Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 53.74
Liaison Stephen Ellis
Submission Date March 1, 2016
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.0

Boston University
OP-7: Low Impact Dining

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.73 / 3.00 Sabrina Pashtan
Sustainability Coordinator
Dining Services
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Percentage of total dining services food purchases comprised of conventionally produced animal products:
19

A brief description of the methodology used to track/inventory expenditures on animal products:
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Does the institution offer diverse, complete-protein vegan dining options at all meals in at least one dining facility on campus?:
Yes

Does the institution provide labels and/or signage that distinguishes between vegan, vegetarian (not vegan), and other items?:
Yes

Are the vegan options accessible to all members of the campus community?:
Yes

A brief description of the vegan dining program, including availability, sample menus, signage and any promotional activities (e.g. “Meatless Mondays”):

The University’s Dining Services offers vegan meals for breakfast, lunch and dinner across campus each day. Each dining hall offers a vegan option for both breakfast, lunch and dinner. In addition, most meals can be prepared vegetarian upon request. "Mindful Meals" is a day each week when all residential dining halls serve foods with a lower carbon footprint. It's also an opportunity for education through station signs that discuss what makes each meal sustainable, posters, website and Facebook postings, and table tents. No beef or pork is served on these days and the focus is on local produce, sustainable seafood as well as more vegetarian and vegan options. On a daily basis, BU Dining Services also offer vegan pizzas, desserts, and deli sandwich options such as Beyond Meat chicken salad. Trainings are conducted with employees to educate them on veganism and vegetarianism, and also use separate cooking vessels and utensils for vegan foods.


A brief description of other efforts the institution has made to reduce the impact of its animal-derived food purchases:

Dining Services’ policy is to procure the most environmentally responsible products available that are economically feasible. Dairy is purchased from local companies that source from local dairy farms, which include Hood milk, Cabot Creamery sour cream, butter and cheese. The University’s Dining Services also supports the humane treatment of animals and as such, have converted all of the eggs on campus to cage-free (with the exception of EggBeaters and egg patties at Breadwinners, both of which are not available with cage-free eggs).
Similarly, Dining services purchases sustainable seafood including farmed mussels and clams. Using the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch and the Marine Stewardship Council certification as guides to choosing sustainable seafood, some of the local, sustainable seafood offerings include farmed blue mussels, MSC-certified Pacific Cod, basa and Maine lobster.


The website URL where information about the vegan dining program is available:
Annual dining services expenditures on food:
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Annual dining services expenditures on conventionally produced animal products:
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Annual dining services expenditures on sustainably produced animal products:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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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.