Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 46.82
Liaison Ashley Woolman
Submission Date May 16, 2019
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

Western Colorado University
OP-8: Sustainable Dining

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.88 / 2.00 Jonathan Coady
General Manager
Sodexo
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor have a published sustainable dining policy?:
No

A brief description of the sustainable dining policy:
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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:

Sodexo purchases organic, hyper-local produce from the Western Pinnacles Greenhouse whenever available, in turn, supporting a sustainable, student led farming movement (Organics Guild).


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, Gunnison has a local farmers market that runs through the summer and into fall. All kinds of local produce, arts, and crafts are sold each Saturday. Western's Organics Guild (student club) also partners with the farmers market.


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:

Every lunch and dinner there is a vegan option available for customers with visible signage with a nutritional profile included. As well, there is a vegan station and always a vegan and vegetarian option EVERY meal.


Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor host low impact dining events (e.g. Meatless Mondays)?:
No

A brief description of the low impact dining events:
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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:

Sodexo usually caters several zero waste food events on campus with locally sourced food options, etc.


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?:
No

A brief description of the sustainability-themed food outlet:
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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:

Vegan and vegetarian options are available every meal with clear signage displaying these options along with nutritional facts.


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:

Western's Organics Guild does outreach concerning sustainable food systems each year during Earth Week. They also host "work days" in our campus garden and greenhouse where any student can participate and learn more about organic farming.


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:

Our multicultural center often partners with Sodexo for culturally themed meal events (Pacific Islanders, Flavors of Bavaria, etc).


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:

Sodexo is under contract to divert waste and recycle where possible. The Director of Sustainability tracks recycling and composting data for Sodexo and works with staff to improve waste management. We compost prep waste and spoilage in our industrial composter and we send some food waste to a local pig farm. We give waste oil to the county biodiesel fuel burner.


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:

We have tray-less dining.


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:
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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:

We donate food waste to a local pig farm and send oil to the county biodiesel burner.


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:

We compost pre-consumer food waste in our industrial composter. Two student sustainability coordinators operate/maintain the composter and teach food service workers what is compostable.


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:

We compost post-consumer food waste in our industrial composter. Two student sustainability coordinators operate/maintain the composter and teach students what is compostable.


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, we have reusable service ware and we also provide "zero waste kits" with reusable service ware for parties or events.


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:

We use biodegradable/compostable flatware and cups.


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:

Discounts on coffee at our cafe are offered to those students who purchase our reusable Western mug.


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:

We use a pulper/extractor to reduce food waste volume by as much as 75%.


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:

Sodexo is constantly aiming to improve it's sustainability practices, and Western's branch meets and oftentimes exceeds those aims.


Sodexo is constantly aiming to improve it's sustainability practices, and Western's branch meets and oftentimes exceeds those aims.

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