The Green Scene at Dal: Campus Sustainability
As one of the most sustainable food service providers in Canada, Aramark at Dal has introduced some great initiatives over the years:
SUSTAINABLE FOOD
We seek to purchase and use environmentally preferable products and services, and recognize suppliers who reduce environmental impacts in their production and distribution systems or services.
Purchasing Local Food & Supporting Local Businesses:
1. Local produce from H&E Keddy Bros. and Sysco Atlantic
2. Dairy products from Baxter’s Milk
3. Bread products from Ben’s Bakery
4. Beef and Pork products from Tony’s Meats
5. Frozen vegetables from McCain Foods Ltd.
6. Fish from Green Island Fisheries
7. Sushi from Bento Nouveau Sushi
8. Snack tubs from Tmmy Ymmy’s
9. Eggs from Maritime Pride Eggs
10. Samosas from Staff of Life Healthfood...and more!
Between Jan-Apr 2008, ARAMARK bought 32% of its food locally! Between July-September 2008, that number increased to 49%!! Stay tuned for the 2009 results!
Farm to Table Program: Please click "Farm to Table at Dalhousie" in the menu to the left to learn about this great program here at Dalhousie!
Fair Trade Coffee: We offer Just Us! Fair Trade & Organic Coffee and ARAMARK’s Expresso’s Fair Trade & Organic Coffee. Just Us! is available at two retail locations on campus (the Rowe Building and the Alumni Lounge), while Expresso's Fair Trade & Organic Coffee is available in our dining halls and other retail locations (LSC Foodcourt, and Fillings @ Dentistry Building).
Condiments: Using bulk condiments instead of individual portion packs whenever feasible. This results in a tremendous reduction in packaging and resulting waste.
SERVICEWARE / PACKAGING
Reusable Mug Program: Offering a $0.10 discount at any ARAMARK location when using an Enviro/Reusable Mug.
Napkin Dispenser:
Dispense only one napkin at a time! No more wasting handfuls of unused napkins.
Biodegradable Packaging: Check out our new biodegradable packaging on campus!
Tray-Less Dining: All residence dining halls managed by ARAMARK removed their serving trays and went “tray-less.” Annually, it saves ~870,655 litres of water and the associated energy needed to heat it, and reduces food waste by ~30%.
Other initiatives:
1. Paper and bamboo plates and Take-out containers
2. Paper and corn Ecotainer soup bowls and coffee cups
3. Potato starch cutlery
4. Cold beverage and salad cups made from corn
5. Recycled paper and corn sandwich wedges
WASTE MANAGEMENT
Recycling: ARAMARK recycles your glass, plastic, tin, and compost for you!
Fryer Oil Program: ARAMARK is working with Dalhousie Engineering Grad Students to study the effects of using fryer oil in our retail truck!
CLEANING SUPPLIES
We use environmentally-friendly cleaning supplies made by Ecolab. Ecolab ships cleaning supplies in concentrated form, which means less packaging, and therefore fewer emissions (more units can be shipped at a time, less materials needed for packaging, etc.)
ENERGY CONSERVATION
Energy Saving Practices: Operating with energy-saving equipment, lighting, water conserving and more!