Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 73.90
Liaison Connie Norton
Submission Date Oct. 5, 2018
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

Simon Fraser University
OP-8: Sustainable Dining

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.00 / 2.00 Dan Traviss
Director
Dining Services
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Part 1: Sustainable Dining Initiatives 

Sustainable Dining Policy

Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor have a published sustainable dining policy?:
Yes

A brief description of the sustainable dining policy:
Sodexo is SFU's main dining services contractor and is committed to corporate responsibility as articulated in its Better Tomorrow 2025 Plan. One of the key objectives is to source responsibly and provide management services that reduce carbon emissions, promote local development, fair, inclusive and sustainable business practices and champion sustainable resource use. For a link to Sodexo sustainable sourcing plan, see: https://ca.sodexo.com/home/corporate-responsibility/sustainable-development/environment/responsible-sourcing/local-seasonal-or-sustainab.html

On-Campus Sourcing 

Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor source food from a campus garden or farm?:
Yes

A brief description of the program to source food from a campus garden or farm:
Embark Student Sustainability Society hosts a Community Kitchen event at the Madge Hogarth House community space where SFU community members can learn to prepare vegetarian or vegan meals. The recipes integrate fresh organic produce from Embark's Learning Garden on SFU's Burnaby Campus.

Local Community Engagement 

Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor host a farmers market, community supported agriculture (CSA) or fishery program, and/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:
---

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:
SFU offers vegan dining options at its Dining Hall 7 days a week and offers vegan options at all of the major cafeterias on campus. SFU has a vegan menu featured through its catering program ensuring vegan choices for all meetings, events and ceremonies held on campus. Additionally, SFU has partnered with Kirtan Vancouver, to offer a full all you can eat vegan meal for $6 on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays on its Burnaby Campus. Proceeds from this offering go to an outreach service that feeds the those in need in Vancouver's Downtown East-Side.

Low-Impact Dining Events 

Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor host low impact dining events (e.g. Meatless Mondays)?:
Yes

A brief description of the low impact dining events:
SFU's Dining Services has partnered with Embark to offer a Meatless Monday program called the Monday Veggie Challenge. The Challenge aims to raise awareness on the impact of meat consumption on our planet and our health, while encouraging the SFU community to choose vegetarian options one day a week.

Sustainability-Themed Meals 

Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor host sustainability-themed meals (e.g. local harvest dinners)?:
Yes

A brief description of the sustainability-themed meals:
Flavours of BC program provides students with the opportunity to taste new items created by chefs from local restaurants where regional specialties and locally sourced items are incorporated in the menu. This program features many Ocean Wise seafood selections.

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:
Guadalupe - All beef, chicken and pork offered is 100% Antibiotic-free and Raised Without the Use of Added Hormones. Nature's Garden Café SFU is committed to sourcing and serving high-quality ingredients without artificial additives including added MSG, artificial trans fats, and ingredients we don’t believe need to be in your food.

Labeling and Signage 

Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor inform customers about low impact food choices and sustainability practices through labeling and signage in dining halls?:
No

A brief description of the sustainability labeling and signage in dining halls:
---

Outreach and Education 

Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor engage in outreach efforts to support learning and research about sustainable food systems?:
Yes

A brief description of the outreach efforts to support learning and research about sustainable food systems:
SFU sponsors students each year to visit Fair Trade farms in South America to see and learn first-hand how fair trade impacts individuals and communities. Upon their return, students are encouraged to present on their trip by preparing presentations and reports as well as sharing their story with their peers.

Other Initiatives 

Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor have other sustainability-related initiatives (e.g. health and wellness initiatives, making culturally diverse options available)?:
Yes

A brief description of the other sustainability-related dining initiatives:
SFU provides Ramadan Meal Plan program for its students observing Ramadan. SFU hosted an Earth Day celebration at its Dining Hall in 2018.

Part 2: Food and Dining Waste 

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:
SFU hosted a three-week long food waste education and engagement challenge at its dining hall in 2017 to encourage students to better understand and confront food waste at SFU. Students were engaged through food sampling, one on one discussions on food waste, plate portioning demonstrations and were encouraged to share their own thoughts on food waste.

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:
SFU's dining hall is a trayless dining venue.

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:
---

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 (e.g. converting cooking oil to fuel, on-site anaerobic digestion)?:
Yes

A brief description of the food materials diversion program:
In 2017, SFU recycled 3,550 liters/ of cooking oil through Redux, Western Canada’s leader in used cooking oil collection. The cooking oil collected is recycled into a product used as an ingredient in various types of agricultural feed rations and biodiesel production.

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:
SFU requires all food sourced on to campus be composted through its Zero Waste Program if need be.

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:
SFU's Dining Services staff are trained in SFU's Zero Waste standards which includes composting.

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:
All catered events on campus use reusable dish ware and all meals prepared in SFU's dining hall are served on reusable service ware.

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:
SFU's food packaging standards requires all "to-go" packaging to be compostable or recyclable. SFU has a strict no Styrofoam policy and has successfully eliminated all such packaging from its campuses. SFU also offers the Go Green Container Exchange program where students, staff and faculty can use this reusable container in place of the compostable or recyclable containers. The Go Green Containers are microwavable and dishwasher safe.

Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor offer discounts or other incentives to customers who use reusable containers (e.g. mugs) instead of disposable or compostable containers in “to-go” food service operations?:
Yes

A brief description of the reusable container discount or incentives program:
By using a personal travel mug at all SFU's dining hall and Renaissance cafe locations, SFU community members receive a 0.25 cents discount on their beverage purchase.

Other Materials Management Initiatives 

Has the institution or its primary dining services contractor implemented other materials management initiatives to minimize waste not covered above (e.g. working with vendors and other entities to reduce waste from food packaging)?:
Yes

A brief description of other dining services materials management initiatives:
SFU's Vendor and Catering Food Packaging Guidelines requires all food packaging given to customers on SFU campuses is either recyclable or compostable in alignment with SFU’s current Zero Waste system. This standard goes beyond SFU's dining hall and on campus vendors to include those situated on UniverCity, a community located adjacent to SFU's Burnaby campus and those managed by Simon Fraser Student Society (SFSS).

Optional Fields 

The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
https://dining.sfu.ca/

Additional documentation to support the submission:
---

Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
---

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.