University of Pittsburgh
OP-7: Food and Beverage Purchasing

The percentages and inventory of food and beverage purchases are informed by the food service provider contracted at the University of Pittsburgh, Chartwells Higher Education. The Sustainability Director gathered the data from a Food Buy. This submission includes food and beverage purchasing data between July 1, 2022, and June 30, 2023 (the University’s 2023 Fiscal Year). This data does not include national retail brands on campus (Chick-fil-A, Burrito Bowl, Shake Smart, and Starbucks), which was not available at the time of the report. The final numbers were calculated using the STARS Food and Beverage Purchasing Inventory Template and the Food Buy report.

The University of Pittsburgh strives to build food systems that support a healthy body and a healthy planet, strengthen local communities, and minimize waste. The 2018 Pitt Sustainability Plan lays out several Food Systems goals, including two relevant to this credit:

• Support a local, fair, ecologically sound, and humane food system by expanding the Real Food Challenge across campus to serve 25% Real Food by 2025.
• Serve meals that put plants at the center of the plate by decreasing the amount of animal-derived products sold by 25% by 2025 (from 2017 baseline).

REAL FOOD CHALLENGE:

The University began calculating using the Real Food Calculator in 2013 and signed the campus commitment in 2014. Our original goal was to serve “20% Real Food” in our largest dining hall (now called The Eatery) by 2020. We achieved that goal 2 years early in 2018 – and subsequently recommitted to the Real Food program in the 2018 Pitt Sustainability Plan with a commitment to procure 25% Real Food campus-wide by 2025. The University is beginning to rework the Real Food Challenge goal given the organization's end.

REAL FOOD CHALLENGE DASHBOARD: Real Food was included as part of Pitt’s Sustainability Dashboard launch in 2019, with annual numbers updated dynamically online (scroll down to bottom for 2014 – 19 Real Food tracking here: https://www.sustainable.pitt.edu/dashboard/)

COOL FOOD PLEDGE:

To continue to advance the University of Pittsburgh’s plant-based and plant-forward options, Pitt was among the first signatories (and one of the first 3 universities worldwide) to join in the Coolfood Pledge in 2019. A global initiative led by the World Resources Institute (WRI), by signing the Cool Food Pledge, Pitt re-committed to cutting food-related greenhouse gas emissions by 25% by 2030 (initially a 2018 Pitt Sustainability Plan goal to “Serve meals that put plants at the center of the plate by decreasing the amount of animal-derived products sold by 25% by 2025 (from 2017 baseline).” As a result, Pitt has been working with WRI since 2019 to track its Cool Food performance.
For calendar year 2021, Pitt’s food-related GHG emissions were 15.5% below our 2017 baseline, with GHG emissions “per plate” (i.e., per 1,000 kcal) down 25% from our 2017 baseline. For CY21, Pitt performed better in GHG emissions per plate than the average North American diet and other higher education Coolfood Pledge members.
Working with WRI to calculate food-related GHG emissions has also enabled Pitt to include food purchases in the University’s annual GHG inventory. Pitt’s FY22 GHG inventory revealed that food purchases accounted for 2.97% of the University’s GHG emissions (more than student commuting, fleet, and wastewater combined).

Learn more about Pitt’s Coolfood commitment: https://www.sustainable.pitt.edu/cool-food-pledge