Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 58.92
Liaison Caitlin Steele
Submission Date June 8, 2018
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

San Francisco State University
OP-7: Food and Beverage Purchasing

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 0.00 / 6.00 Nick Kordesch
Sustainability Coordinator
Office of Sustainability
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Percentage of dining services food and beverage expenditures on products that are third party verified under one or more recognized food and beverage sustainability standards or Local & Community-Based:
0

Does the institution wish to pursue Part 2 of this credit (expenditures on conventional animal products)? (If data is not available, respond “No”):
Yes

Percentage of total dining services food and beverage expenditures on conventional animal products (meat, poultry, fish/seafood, eggs, and dairy products that do NOT qualify in either the Third Party Verified or Local & Community-Based category):
100

A brief description of the sustainable food and beverage purchasing program, including how the sustainability impacts of products in specific categories are addressed (e.g. meat, poultry, fish/seafood, eggs, dairy, produce, tea/coffee):

In addition to the many initiatives we take on as a company, we have implemented the following programs specific to San Francisco State University.

The Sustainability Management and Reporting Tool (SMART) is a comprehensive, yet easy to use dashboard that provides baseline sustainability performance, prioritizes initiatives, and tracks continuous improvement in four key areas -- carbon and energy, water, waste, and healthy and sustainable food and environments.

Waste Reduction Efforts

Recycling
On campus we recycle the following products: cardboard, glass, aluminum, paper and plastic.

Composting
Food waste in landfills creates more methane, a greenhouse gas which is 21x more potent that CO2. (www.epa.gov) Our first priority is to reduce food waste. We compost food waste that is unavoidable which reduces greenhouse gas emissions and can also be used to amend soil thereby increasing drought tolerance, improving soil structure and health as well as reducing need for water and fertilizers.

Weigh the Waste
Periodically throughout the school year, we conduct a Weigh the Waste event. During the event, we weigh all of the uneaten food from guest's plates. We consolidate the findings and report back to the community. We tie this to an awareness campaign that informs guests about food waste and its impact to our environment and our communities. We hold frequent campaigns in which we compare out results (and hopefully see our waste decline).

Trayless Dining
We are a trayless campus. Customers without trays typically waste less food and beverages. It is also a healthier approach to eating, as we all know that at times our eyes are bigger than our stomach. Trayless dining also reduces the amount of water and detergents needed to wash trays as well as saves energy.

APEX Dishwashing System
APEX combines technology and products designed to save water and energy, minimize the impact of products on the environment, and has a built-in method of measuring results. The APEX management approach uses a tablet PC and wireless technology to communicate with the system's controller to download, process and analyze data to establish each foodservice operation's "rack-to-guest ratio". By monitoring and improving this ratio, the system helps reduce the amount of water and energy used at each facility, and improve total operational efficiency.

Recycling Fryer Oil into Biofuel
French fries to fuel. Our fryer oil us recycled into biodiesel that is used to power a variety of vehicles- from delivery fleets to farm equipment,

Choose to Reuse
Choose to Reuse is a reusable container program designed to reduce waste and help achieve Sodexo's Better Tomorrow commitments by replacing single-use disposable food and beverage containers with reusable containers.

Energy Reduction Efforts

Daylighting
The windows in out dining room allows us to enjoy a tremendous amount of natural light while dining. Natural light not only provides a more comfortable environment, it also reduces our energy usage by allowing us to turn off the lights.

On/Off Protocol
To save energy, we only turn our equipment on when it is needed and turn it off as soon as we are finished using it for the day.

No Idling at Loading Docks
Working with our vendors, our catering staff and our campus facility services staff make sure all vehicles are turned off while they are parked in our loading dock.

Local/Seasonal/Responsible Sourcing

Local Suppliers
We work closely with local produce distributors to maximize the fruits and vegetables purchased from local farms. We also purchase from local dairies, and participate in farm to school initiatives. Tracking local purchases helps us to meet our Better Tomorrow Plan commitment of 20% local purchase by 2020.

Seafood ImageSustainable Fish and Seafood
We are committed to serving sustainable seafood and fish. By 2015 100% of our fish and seafood will be sustainably certified by the Marine Stewardship Council or the Best Agriculture Practices. We do not purchase any at-risk species.

Local Dairy
All of our fluid milk is purchase from local dairies that do not use rBST.

Organic
Organic food is produced by farmers who emphasize the use of renewable resources and the conservation of soul and water to enhance environmental quality for future generations. Organic meat, poultry, eggs, and dairy products come from animals that are given no antibiotics or growth hormones. Organic food is produced without using most conventional pesticides; fertilizers made with synthetic ingredients or sewage sludge; bioengineering; or ionizing radiation. Before a product can be labeled 'organic', a Govermnent-approved certifier inspects the farm where to food is grown to make sure the farmer us following all the rules necessary to meet USDA organic standards. Look for the menu icon identifying organic foods.

Sustainable Catering
We feature menus that are locally grown, seasonal, organic, vegetarian and/or well balanced. We use china serviceware whenever possible, but if necessary, we try to use compostable and/or recycleable disposableware. We try to eliminate bottled beverages when possible by replacing them with pitcher of drinks and reusable glassware.
Each season we unveil a ceterin menu that highlights the season's bounty. not only does it increase variety, it also features food that is in season.


An inventory of the institution’s sustainable food and beverage purchases that includes for each product: the description/type; label, brand or producer; and the category in which it is being counted and/or a description of its sustainability attribute(s):
A brief description of the methodology used to conduct the inventory, including the timeframe and how representative samples accounted for seasonal variation (if applicable):

SF State's Real Food Challenge completed their calculation based on City Eats, the Sodexo-operated dining center that serves the residential communities on campus. Data is from 2016.


Percentage of total dining services expenditures on Real Food A (0-100):
0

Percentage of total dining services expenditures on Real Food B (0-100):
1

Which of the following food service providers are present on campus and included in the total food and beverage expenditure figures?:
Present? Included?
Dining operations and catering services operated by the institution No No
Dining operations and catering services operated by a contractor Yes Yes
Student-run food/catering services No No
Franchises (e.g. national or global brands) Yes No
Convenience stores Yes No
Vending services Yes No
Concessions Yes No

A brief description of purchased food and beverage products that have other sustainability attributes not recognized above :
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Additional percentage of dining services food and beverage expenditures on conventional products with other sustainability attributes not recognized above (0-100) :
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The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
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.