Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 66.40
Liaison Austin Sutherland
Submission Date Feb. 21, 2018
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

University of Pennsylvania
OP-7: Food and Beverage Purchasing

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 0.89 / 6.00
"---" 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:
16.70

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

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):
62

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):

Bon Appetit at Penn Dining believes in preserving the future by purchasing food in a sustainable, socially responsible manner. A sustainable future for food service means flavorful food that’s healthy and economically viable for all, produced through practices that respect farmers, workers, and animals; nourish the community; and replenish the shared natural resources for future generations.
Bon Appetit at Penn Dining purchases the following:
only rBGH-free milk and yogurt;
Ground beef from animals fed a vegetarian diet, never given antibiotics or artificial hormones, and from a third-party verified humane source;
poultry from animals raised without the routine use of antibiotics;
pork never given antibiotics and raised without gestation crates;
seafood, wild and farmed, that adheres to the sustainability guidelines for commercial buyers as outlined by the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch program
cage-free eggs.

In addition, Penn offers vegan/vegetarian options every day at all its dining facilities.


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):

Penn's dining and catering provider, Bon Appetit Management Company provided information on its sustainable food purchases.

This sample represents purchases that Bon Appetit at Penn makes monthly, or otherwise regularly. There are more local farms and businesses that Penn occasionally purchases from, as well as more Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch “Best Choice/Green Rated” seafood items that make their way into the dining halls, but this inventory reflects the campus’s highest volume and consistent purchases.


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

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

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 Yes No
Franchises (e.g. national or global brands) Yes Yes
Convenience stores Yes Yes
Vending services Yes No
Concessions Yes No

A brief description of purchased food and beverage products that have other sustainability attributes not recognized above :

The University dining contractor, Bon Appetit, is a food service company with a commitment to: supporting local agriculture, serve seafood which meets Seafood Water guidelines, reducing antibiotic use in farm animals, serving rBGH-free milk, use cage-free eggs, tackling food's role in climate change, addressing farm-workers' rights, use humanely raised ground beef, and phasing out pork raised with gestation crates. Due to their corporate commitment to leadership in sustainability and many other reasons, Bon Appetit is Penn's primary food service company.


Additional percentage of dining services food and beverage expenditures on conventional products with other sustainability attributes not recognized above (0-100) :
---

The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
---

Data source(s) and notes about the submission:

The University of Pennsylvania is a major research institution, with over 3,000 degrees granted annually from twelve professional and academic schools at the Bachelor's, Master's, and Doctorate levels. Penn is committed to reducing emissions and energy use, as stated in the 2014 "Climate Action Plan 2.0". This submission documents Penn's efforts during the FY17 year and compares them to the FY14 baseline year which corresponds with the University's "Climate Action Plan. 2.0". The submission relies on information related to the main, academic, West Philadelphia campus, but to more fully document efforts across the Penn system, information related to the Morris Arboretum and New Bolton has also been referenced and noted as outside the boundary in descriptions. The information is used to enrich examples of University efforts and is not intended to be the primary justification for credits. The responses for each of the questions and sub-questions are drawn from University materials, both internal and public documents. Each section notes the website where the information can be found.


The University of Pennsylvania is a major research institution, with over 3,000 degrees granted annually from twelve professional and academic schools at the Bachelor's, Master's, and Doctorate levels. Penn is committed to reducing emissions and energy use, as stated in the 2014 "Climate Action Plan 2.0". This submission documents Penn's efforts during the FY17 year and compares them to the FY14 baseline year which corresponds with the University's "Climate Action Plan. 2.0". The submission relies on information related to the main, academic, West Philadelphia campus, but to more fully document efforts across the Penn system, information related to the Morris Arboretum and New Bolton has also been referenced and noted as outside the boundary in descriptions. The information is used to enrich examples of University efforts and is not intended to be the primary justification for credits. The responses for each of the questions and sub-questions are drawn from University materials, both internal and public documents. Each section notes the website where the information can be found.

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.