Sustainability 23/24 action plan

Published on

News Sustainability

As part of our sustainability 23/24 action plan we have launched a number of initiatives with the support of colleagues in the Sustainability Team:

Keep Cup Campaign

  • Of the 100,000 hot drinks we serve each year, only 4% are sold in a reusable cup
  • We have launched a Keep Cup campaign aimed at customers increasing the the use of own cups from 4% to 25%
  • Keep Cups are available across campus, for £4, and your first drink is free
  • Use it again, and you'll get a 25p discount of every drink you buy
  • Don't want to buy a Keep Cup? Use your own, and you'll still get your 25p discount

Freshly Made on Campus

  • A new selection of homemade salads and sandwiches are making their way into our food outlets
  • As well as being great value for money, preparing inhouse is also great for sustainability, with fresh, healthy ingredients and lowering our carbon footprint by not buying in pre-prepared from external suppliers
  • You can find our Freshly Made on Campus ranges in all our food outlets

Delivering on Sustainability

  • All delivered buffets now come with reusable plates and drink cup
  • At the end of the day all reusables are collected by our team, returned to the Guild, and rewashed ready to reuse
  • More initiatives are planned for this service, over the next few months, so watch this space 

Reducing our waste

We're supporting the University's  target to reduce our waste by 50% by 2025 with a  number of initiatives, including:

  • Sending all waste oil to Ollecco, from VG&M Waterhouse Cafe &  Guild Food Court, which is used to create high quality biofuels for transport
  • End of date or best before products are sold at reduced prices or sent to the onsite student food pantry
  • Providing biodegradable take-away containers, cups and cutlery products in all food outletsUsing large multi-portion sauce bottles, instead of plastic individual sauce sachets
  • Working with suppliers to reduce packaging at source, and ensure that any essential packaging is recyclable
  • Sending all food waste for recycling via anaerobic digestion. The food waste is broken down in the absence of oxygen to produce gas, which can be used as a renewable fuel. The gases are captured as fuel and used to generate heat and energy. 

Bottle Up

  • We're trialing a new initiative for bottled water
  • The bottle is attractive enough to keep, durable enough to last, safe enough to refill, and just as convenient and refreshing as ordinary bottled water
  • And we'll fill your back up at any of our outletsTry one today for £3 - available in Law for a trial period only