Emerson College
OP-8: Sustainable Dining

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, and our Supplier Diversity program. Locally Crafted vendors must be two of the following criteria:
Locally Sourced: At least 50% of the product’s ingredients are from small, owner-operated farms within 150 miles of the Bon Appétit kitchen.
• Responsibly sourced: At least 50% of the product’s ingredients are responsibly sourced as verified by an approved third-party organization, such as Certified Organic or Fair Trade.
• Humanely sourced: The eggs, dairy, and protein in the product meet all Bon Appétit’s own sustainability standards.
• Traditional/artisan: The product is a staple of a specific cuisine, made in the traditional manner with a minimum of additives and preservatives, or in small batches by hand using traditional methods.
• Justice through ownership: The business is majority minority or woman-owned and -controlled.
• Justice through training: As a founding principle, the business seeks to provide job opportunities to a disadvantaged population.
Our Supplier Diversity program was inspired by best practices developed through Farm to Fork and Locally Crafted. Through this initiative, our regional network of Farm to Fork Foragers (the chefs and managers who are tasked with discovering and partnering with local farmers and food producers) now actively pursue the enrollment of small BIPOC-, women-, and LGBTQ+-owned businesses who meet Bon Appétit’s standards. We communicate this program via a Supplier Diversity COR icon that appears on menu items containing products from vendors enrolled in the program. Additional materials in our cafés and online help tell the stories of these products and vendors to guests.
Among the criteria for the Supplier Diversity program are: being a business that is majority minority- or woman-owned and controlled, or one that provides job opportunities to a disadvantaged population. At Emerson College dining we partner with Jennifer Lees, which provides allergy friendly desserts to our [kitchens/C-stores].

Yes, we host a number of low-impact dining events, including an annual Eat Local Challenge, Earth Week, plant-forward dining events, and an annual National Farmworker Awareness Week. Through educational materials on each table, and in signage throughout the café, we share information about the benefits of prioritizing plant-based proteins for one’s health and the environment, and offer plant-forward meals multiple times per week in each café.

Yes, we prioritize plant-based proteins in our cafés and a complete-protein vegan option is available to the campus communities at every meal served in our cafés. Not only do we offer 100% vegan station in the main dining café, we communicate vegan options to our guests using the Vegan Circle of Responsibility icon on both online menus and menus in multiple other locations in the café.

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

Yes, 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.

Yes, we donate food to food for free and community servings, and are currently Food Recovery Verified

All back of house food waste gets sent to an off-site anaerobic digester, which creates energy in the Boston area.

All campus kitchens and prep rooms have composting collection bins.

All dining facilities have composting collection bins for diners.

The Dining Center exclusively uses reusable service ware.

Yes, we have a reusable clamshell program on campus. We utilize compostable containers for to-go meals and have a composting program on campus that is able to accept those containers.

Yes, we offer a 20% discount to students that utilize their own mugs in all retail locations on campus for coffee or fountain beverages.

25% or more of Bon Appetit's total meat, poultry, and egg purchases come from producers whose practices have been certified by the independent animal-welfare monitors Humane Farm Animal Care (HFAC), Food Alliance, Animal Welfare Approved, or Global Animal Partnership.

http://www.bamco.com/sourcing/animal-welfare/