available meat substitute at the Grill Station when we are serving beef burgers.
Mines does host vegetarian food trucks at many events.
Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor have a vegan dining program that makes diverse, complete-protein vegan options available to every member of the campus community at every meal?:
A brief description of the vegan dining program:
We have a dedicated vegetarian station that is available daily which rotates between vegan and vegetarian options. We also feature vegetarian or vegan soups daily and a daily pasta bar. Some of the entrees we have featured include: ginger tofu and vegetable stir fry, seared “chik’n” fajitas and cilantro lime basmati rice, Turkish bulgur pilaf with garbanzo beans, Seared Vegetable Lo Mein and Chickpea & Vegetable Moroccan Stew.
Additionally, we offer vegetarian/vegan options at our retail locations. Menu items include salads, beyond burgers, veggie burritos etc.
Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor inform customers about low impact food choices and sustainability practices through labelling and signage in dining halls?:
A brief description of the sustainability labelling and signage in dining halls:
We label our vegan offers with a VG identifier and our vegetarian offers with a V identifier. We hosted our first weigh the waste event during Fall of 2019 to help raise awareness about plate waste. During our hour event which was held during the lunch hour at our Resident Dining Hall, we collected 46.5lbs of food waste from plates being taken to our dish return. We display posters near the dish return to educate guests about food waste.
Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor participate in a competition or commitment program and/or use a food waste prevention system to track and improve its food management practices?:
A brief description of the food recovery competition or commitment program or food waste prevention system:
Has the institution or its primary dining services contractor implemented trayless dining (in which trays are removed from or not available in dining halls) and/or modified menus/portions to reduce post-consumer food waste?:
A brief description of the trayless dining or modified menu/portion program:
We have been a trayless dining program for the last 9 years. The program prevents students from taking too much food at once and ultimately eliminating food waste.
Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor donate food that would otherwise go to waste to feed people?:
A brief description of the food donation program:
Our campus convenience store is Food Recovery Certified as we donate both perishable/non-perishable items to our on-campus food pantry. Items include everything from bottled beverages to hummus, chips and other snacking items.
Leftover food from catering events which do not require temperature control such as bagels and pastries are also donated to the on-campus food pantry.
Prior to the Food Pantry on campus, we donated to the Christian Action Guild in Golden.
Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor divert food materials from the landfill, incinerator or sewer for animal feed or industrial uses?:
A brief description of the food materials diversion program:
PURE Oil Recycling program. The cooking oil is converted into biofuel, reducing waste and our overall carbon footprint.
Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor have a pre-consumer composting program?:
A brief description of the pre-consumer composting program:
We started a pilot to compost food scraps from food prep in kitchen in the Student Center (e.g., potato peels, etc.)
Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor have a post-consumer composting program?:
A brief description of the post-consumer composting program:
Meals are served on reusable dishes with reusable utensils and cups. We compost for large events through a contractor. We are researching a composting pilot for 2020.
Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor utilize reusable service ware for “dine in” meals?:
A brief description of the reusable service ware program:
All of our “dine in” service ware in our main resident dining location is reusable.
Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor provide reusable and/or third party certified compostable containers and service ware for “to-go” meals (in conjunction with an on-site composting program)?:
A brief description of the compostable containers and service ware:
Mines Market and the library use compostable to-go containers. In 2019, we had a compost pilot in one building where these items could be disposed of nearby but not in Mines Market.
Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor offer discounts or other incentives to customers who use reusable containers instead of disposable or compostable containers in “to-go” food service operations?:
A brief description of the reusable container discount or incentives program:
We offer up to a 50-cent discount at our retail locations for customers that bring their own mugs.
A brief description of other sustainability-related initiatives not covered above:
Website URL where information about the sustainable dining programs is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.