Overall Rating Gold
Overall Score 68.36
Liaison Patricia Huynh
Submission Date Dec. 10, 2024

STARS v2.2

University of Waterloo
OP-7: Food and Beverage Purchasing

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.06 / 6.00 Patricia Huynh
Sustainability Projects Manager
Sustainability Office
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Percentage of total annual food and beverage expenditures on products that are sustainably or ethically produced:
1.74

Percentage of total annual food and beverage expenditures on plant-based foods:
32

An inventory of food and beverage purchases that qualify as sustainably/ethically produced:
A brief description of the methodology used to conduct the inventory, including the timeframe and how representative samples accounted for seasonal variation (if applicable):

The inventory is based on purchase receipts across all Food Services departments for the 2023 calendar year. It does not use representative samples. Items have been coded into the purchasing orders throughout the year to allow extraction for local, certified, and fairtrade products.


If reporting Real/Good Food Calculator results, provide:

Website URL where the institution’s validated Real/Good Food Calculator results are publicly posted:
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Which of the following food service providers are present on campus and included in the inventory/assessment?:
Present? Included?
Dining operations and catering services operated by the institution Yes Yes
Dining operations and catering services operated by a contractor No No
Student-run food/catering services Yes No
Franchises (e.g., regional or global brands) No No
Convenience stores No No
Vending services Yes No
Concessions No No

Total annual dining services budget for food and beverage products:
$5 million - $9.9 million

Optional Fields

A brief description of the institution’s sustainable food and beverage purchasing program:

Waterloo’s Food Services has been making efforts to procure sustainably-sourced food. In particular, it has been pursuing the following:

  • Fish/Seafood: Preference for MSC Certified or Sea Choice Certified seafood
  • Coffee/Tea: 100% of all coffee served is Fair Tade certified, and at least 3 fair trade teas are available in all locations that serve teas
  • Produce: Waterloo attempts to purchase seasonal, local produce wherever possible, including through the Elmira Produce Auction Cooperative and through vendors that provide Foodland Ontario produce
  • Meat, poultry, eggs, dairy: Where possible, Food Services sources local options
  • Local products are included in the above inventory of suppliers, but the university is not able to verify with each individual farm that it meets the principles of organic agriculture or fair trade required. However, approximately almost 30% of all Food Services purchases are from local sources.

Website URL where information about the food and beverage purchasing program 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.