Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 74.42
Liaison Mary-Lee Townsend
Submission Date Feb. 1, 2018
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

Western University
OP-8: Sustainable Dining

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.00 / 2.00 Connor Donald
Sustainability Coordinator
Facilities Management
"---" 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:
(see on-line Sustainability Report [introduction and page 11 “Sustainability in our Request for Proposals as well as our purchasing site] “Hospitality Services is dedicated to reducing our environmental footprint. Partners who share this commitment to environmental improvements by providing opportunity for increased local procurement will be given significant weight in the Request-For-Proposal process.” http://hospitalityservices.uwo.ca/purchasing.cfm http://hospitalityservices.uwo.ca/sustainabilityreport/sustainabilityreport2016.pdf

On-Campus Sourcing 

Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor source food from a campus garden or farm?:
No

A brief description of the program to source food from a campus garden or farm:
No however, each residence has an “Urban Cultivator” and Great Hall Catering maintains honey bee hives from which the honey is used in recipes, served with tea and coffee and bottled for sale. Honeycomb is incorporated into the local cheese plates and beeswax is used to polish the wooden serving platters. (See on-line 2016 Sustainability Report and link to article on the Urban Cultivator). Urban Cultivator: http://news.westernu.ca/2015/11/growing-interest-in-a-green-solution/ Honey Bee Article: http://news.westernu.ca/2016/07/campus-buzz-latest-addition/ Article in Arts and Life on Greenleaf Café: https://issuu.com/westerngazette/docs/oct4/5

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?:
Yes

A brief description of the farmers market, CSA or urban agriculture project:
Yes – annual farmers market (June November) http://hospitalityservices.uwo.ca/community_sustainability.cfm High Liner Foods is the major supplier of seafood for Residence Dining. High Liner has pledged to have all responsibly sourced products, and currently 99% of their seafood supply comes from certified sustainable or responsible sources.

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:
Yes. Our 6-week menu rotation for the residence operations consists of 54% meatless (lacto-ovo) options (of which 50% are completely vegan) See on-line menu cycle at: http://residencedining.uwo.ca/menu_cycles.cfm Specialty items such as non dairy beverages (almond and soy milk) vegan yogurt (yoso brand), cheese (Daiya brand), cheese cake (Daiya Brand) and veganaise are also available. Packaged nuts/seeds are available across campus. In our retail operation meatless/vegan options are available at several locations (i.e., FRESH East, Pita Pit, Made in Japan, Salad Bar [UCC], Argo Tea, Bento Sushi, Ivey Eatery, Noodles [UCC and Talbot Eatery], Quesada, Mucho Burrito, Booster Juice). We are working with the Vegan Society on Campus to better identify the vegan options across campus.

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:
We partner with the Department of Housing on a 2-week program called “Rez Powers Down”.

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:
Annual Apple Week, Artisan Cheese Night , Farmer’s Table, Free FairTrade Cone Day , My “Fair” Valentine FairTrade chocolate sale, Many cultural dining themed meals throughout the school semester.

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:
The Green Leaf Café: http://greenleafcafe.uwo.ca/ Argo Tea: Argo tea has incorporated environmental considerations into all their packaging and brewing practices https://news.westernu.ca/2016/09/new-business-fits-western-tea/

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?:
Yes

A brief description of the sustainability labeling and signage in dining halls:
World food day powerpoints during waste reduction weeks, table tents for sustainability week and Rez Powers Down, Fair Trade Campus Anniversary Celebrations

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:
Green Campus Lecture Series This three-part series focused on sustainable healthy eating at breakfast, lunch and dinner. Each session included round-table discussions as well as interactive cooking components. Topics covered during the breakfast session included; the importance of breakfast and sustainable breakfast choices, after which time participants were assisted by FRESH Peer Educators in preparing breakfast smoothies, lentil pancakes and yogurt parfaits; topics during the lunch session included eating for energy and waste-free lunches and the interactive components included the making of dips and spreads (ie., guacamole and tzatziki) and various grain salads; and topics covered during the dinner session included food-literacy and menu-planning and participants were invited to make a vegetarian pad Thai and panini-style sandwiches. This event was registered through the Student Success Centre as a “co-curricular” event.) • resource created by MES student entitled “Guide to Sustainable Food” and “Food systems and sustainability”; used as a reference when developing content/program for the International/Exchange Student Centre and Green Campus Series events. Sustainability Week

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:
HEALTH AND WELLNESS INITIATIVES: FRESH Many of the events (ie.,The Green Campus Series, Sustainability Week, Workshops for the International/Exchange Centre) were delivered by FRESH (Food Resources and Education for Student Health) students. FRESH is a “Research-based peer nutrition education program designed to: Increase awareness, build skills, reward healthy eating and influence the campus foodservice environment.” http://freshu.ca CULTURALLY DIVERSE OPTONS HALAL AND KOSHER Many of our protein options on our regular residence 6-week menu rotation are halal (i.e., chicken breast, chicken nuggets, ground beef, meatballs and chicken thighs/drumsticks). Our menu is also rich in vegetarian and seafood options which are also deemed halal. Kosher options which purchased through Ely’s Fine Foods, a local kosher foodservice operator, are available upon request. INTERNATIONAL WEEK This is celebrated yearly with special themed menus. Last year we featured: A taste of South America, Middle East, The Mediterranean, Africa, Greece, Asia and The United Kingdom.

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:
The kitchens within residences and select eateries on campus have pre-consumer food waste collection bins that are sent for composting.

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:
Residence cafeterias and select eateries across campus have post-consumer food waste collection bins that are sent for composting.

Food Donation 

Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor donate food that would otherwise go to waste to feed people?:
Yes

A brief description of the food donation program:
Ark Aide Mission picks up food 1 -2 times a day from the campus outlets and when needed from the residence operations.

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:
Oil from Campus Eateries is sold to and recycled at Wardlaw Poultry Farm.

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:
Yes. In all residence operations, Great Hall Catering and in some of the Retail outlets Harvest Power creates electricity from Western’s compost using anaerobic digestion.

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:
Western has a 100% post-consumer food waste composting program in all residences eateries. which include all organic matter, paper and cooked meat. This program also exists in other select eateries across campus.

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:
Yes in the residence operations, the Ivey Eaterie as well as in Great Hall Catering and the Green Leaf Cafe.

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:
o Ecotainer program – Hospitality Services gives students the option to use a re-usable take-out container in Residence Dining. During this past academic year (2016 – 2017), 5,950 containers were sold. (we house approximately 4,700)  http://residencedining.uwo.ca/special.cfm#Reuse o Grinder in Saugeen Maitland Hall, which grinds and removes the majority of liquid from pre and post-consumer compost. More compact, more efficient and less expensive. o Coke picks up plastic case wrap and re-cycles it in their facility

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:
At Western, customers receive $0.10 off when using their own reusable bottle or reusable mug at any on campus eateries.

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)?:
No

A brief description of other dining services materials management initiatives:
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Optional Fields 

The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
http://hospitalityservices.uwo.ca/sustainability.cfm

Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
See “Sustainability Action Plan” and “Sustainability Report” Hospitality Services Sustainability Representative: Anne Zok (Nutrition manager) azok@housing.uwo.ca (519) 661-3855

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.