Overall Rating Gold
Overall Score 65.41
Liaison Ian Johnson
Submission Date April 19, 2024

STARS v2.2

Colorado College
OP-8: Sustainable Dining

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.80 / 2.00 Ian Johnson
Sustainability Director
Office of Sustainability
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Part 1. Sustainable dining initiatives

Local community engagement

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?:
No

A brief description of the farmers market, CSA or urban agriculture project:
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Sustainability-themed outlet

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?:
No

A brief description of the sustainability-themed food outlet:
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Inclusive and local sourcing

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?:
Yes

A brief description of the support for disadvantaged businesses, social enterprises, and/or local SMEs:
Yes, we view our procurement spend as a vehicle for amplifying our core values of inclusion and equity, and pursue these goals through Locally Crafted, part of our Farm to Fork local purchasing program. Our Farm to Fork program specializes in sourcing from local small/independently owned businesses. These businesses must make under $5M annually to qualify and be within 150 miles of our cafes. To qualify for our Locally Crafted program, at least 50% of the product ingredient volume must be from local/sustainable farms.

Estimated percentage of total food and beverage expenditures on products from disadvantaged businesses, social enterprises, and/or local SMEs:
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Low-impact dining

Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor host low impact dining events or promote plant-forward options?:
Yes

A brief description of the low impact dining events and/or plant-forward options:
We highly emphasize plant-forward in our cafes. We put plant-forward options first in line, so students are more inclined to fill their plates with plants over the meat options that come later in line. In addition, we host tabling events to educate students about how they can get essential nutrients like protein from plants. We also are hosting a plant-based milk event to get more students interested in the environmental impact of dairy, so hopefully they opt towards plant-based options.

Vegan dining program 

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?:
Yes

A brief description of the vegan dining program:
Colorado College provides a vast vegan dining program that is accessible to all members of the campus community. Rastall Café includes a designated vegan station with diverse and complete-protein items and at least one vegan desert option at every meal. Vegan options are also included in the grab-and-go program, available at Colorado Coffee, the Preserve, and Local Goods.

We prioritize plant-based proteins in our cafés. We communicate vegan options to our guests using the Vegan Circle of Responsibility icon on both online menus and menus in the café.

Labelling and signage 

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?:
Yes

A brief description of the sustainability labelling and signage in dining halls:
We inform guests about low-impact food choices and sustainability practices in many ways. On guest tables and in signs around the café, we share information about pressing sustainability issues and relevant policies, including antibiotics use on animal farms, animal welfare issues such as gestation crate use, sustainable seafood, and farmworkers’ rights. Using our Circle of Responsibility (COR) program, we communicate sustainability attributes of ingredients through our online and in-café menus. Menus are labeled with COR icons that denote the following (and more):

- if the dish includes local ingredients, and which farm they are from

- if the dish includes animal products from a farm with a third-party animal welfare certification

- if the dish includes seafood rated as Green or Yellow by the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch program

- if the dish is vegetarian and/or vegan

Part 2. Food waste minimization and recovery

Food recovery program

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?:
Yes

A brief description of the food recovery competition or commitment program or food waste prevention system:
Yes, at Colorado College, we employ Bon Appétit’s cloud-based Waste Not 2.0 waste tracking system. Waste Not 2.0 captures waste quantities, types, and destinations, which are entered in real time onto tablets by kitchen staff. The system is highly customizable and adaptable to any kitchen situation. Data captured is presented in an online dashboard in an informative way that helps our teams better contextualize and understand opportunities to prevent and reduce waste in their operations.

From November 6-10 we hosted a Weigh the Waste audit in our all-you-can-eat cafe (Rastall’s Dining Hall). For lunch periods every day of the week, we collected all of the plate waste and weighed it at the end of meals. Then every day we posted the data for how much weight was recorded of food waste and how many students ate in the cafeteria that day. Our goal was that students would reduce the amount that they waste/take once they saw how crazy the numbers were.

Trayless dining and portion modifications 

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?:
Yes

A brief description of the trayless dining or modified menu/portion program:
Trayless dining was implemented on the Colorado College campus in 2008 in an effort to reduce food waste. The school also reduced the size of plates at the dining hall to limit food waste.

We are trayless in our all-you-care-to-eat café on campus and train all servers in portion control to help minimize post-consumer food waste.

Food donation 

Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor donate food that would otherwise go to waste to feed people?:
No

A brief description of the food donation program:
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Food materials diversion 

Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor divert food materials from the landfill, incinerator or sewer for animal feed or industrial uses?:
Yes

A brief description of the food materials diversion program:
Yes, we divert food materials from the landfill in the following ways:
Oils from the kitchens on campus are used in on-campus bio-diesel vehicles and an off-site oil recycling company.

Composting 

Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor have a pre-consumer composting program?:
Yes

A brief description of the pre-consumer composting program:
All kitchen scraps produced through Bon Appetit food production are composted.

Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor have a post-consumer composting program?:
Yes

A brief description of the post-consumer composting program:
Colorado College contracts a local company, Republic Services, to collect post-consumer food waste from all dining services operations and bathroom waste bins.

Dine-in service ware 

Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor utilize reusable service ware for “dine in” meals?:
Yes

A brief description of the reusable service ware program:
Reusable service ware is available at Rastall Dining Hall and recyclable and compostable serviceware are available at Benjis and the Preserve.

Take-away materials 

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)?:
Yes

A brief description of the compostable containers and service ware:
All grab and go packaging is compostable or recyclable and when in stock all straws are compostable.

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?:
Yes

A brief description of the reusable container discount or incentives program:
Rastall Dining Hall offers a reusable to-go container that can be purchased with meal plan dollars for students and regular dollars for staff and faculty. BA offered a discount to customers who brought a reusable mug or beverage container when purchasing drip coffee.

Optional Fields

A brief description of other sustainability-related initiatives not covered above:
Our Community Engagement Manager Cassidy Schnell hosts tablings twice a month to teach students about the environmental impact of food and how to eat more sustainably. Topics covered include seafood standards, composting, food waste reduction, eating local, making food from scratch, etc.

Website URL where information about the sustainable dining programs is available:
https://coloradocollege.cafebonappetit.com/wellness/#sustainability

Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
While Colorado College does not host a farmers market, community supported agriculture(CSA) or fishery program, and/or urban agriculture project, or support such a program in the local community, Bon Appetit purchases directly from local producers such as AVOG, Emerge, CornerPost Farm, Tap Roots Food Hub, etc,.

More information can be found here: https://coloradocollege.cafebonappetit.com/farm-to-fork/

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.