| Overall Rating | Gold |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 70.78 |
| Liaison | Julia Carlow |
| Submission Date | July 25, 2024 |
American University of Sharjah
OP-8: Sustainable Dining
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
1.62 / 2.00 |
Nathalie
Curabba Sustainability Coordinator Sustainability |
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:
AUS hosts a weekly farmers market with a minimum of 3 farms participating weekly. Additionally, as operations return to normal post-COVID, AUS looks forward to supporting CSA programs as it did in 2020. (0.2)
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:
https://www.crescententerprises.com/specialty-coffeehouse-kava-chai-opens-three-new-locations-in-dubai/ Dubai, United Arab Emirates – CE-Creates, the internal venture building platform for Crescent Enterprises, announced today that Kava & Chai, the UAE’s home-grown specialty coffeehouse, has opened three additional locations in Dubai. The new outlets are situated in Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), the Mall of the Emirates, and at Tamani Arts Tower in Business Bay, and feature unique interiors designed by specialist consultant 4Space. The new sites add to Kava & Chai’s existing locations in Al Seef and the American University of Sharjah. Kava & Chai is a home-grown, global coffeehouse that seeks to celebrate and revive Arab traditions and tastes, bringing people together in an intimate setting to socialise, exchange ideas, and enjoy cultural experiences. Coffeehouses have historically been associated with great ideas and shared experiences, and the original coffeehouses in Constantinople, Cairo, and Mecca hosted preachers and poets, politicians and storytellers. Samer Choucair, Director, CE-Creates, said: “Our region has long been a heavy consumer of imported brands and a disproportionately light exporter of brands. With Kava & Chai, we intend to reverse that trend, by leveraging the Arab world’s cafe culture and history, which stands for hospitality and communion and dates back 600 years, to positively position the region to the rest of the world. The coffee itself may not be Arabic, but the culture is – and that’s what we want to showcase to the world. Our aim over the coming months is to refine the Kava & Chai brand by growing across the UAE, which really is a melting pot of most of the world’s cultures, before expanding into international markets, where we can proudly showcase our culture to a global audience.” Sustainable development is also central to Kava & Chai, with everything from packaging to uniforms being sourced responsibly, made from renewable and recycled materials. Kava & Chai only considers environmentally certified suppliers and all coffee procured is direct trade – purchased by coffee roasters directly from growers. Saad Abdallah, General Manager, Kava & Chai, said: “Coffee roasting and drinking as we know it today originated here in the Middle East, and Kava & Chai is committed to portraying this history and culture in a positive and inspiring way. These new locations will become part of the local community, a meeting place where people can engage with each other, share inspiration and enjoy cultural experiences.” Kava & Chai aims to continue the cultural tradition and support the local art community, with local artists contributing to murals in the coffeehouse locations, designing festive cups, and participating in events in-store. Kava & Chai brings a mix of traditional flavours and unexpected combinations to the coffeehouse experience, making original concoctions with authentic roots.
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:
Break Point supports a local small farm for it's salad bar purchases. The farm is mostly aquaponic-based but also does in the ground/soil farming. It is located in Sharjah where the university is located.
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:
The primary dining services contractor, Break Point, has materials for special events like Meatless Mondays. Additionally, a large part of the AUS population are Hindu and Buddhist and therefore our main cafeteria provide a wide range of vegetarian options on the daily menu and for catered 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:
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:
AUS Sustainability has added signage to many of the food outlets to help inform customers of low impact food choices. AUS Sustainability worked with vendors to initiate the educational materials and students to design the icons. *The latest campaign, Eating With Intent, focuses on 3 pillars of sustainable eating: eat local, eat more plants, and minimize waste. These 3 pillars are the focus of much of the signage, but there is signage to celebrate biodiversity as well as cultural diversity and to support and nourish community.
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:
*While the primary dining services contractor, Break Point, does not yet offer trayless dining, they do modify the menu as well as individual portions served. This is possible through a la carte cooking and pricing which is done on site. (0.125)
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:
The primary dining services contractor who caters all of the University events has a system to notify the cleaning staff and security guards when there is extra food. This ensures that the food is eaten and does not go into a landfill. (0.125)
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:
Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor have a pre-consumer composting program?:
A brief description of the pre-consumer composting program:
Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor have a post-consumer composting program?:
A brief description of the post-consumer composting program:
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:
Breakpoint, one of the largest dining options on campus uses reusable plates, bowls, coffee cups, and all utensils. *Kava and Chai, another dining option on campus also uses reusable service ware. (0.125)
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:
The primary dining services contractor uses compostable containers for their to go meals. *Additional contractors are using compostable containers, including biodegradable plastics, following a directive from the government to ban single use plastics, having gone into effect on 1 October 2022. (0.125)
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:
Students are given free refills on water at the primary dining establishment for reusable containers. Additionally, students receive a 10% discount on beverages at Kava & Chai when they bring in reusable cups/mugs (0.125)
A brief description of other sustainability-related initiatives not covered above:
Sustainable Cooking Classes - Cooking classes focusing on 3 pillars of sustainable eating (eat local, eat more plants, minimize waste) are delivered to students who live in the residence halls as part of orientation. The classes focus on using minimal resources (rice cookers) to cook a variety of meals with 85% of ingredients sourced locally. Classes are delivered by a professional chef with emphasis on sustainable eating and cooking and how these impact planetary as well as human health. Similar cooking workshops are held for the AUS community at large, including faculty, staff, and families of faculty and staff. (0.125)
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:
Link to recipes, lesson plan, and other documents related to the WOW Cook for Change cooking classes - https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1USZ4TGXberwPxgHWmqF_c2lCIt89J7Dq Part 1: 1 point Part 2: 0.75 point
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