Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 71.07
Liaison Michael Chapman
Submission Date March 6, 2020

STARS v2.2

Nova Scotia Community College
OP-8: Sustainable Dining

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.75 / 2.00 Martha MacGowan
Project Assistant- Sustainability
Facilities & Engineering
"---" 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?:
Yes

A brief description of the sustainability-themed food outlet:
Our contracted caterer Chartwells host Fair Trade week at our Truro campus. This week they have booths displaying fair trade products that Chartwells sells in the cafeteria, as well as information on fair trade practices. They also give away prizes to the students for participating in discussion on the subject.

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:
Chartwells, our largest caterer supports a local coffee roasting company called Just Us!. Just Us! is an SME with 50 employees, 15 of which are owners. It is based out of Wolfville, Nova Scotia and all of its products are fairtrade and organic. Chartwell's has a Just Us! cafe in our largest campus, the Ivany Campus, and sells their coffee at all their NSCC locations.

Estimated percentage of total food and beverage expenditures on products from disadvantaged businesses, social enterprises, and/or local SMEs:
2

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:
Chartwells, our main caterer, promotes plant-based meals by advertising.

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:
All campuses at NSCC offer daily vegan choices, whether it is vegan soups, salads, stir-fry bars or a hot menu item on the grill menu.

Individual packaged products such as salads are labelled as vegan or vegetarian.

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:
The "Story of our Food" mural is a wall mural painted at a number of NSCC campuses catered by Chartwells and is used to educate and inform building occupants of our food sourcing commitments. It is also used to post upcoming special events in the cafeteria, such a "eat local week".

Using labeling and signage, the College showcase and educate cafeteria customers about low impact food choices and sustainability. For example, many of our campuses have a "take a mug, leave a mug"- program where the College is attempting to reduce the amount of disposable coffee cups beings used. The cafeteria offers ceramic coffee mugs and on the signage state that the customer is welcome to use a mug and to please return it when finished. We also offer a reusable mug discount for beverage purchases. This discount is advertised on "take a mug" signage and other signage by the coffee vendors and demonstrates our commitment to waste reduction.

NSCC also has very comprehensive waste sorting signage in all of our cafeterias with photos to assist customers in proper sorting.

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 NSCC conducts waste audits at every campus once a semester. The on-site caterer is required to participate and provides waste to be analyzed. The quantity of waste going to landfill, that is recycled and that is composted is assessed and compared to previous years. After each report is complete the waste auditor meets with individual caterers at each campus and discuss areas of potential improvement. The waste auditor also assists with training or any changes that needs to be made to insure that waste is being efficiently diverted and reduced. Waste diversion and reduction are tracked on a yearly basis to ensure progress.

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?:
No

A brief description of the trayless dining or modified menu/portion program:
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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?:
No

A brief description of the food materials diversion program:
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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 of the NSCC campuses have a composting program and "pre-consumer" composted waste is picked up on a regular basis by a waste management contractor.

All NSCC campuses follow the provincial-wide green bin program where all food waste is composted, including meat waste, and composted by the municipality.

Our Burridge and Shelburne Campuses compost all food waste from cafeteria food preparation on-site and use the compost for their greenhouses.

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:
Four of our campuses use Chartwells for catering. Chartwells follows the same standards at each campus and composts all food waste.

All NSCC campuses follow the provincial-wide green bin program where all food waste is composted, including meat waste, and composted by the municipality.

Our Burridge and Shelburne campuses compost all food waste from cafeteria food preparation on site and use the compost for their greenhouses.

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:
Many of the NSCC campuses use reusable dishware and cutlery and if the customer is getting their meals to-go they will be provided with a compostable container.

The reusable dishware is left for the kitchen staff to properly clean and to dispose of any remaining food waste into the compost stream.

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:
Many NSCC campuses use compostable plates, napkins and to-go containers in the cafeterias. This is standard practice with the various caterers at each campus. Containers are made of a compostable cardboard material.

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:
Different NSCC campuses offer different discounts (between 10- 40¢) for reusable mugs.

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:
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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.