Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 46.07
Liaison Michelle McCollum
Submission Date April 30, 2020

STARS v2.2

George Brown College
OP-8: Sustainable Dining

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.80 / 2.00 Wayne Dolson
Senior Manager
Business Services
"---" 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:
Most products are purchases through our approved suppliers but from time to time, we do source from local businesses for items we cannot source through our main channels.

Estimated percentage of total food and beverage expenditures on products from disadvantaged businesses, social enterprises, and/or local SMEs:
2.50

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:
Plant forward options are available from both our Branded and Non-Branded Retail Options as well as Our Catering Menu Options. Examples include Tofu Options, Stuffed Pepper and Vegetables, Plant-Based Pizza (Cauliflower Crust and Vegan Cheese), Beyond Meat Burger, Black Bean Burger, Vegetarian Tacos.


We have also done indigenous menus both catering and as a retail showcase along with a recent cooking demonstration on the benefits of nutritional cooking using fresh ingredients. This was in partnership with the Student Nutrition Assistance program (SNAP) run by the Student Association. We hosted this in the SA’s space and allowed student samples of the products once they were cooked by our Executive Chef along with a recipe sheet of what was made so that students had the opportunity to make this at home later on.

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:
Yes – Vegan options available from both our Branded and Non-Branded Retail Options as well as Our Catering Menu Options. Examples include Breakfast Tofu Wrap, Vegan “Power” Protein Bowls,Pasta Primavera, Quinoa Salad. Assorted Dessert Options such as Carrot Loaf Slice, Vegan Banana Bread.

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:
Yes – Signage and labels about nutritionals are on our digital menu boards as well as on our print menu signage. Our dietary symbols are also included on here as well. The Wellness page of the Dine on Campus provides a summary of Food Choices and Functional Food Identifiers.
http://www.dineoncampus.ca/georgebrown/wellness

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:
The food services contractor uses programs such as Winnow as well as the Clear Waste Bin Program.

Winnow is a waste monitoring system which allows you to record the weight and number of items being thrown for waste. The technology is designed with the busy kitchen in mind. The kitchen staff can go about their day in the usual manner but with just a few clicks they can track how and what food is wasted. The system provides both real-time and regular reporting on transparent and measurable data so that you can easily identify areas for reducing your food waste.

The clear waste bin program is a program developed by Compass Group which has each kitchen use clear bins for any food waste. The idea is that when you visually see, what is being thrown away, you can then adjust your production numbers and associate awareness around food waste. We find this has a social impact on people because they then realize the importance of ensuring they are reducing waste and we track these results each shift/day to monitor this usage.

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:
Yes – plastic trays are not available.

Food donation 

Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor donate food that would otherwise go to waste to feed people?:
Yes

A brief description of the food donation program:
The Culinary Arts Program donates left over food to Second Harvest Food Bank

For our main food services contractor,QA Risks around donating food already cooked or past their expiration dates. Chartwells looking at how to partner with Food Banks Canada on this.

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:
Post consumer organics and coffee grinds are sent to be composted in an anaerobic facility. Used fryer oil is collected separately; some is used to make biodiesel fuel and some is re-purposed as an agricultural grade feed stock additive (oil) for chicken farmers.

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:
Pre-consumer food waste in cafeterias is collected for composting in an anaerobic digestion facility.

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:
Post-consumer food waste in The Chefs House restaurant goes into the College's organics "waste" stream. As well, all post-consumer food waste from the culinary lab kitchens is also diverted to the organics stream for composting.

Dine-in service ware 

Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor utilize reusable service ware for “dine in” meals?:
No

A brief description of the reusable service ware program:
n/a

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:
Yes, all internal concepts that Chartwells run used the below containers for serving. This replaces the black plastic with a lid that was previously sued and is biodegradable and 100% recyclable. These containers are a part of Sysco’s EarthPlus line have both open or compartment style options and are designed with an FDA approved additive which aides in moisture and grease resistance.Along with being 100% recyclable and biodegradable they are also microwaveable for students to heat up their foods with later on.

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:
The College's cafeteria, Tim Horton's and Starbucks outlets and The Cafe on all campus offer a discount for people who bring their reusable own coffee or tea mug.

Optional Fields

A brief description of other sustainability-related initiatives not covered above:
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Website URL where information about the sustainable dining programs is available:
http://www.dineoncampus.ca/georgebrown

Additional documentation to support the submission:
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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.