Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 65.82
Liaison Konrad Schlarbaum
Submission Date Feb. 20, 2015
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.0

University of Colorado Colorado Springs
OP-6: Food and Beverage Purchasing

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 0.36 / 4.00 Russ Saunkeah
General Manager
Sodexo
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Percentage of dining services food and beverage expenditures that are local and community-based and/or third party verified:
9

A copy of an inventory, list or sample of sustainable food and beverage purchases:
An inventory, list or sample of sustainable food and beverage purchases:
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Does the institution wish to pursue Part 2 of this credit (food and beverage expenditures for on-site franchises, convenience stores, vending services, or concessions)?:
No

Percentage of on-site franchise, convenience store, vending services, and concessions food and beverage purchases that are local and community-based and/or third party verified:
---

A copy of an inventory, list or sample of on-site franchise, convenience store, vending machine, and/or concessions food and beverage purchases that are sustainably produced:
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An inventory, list or sample of on-site franchise, convenience store, vending machine, and/or concessions food and beverage purchases that are sustainably produced:
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A brief description of the sustainable food and beverage purchasing program:

Where possible, UCCS' dining services provider, Sodexo, purchased local, organic, and/or sustainably-produced food service products.


A brief description of the methodology used to track/inventory sustainable food and beverage purchases:

We obtained an inventory of all items used in dining services, identified the sustainable purchases, and performed the necessary calculations.


Total annual food and beverage expenditures:
1,171,923 US/Canadian $

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 Yes Yes
Dining operations and catering services operated by a contractor Yes Yes
Franchises No No
Convenience stores No No
Vending services No No
Concessions No No

Has the institution achieved the following?:
Yes or No
Fair Trade Campus, College or University status No
Certification under the Green Seal Standard for Restaurants and Food Services (GS-46) No
Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification No
Signatory of the Real Food Campus Commitment (U.S.) No

A brief description of other sustainable restaurant and food service standards that the institution’s dining services operations are certified under:

Employee Awareness

Semi annual employee meetings include updates of Sodexo sustainability initiatives and Waste Minimization Overview for training purposes
CPM (culinary planning) meetings used to focus on day to day sustainability practices (equipment use, recycle, waste reduction, etc)

Dining Facilities

During the past year Dining Services has introduced the following initiatives focusing on sustainable best practices:
In conjunction with UCCS has renewed food service contract through 2017 which specifies several goals related to sustainable practices to include:
Establishing an on campus greenhouse to provide fresh organic produce to be utilized in the renovated Overlook.
As a component of the Overlook renovation, continue and expand the use of durable utensils for dining
Discontinue the use of Styrofoam containers for "to go"
Within the design of the Overlook, refine the area dedicated to waste differentiation
With the opening of the new Overlook, eliminate the sale of bottled water
Will move to trayless format in the Overlook
Partnered with the Director of the Office of Sustainability and student volunteers in establishing a relationship with Shamrock Foods in order to define the most sustainable products available. Met with the sales representative from Shamrock and included members of the Office of Sustainability for product familiarization.
Participated in UCCS composting program during the academic year and focused on employee training so that they understand the importance of separating compostable waste.
Sodexo at UCCS has agreed to invest in and will be participating in a pilot program, beginning in August along with 50 other Sodexo accounts nationwide, introducing Lean Path. This is a program designed to track food waste within the food service operation. A view of the program can be seen here: http://leanpath.com/
Dining service employees were introduced to the staff of the Office of Sustainability at our biannual all staff meetings. During this time they were advised of the sustainability initiatives which UCCS has implemented. Dining staff met with several of the "Goalies" who spent considerable time within the dining facilities educating students and staff on the importance of waste differentiation.
Sodexo offered incentives in partnership with the Office of Sustainability for several campaigns throughout the academic year.

Waste Minimization

Weighed wet waste from each meal service during the Spring semester. It was found that an average of 150 lbs per day was being discarded into waste stream.
Switched to trayless format in the Lodge in fall '10
Fall '10 Celebrity Waiter event featured Colorado showcased products

Aspretto

Rolled out Aspretto coffee and Numi program in Lodge and University Hall in fall 09 and Fall 10 respectively. These products are organic fair trade. Must purchase new coffee brewers with this program which are made from recycled materials
Mailed postcards to UHall students made on 100% recycled paper and vegetable inks
All of the display cases at UHall were recycled from another Sodexo account in Denver. The equipment was retro fitted with Simply to Go and Aspretto merchandising using recycled materials

Clyde's Pub

Designed Clyde's to be as eco friendly as possible. Partnered in the reusable container program

Overlook

Offer reusable mug purchase program and discounted refills when those mugs are reused
General

Discarded cooking oil is used for biofuel production.
Participate in Care and Share program in which canned food products are donated, in addition, each Friday leftover food is donated to Marion House
Separating waste and recyclable materials currently using two recycle containers and one wet waste container
On 9/28/11 assisted SEAS in preparing the first annual Harvest Dinner at the Heller Center using products from Venetucci Farm and Haystack Mountain Dairy

Catering

NACAS client dinner at the Cave of the Winds featured Colorado lamb, beef, cheeses, smoked trout and root veggies.
Switched to all compostable disposable materials for Catering events in fall ‘10
Offering durable utensils and educational signage to customer for reducing the amount of disposable utensils
Replace colored non-compostable napkins at Freshman Orientation with recycled napkins that are compostable.

Local Food Sourcing

Currently display local food map for Colorado vendors in Overlook and Lodge
Colorado vendors used by Sodexo with Shamrock Foods:

*Rice's Honey
*Mission Foods
*Trinidad - Benham
*Sam's Tomatoes
*Canon Potato
*Fagerberg
*Petrocco Farms
*Rakhra Mushrooms
*Continental Sausage
*Old Timer Brand Sausage
*Spartoe Egg Farms
Monitor local food purchases via Shamrock Buys Colorado monthly report
Use Robinson dairy for dairy purchases

Reducing Energy Use/Emissions/Kitchen Carbon Footprint

Turn on equipment 15 minutes before needed and turn off after use.
Utilize production schedule to conform with culinary needs and follow culinary planning process
Refrigerated areas kept clean and organized.
Computers and lights turned off when not in use.
Equipment calibrated to insure correct cooking temperatures.
Hood filters cleaned monthly
Using sustainable cleaning solutions and concentrates. Monthly inspections by Ecolab to ensure correct water/cleaning solution concentrations
Follow recipes and portions, batch cooking


The website URL where information about the institution's sustainable food and beverage purchasing efforts is available:
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.