Sustainability

Our Initiatives

As a guest, it is easy to make smart environmental choices when you dine at UMass Boston. We know you want to do the right thing for the planet and also understand you lead busy lives, so our chefs and managers do a lot of the work for you behind the scenes! This commitment was formalized with Sodexo's Better Tomorrow Plan, which includes 18 commitments for a brighter future by focusing on four key priorities: health, planet, community, and our people.

Our Definition

Definition of Local

Our Definition of Local

Agricultural products are local if it is:

Exclusively grown or trapped in Massachusetts
Derived from an animal that was raised for at least one-third of its life in Massachusetts (except milk)
For milk, a majority was produced from Massachusetts animals
Honey produced by Massachusetts colonies located exclusively in Massachusetts when all nectar was collected

Processed foods are local if:

50% or more of all product ingredients by volume (excluding water) are raw agricultural products that are local to Massachusetts and
Either processed or the food manufacturer is headquartered in Massachusetts

Unique food products are local if two or more of the following are true:

50% or more of all ingredients by volume (excluding water) are raw agricultural products that are local to Massachusetts
Substantial transformation of the ingredients in the product occurred in Massachusetts
The headquarters of the company that manufactures the product is in Massachusetts

Definition of Regional

Our Definition of Regional

Food grown, raised, or harvested within the six New England states (+50 mile radius)

Agricultural products are regional if:

The vendor of the product is a regional food business, and 100% of the ingredients were grown, raised, or harvested on farms within the six New England states plus 50 miles

Processed and Unique foods are regional if:

The vendor of the product is a regional food business, and at least 50% of the ingredients were grown, raised, or harvested on farms within the six New England states plus 50 miles (for example, broccoli soup, in which the broccoli and dairy were sourced regionally and equal 50% or more of the ingredients)

3-Northeast Organic Family Farm Partnership

Sodexo is proud to sign on as a Northeast Organic Family Farm partner to support organic dairy farms in the Northeast and to help secure the future of organic dairy. We’re committed to purchasing organic dairy products from brands that source their milk from our region.

To learn about our commitment and the partnership, please visit www.saveorganicfamilyfarms.org

4-Reusable container programs on campuses: Choose to Reuse is a reusable to-go container program. This innovative reusable container program is designed to reduce packaging waste. By participating in the Choose to Reuse program, you can dine at your convenience while also taking steps to protect the environment.

5-Composting on campuses

Food waste in landfills creates methane, a greenhouse gas that is 21 times more potent than CO2. (www.epa.gov) Our first priority is to reduce food waste. We compost unavoidable food waste, which reduces greenhouse gas emissions and can also be used to amend the soil, thereby increasing drought tolerance, improving soil structure and health, and reducing the need for water and fertilizers.

6-Recycling on campuses

Recycling reduces waste sent to landfills and incinerators.
Recycling prevents pollution.
Recycling conserves natural resources.
Recycling conserves energy.
Recycling creates jobs, producing economic benefits.

7-Our kitchens use WasteWatch powered by Leanpath systems. This allows our culinary teams to monitor and track our food waste while we prepare your meals. Using Leanpath, we can quickly identify causes of food waste in real time and make necessary adjustments to our procedures to help combat food waste.

8-Responsible Sourcing:

·100% sustainable seafood

·Fair Trade

·Harvest of the month

·Cage Free

Animal welfare link

https://us.sodexo.com/our-impact/responsible-supply-chain/our-commitments-animal-welfare.html

committed to a responsible supply chain

https://us.sodexo.com/corporate-responsibility/responsible-supply-chain.html

9-Additional Campus Initiatives

·100% recycled paper napkins in Xpress Nap Dispensers to encourage guests to take a few napkins

·Reusable dishware

·Green certified cleaning supplies Green Certified Cleaners

·Bulk condiments

·On/Off protocols for our equipment

·Energy Star appliances

·Food recovery programs on campus – (site-specific, we are in the process of developing for all accounts)

Trayless dining. Customers without trays typically waste less food and beverages. Trayless dining reduces the amount of water and detergents needed to wash trays and saves energy.

Lean Path

Food waste is a huge problem of breathtaking scope: nearly 40% of the food produced in the US is wasted. This waste has significant financial and environmental impacts. Financially, food costs are on the rise—up 42% in the last decade—so the food that’s being thrown out has a big price tag. Environmentally, food waste is filling up landfills at a staggering rate, producing 135 million tons of greenhouse gases every year and using up natural resources. That’s why UMB Dining Services weighs out all waste, and keeps track of it, so we can have a greater impact the environment.

Composting

Pre-consumer and post-consumer food waste from our kitchens and the dish room is all collected by an off-site waste management vendor to be composted.

More information about where our compost goes and percentages is coming soon!

Local Suppliers

Local Suppliers 25% of our purchasing goes to support local businesses. We are proud to offer fresh, local food here on campus including homemade bagels from Zeppy's Bakery, fresh seafood from Red's Best Seafood, delicious desserts from Montillio's, and fruits and vegetables through Baldor from locations like Lowell Farms and Ward's Berry Farms. Additionally, we produce several products as local as possible...right here on campus. Every day our meats are roasted in house and our pastries are baked fresh.

Northeast Organic Family Farm Partnership

Do you want to help support our region's local farmers? Take the pledge to ensure the survival and success of organic dairy farms in the Northeast.

Xpress Napkin Holders

XPressnap dispensers are another solution to reducing energy and waste. They use 30% less paper than traditional napkin dispensing mechanisms which helps the environment while helping to keep costs down. The napkins are made of 100% recycled paper and the dispenser will encourage customers to take (and waste) less napkins. Energy is saved because less power is used to recycle paper products than to create them from virgin material. According to Xpressnap, enough is saved through using recycled napkins to power 600 American homes for an entire year! More than half a million gallons of oil were saved ‘ 38 tanker trucks worth ‘ and 41 tons of pollutants were kept out of the environment. Using recycled napkins diverted 4,131 cubic yards of paper from landfills. This is enough to cover a football field with a stack of paper two and a half feet deep. Find these napkin holders at all campus dining locations!

Red's Best

Our New England location means access to some of the freshest, most delicious and responsibly sourced fish and seafood possible. Our seafood partner Red's Best™ of Boston is committed to only distributing from small, local fishing boats supporting a vital fishing industry and tradition. Most of University Dining Services fish is caught just miles from our campus. And with access to over 60 different species daily, we have fully integrated Red's Best™ into our dining program. Additionally, Red's Best™ has implemented a simple yet brilliant QR code technology allowing the consumer to know what fish they are eating but who the actual fisherman was who caught their dinner! Learn more about Red's Best™ in Edible Boston and National Geographic.

Trayless

Our trayless dining locations help our campus reduce food waste.