EAUC Webinar
3rd April 2013
Food sustainability and the
Soil Association
Why food matters to universities?
• Attracting new students and reassuring
parents
• Making a tangible contribution to carbonreduction targets
• Increasing sales of on-campus food
• Improving health
• Contributing to the local economy by buying
local food
• People & Planet Green League
The evidence
“Current knowledge suggests that a healthy diet will very often also
be a sustainable diet.” Department of Health, Oct 2011
Priority steps, from SDC review for Defra: ‘Setting the table’
1. reducing meat and dairy
2. cutting food and drink of low nutritional value
3. reducing food waste
4. consuming only fish from sustainable stocks
5. eating more seasonal food
6. consuming more wildlife-friendly, organic foods
Nutrition guidelines + 25%
GHG reduction
The Jamie Generation
Perceived barriers
“UK procurement managers have convinced themselves that EU regulations prohibit
specifying the use of local food in public contracts. While it is indeed illegal to specify local
products that can only be supplied by local producers (a stance that contravenes the EU
principle of non-discrimination), it is possible to specify for produce such qualities as fresh,
seasonal, organic and certified – qualities that are used to secure local produce in all but
name in countries like Italy, for instance.” Sonnino, R and Morgan, K, 2010
Social Return on Investment
• NEF: for every £1 invested in Food for
Life menus, there is a return of over £3
in value to the local economy and
society.
• Most of this value lies in local
economic opportunities around
supplying local, seasonal food, and
resulting employment.
Business benefits – why businesses sign up
Grow meal uptake
• e.g. London Borough of Richmond +39%
• Meal price reduced 18p
Public recognition for good work
• A Catering Mark is a respected and recognised indication of
sustainability and quality.
Enhances CSR programmes
• Catering Mark accreditations are testament to commitment
to addressing environmental concerns
Win new contracts
• Catering Mark written in to tenders
• Public health and local authority training
The Soil Association
Food accounts for 30% of our carbon footprint
organic
awareness
Less meat
Sustainable
food
Less plate
waste
local
seasonal
Bringing together all of the issues people care about
• Freshly prepared
• Local
• Seasonal
• Free from trans fats
• Better for animal welfare
Bronze Standards
No undesirable additives, GM or
trans fats
75% freshly prepared
All meat meets British welfare
standards
Eggs from cage-free hens
Seasonal menus
No fish from the ‘fish to avoid’ list
Free drinking water prominently
available
Silver and Gold Standards
Recognising continuous improvement
•
Ethical and environmentally friendly food
•
Championing local producers
•
Making healthy eating easy
Catering Mark success so far
• 743,000 Catering Mark meals served per day
• 5,000+ schools Food for Life
• 70% of London Boroughs
• Half of all universities in Wales are
Catering Mark accredited
• Working with the biggest caterers in
the country across all major sectors
• Increasing numbers of hospitals across
the country are working with us to
deliver Catering Mark meals
The Catering Mark in universities
“We have seen a rise in customer
numbers and repeat visitors. Students
demand freshly prepared meals and
are keen to know the origin of
ingredients and that they tick boxes
environmentally, the perception that
students ‘just want pizza and chips’ is
both outdated and from our
experience incorrect.”
“We have received very positive
feedback from both students and
staff. We were actually surprised at
how interested students are in the
origin of food products, animal
welfare and the make- up of dishes
that they consume.”
“We found that displaying
information about our local
suppliers and products
encouraged customers to engage
further by asking catering staff
about the award”
“It is vital to us that we ‘spread the
word’ and encourage other universities
in the UK to embrace the Food for life
mark, meaning that young people in
higher education are benefiting from a
better quality of freshly prepared food
and are aware of the important issues
that the mark represents.”
“The fact that our Catering Mark
award improves our People and
Planet rating was not the driving
factor in getting the Catering
Mark, but is a good thing that the
work is recognised in this way.”
“This year’s TUCO conference
theme is sustainability and
knowing other institutions who
have already achieved the award I
thought now was the time to
explore it further.”
“The biggest challenge was engaging
chefs and serving staff, as there are
price increases to some products.
The big plus point here for us was re
focusing on our menu descriptors
and shouting about the good things
we were already doing.”
“The audit was very thorough but
at no time did I get the
impression of being challenged,
the auditors want to help you
achieve the award whilst ensuring
the standards are met and
maintained in the future.”
Questions?
www.soilassociation.org/marketreport
www.sacert.org/catering