Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 76.45
Liaison Ryan Ihrke
Submission Date Oct. 17, 2014
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.0

Green Mountain College
OP-7: Low Impact Dining

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.41 / 3.00 Aaron Witham
Director of Sustainability
Sustainability Office
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Percentage of total dining services food purchases comprised of conventionally produced animal products:
23.80

A brief description of the methodology used to track/inventory expenditures on animal products:

The performance year for expenses on animal products and total expenses on food is calendar year 2012. This year was chosen because it is the most recent year for which data are available. The % of animal products were estimated based on a sample of October 2012 for all outside vendors and all annual expenditures from the campus farm, which together represent over 15% of the total annual expenditures that year. The % of animal products were adjusted to account for the fact that purchases from outside vendors exceed those from the campus farm. Every receipt from October, 2012 was examined in detail and each animal product expenditure was tallied into a conventional or non-conventional category after research was conducted to determine the sustainability of each product. The percentages were then multiplied by the total annual expenditures on all food products. Expenditures from the farm were then added. All animal products purchased from the campus farm were considered non-conventional because the campus farm is Certified as Animal Welfare Approved and all meat products are produced with standards that exceed conventional organic in most categories.


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”):

Green Mountain College offers vegetarian and vegan food choices at every meal. At breakfast, lunch, and dinner Chartwells offers protein rich vegetarian and vegan options as well as non-vegetarian options. Sample Menus are available on the Dine On Campus website: http://www.dineoncampus.com/greenmtn/


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

Chartwells partners with the Green Mountain College Farm to feature animal derived products that are raised by the students at the farm. In the past year (FY 2014) they have featured beef, pork and poultry(eggs). Additionally, they utilize humanely raised poultry from Murray's Chicken distributed locally by Purdy & Sons in Sherburne, NY. They also procure grass-fed beef from Purdy who sources it from regionally local farms.


The website URL where information about the vegan dining program is available:
Annual dining services expenditures on food:
542,712 US/Canadian $

Annual dining services expenditures on conventionally produced animal products:
129,095 US/Canadian $

Annual dining services expenditures on sustainably produced animal products:
34,217 US/Canadian $

Data source(s) and notes about the submission:

The performance year for expenses on animal products and total expenses on food is calendar year 2012. This year was chosen because it is the most recent year for which applicable data were available when the inventory was conducted. The % of animal products were estimated based on a sample which included of all outside vendor purchases made in October 2012 and all annual expenditures from the campus farm, which together represent over 15% of the total annual expenditures that year. The % of animal products were adjusted to account for the fact that purchases from outside vendors exceed those from the campus farm.

In 2013, GMC earned Animal Welfare Approved certification for dairy cattle and poultry products produced on the campus farm. Additionally, the farm operates under standards that exceed conventional organic in most categories.

Information for this credit came from Aaron Witham, Nicole Harman '16, Kenneth Mulder, Cindy Ondria, and Dave Ondria.


The performance year for expenses on animal products and total expenses on food is calendar year 2012. This year was chosen because it is the most recent year for which applicable data were available when the inventory was conducted. The % of animal products were estimated based on a sample which included of all outside vendor purchases made in October 2012 and all annual expenditures from the campus farm, which together represent over 15% of the total annual expenditures that year. The % of animal products were adjusted to account for the fact that purchases from outside vendors exceed those from the campus farm.

In 2013, GMC earned Animal Welfare Approved certification for dairy cattle and poultry products produced on the campus farm. Additionally, the farm operates under standards that exceed conventional organic in most categories.

Information for this credit came from Aaron Witham, Nicole Harman '16, Kenneth Mulder, Cindy Ondria, and Dave Ondria.

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.