Starbucks, SABMiller take holistic approach to sustainability

Read the full story at GreenBiz.

Food and beverage companies don’t have it easy. Climate change, rapid population growth and competition for dwindling natural resources all pose huge threats.

Yet the industry is making the least progress in tackling these issues and reducing its environmental impact, according to advisory firm KPMG. At the same time, the financial cost of these environmental changes continues to grow at a rapid pace, hitting $200 billion in 2010, more than any other sector.

But a growing number of large multinational agribusinesses and food companies, including Starbucks and SABMiller, are facing these sustainability risks head-on using a large-scale approach that recognizes the interconnectedness of water, food, energy and climate, according to a new report from Landscapes for People, Food and Nature initiative, a collaboration of nine of the world’s leading anti-hunger, conservation and development organizations.

 

23 New England Colleges Join Effort to Reduce Food Waste

Twenty-three colleges and universities in New England have joined an EPA effort to cut the amount of food that goes to waste. This doubles the participation of EPA’s Food Recovery Challenge in 2013, since eleven New England colleges and universities were already participating in the challenge. In 2011, these schools recovered a total of 4,538 tons of food.

The partnership, which was announced in honor of Earth Day, aims to reduce the 1.64 million tons of food wasted each year in the six New England states. EPA’s Food Recovery Challenge, encourages organizations to reduce, donate, and recycle as much of their excess food as possible, which saves money, feeds the needy, and helps protect the environment-the triple bottom line. By joining the Challenge, participating schools pledge to reduce food waste going to disposal on their campuses.

The colleges and universities who joined the program this year are:

Massachusetts
College of the Holy Cross, Worcester
Lesley University, Cambridge
Salem State University, Salem
Westfield State University, Westfield
University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth
Boston College, Chestnut Hill
Worcester State University, Worcester
Tufts University, Medford
Assumption College, Worcester
Wellesley College, Wellesley
Bentley University, Waltham

Rhode Island
Johnson & Wales University, Providence
Roger Williams University, Bristol
University of Rhode Island, Kingston

Maine
University of Maine, Farmington
University of Maine, Orono
College of the Atlantic, Bar Harbor

Vermont
Lyndon State College in Lyndon
Johnson State College, Johnson
Vermont Technical College, Randolph

New Hampshire
Plymouth State University, Plymouth

Connecticut
University of Connecticut, Storrs
Wesleyan University, Middletown

Sodexo, CompassUSA, Aramark dining hall operators also participate in the Food Recovery Challenge as dining hall contractors. The National Association of College and University Dining Services, who represents this food service industry, formally endorsed the Challenge as part of its sustainability mission. There is a growing recognition in the College and University Sector of the importance of sustainable food management.

The Food Recovery Network, a group of 19 colleges and universities that volunteer to recover surplus food from their campuses and donated to those in need, also formally endorsed EPA’s Food Recovery Challenge. The Network was started at the University of Maryland in 2011 and in 2012 became a not-for-profit. The organization recovered more than 130,000 pounds of food in its first year of operation, and continues to promote the connection between wasted food on college campuses and opportunities to aid in local hunger relief. More than 14 percent of households in the U.S. were food insecure, in 2009, meaning they did not know where their next meal would come from.

Food waste generated by local institutions, hospitals, colleges, universities and restaurants is often actually safe, wholesome food that could feed millions of Americans, according to both the US Department of Agriculture and EPA. EPA is working with institutions and hunger-relief organizations to increase food donations. Composting food waste also leads to important environmental outcomes. Composted food waste creates a valuable soil product that can be used to enhance the quality of soils.

Diverting food waste from landfills also reduces the generation of harmful gases that contribute to climate change. When food is disposed of in a landfill, it decomposes rapidly and become a significant source of methane, a potent greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change. After paper, food waste comprises the greatest volume of waste going into our nation’s landfills. In 2010, 34 million tons of food waste was generated but only 3 percent of this waste stream was diverted to composting.

The Food Recovery Challenge is part of the EPA’s Sustainable Materials Management Program, which seeks to reduce the environmental impact of food and other widely-used everyday items through their entire life cycle, including how they are extracted, manufactured, distributed, used, reused, recycled, and disposed.

More information:

• EPA’s Food Recovery Challenge: http://www.epa.gov/foodrecoverychallenge/
• EPA’s Sustainable Materials Management Program, visit: http://www.epa.gov/epawaste/conserve/smm/index.htm

 

Illinois DCEO Free Green Nozzle Program

DCEO is offering FREE green nozzles!

What is a green nozzle?
A highly efficient pre-rinse spray valve that saves energy through reduced hot water heating.

Who is Eligible?
Public sector facilities like schools, colleges, universities, park districts, hospitals, nursing homes, and other state and federal facilities with food preparation and cooking services in Nicor, Peoples, North Shore or Ameren Illinois service territories.

For more information click here.

 

Military Base Saves $300,000 with Composting

Read the full story at Environmental Leader.

The US military composted 670 tons of food waste at its Joint Base Lewis-McChord near Tacoma, Wash., in 2012, diverting the food from landfills and saving $300,000 in disposal costs, the base’s official newspaper The Northwest Guardian reports.

Revenue and savings from the program support the base’s recycling as well as its programs for family, morale, welfare and recreation.

The food waste, which is collected from Army and Air Force Exchange Service restaurants, unit dining facilities, child care centers, and other facilities, is delivered to the JBLM Earthworks composting facility several times a week. The JBLM Lewis Main Commissary alone recycled 261,760 pounds of food waste last year, saving $21,062 in disposal costs.

 

3 ways businesses can target consumer food waste

Read the full story at GreenBiz.

Note: This is the second of a two-part series on food waste. The first part is available here: 3 reasons businesses should target consumer food waste.

Americans love convenience, and throwing away unwanted food is very convenient. My recent article describes why businesses should encourage their customers to throw away less food. Next comes the question of how: How can businesses target consumer food waste? Let’s look at the options. Note that your business situation and customers are unique, so you will want to use a customized strategy.

Consumer-facing food waste reduction strategies fall into three categories:

1. Helping customers buy less food.
2. Helping customers use food they buy.
3. Helping customers understand the impacts of food waste.

 

Webinar: Sustainable Food Management at Federal Facilities

Thu, Feb 28, 2013 12:00 PM – 1:30 PM CST
Register at https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/795248593

Panelists will explore how federal agencies can prevent and reduce food waste through source reduction, donation, and composting programs. Content is more broadly applicable to non-federal facilities.

 

Three BU Restaurants Get Four Stars for Eco-Friendliness

Read the full story from Boston University.

Leanne Ciccone wasn’t aware that Rize, the upscale café at the Center for Student Services that she visits “embarrassingly a lot,” is a four-star restaurant. Well, sort of. It wasn’t given that rating by Forbes or Michelin, but by the Green Restaurant Association (GRA), and the stars honor the restaurant’s eco-friendly construction and practices.

“It puts merit behind what you eat,” says Ciccone (SED’16).

In fact, each of the three eateries at the Center for Student Services at 100 Bay State Rd.—Rize, Late Night Kitchen, and Fresh Food Company at Marciano Commons—earned more than 300 points and a four-star rating to qualify as a Certified Green Restaurant®. And last spring the GSU’s Union Court received a GRA three-star rating.

 

Food Scrap Pilot Program in Madison County

Via the Illinois Recycling Association’s Material Matters Newsletter.

Instead of throwing away their food scraps from breakfast and lunch, East Alton District #13 students are participating in a Food Scrap Pilot Program.  The food scraps are collected and composted to become food for plants. This Food Scrap Pilot Program is sponsored by the Madison County Green Schools Program and takes place in the East Alton Middle School, Eastwood Elementary School and Washington Early Childhood Center, all in East Alton, IL.

All three East Alton schools currently use single stream recycling.  For the pilot program, the students empty their food waste into a compostable bag that is the lining of a 65-gallon rolling tote.  The full totes are taken outside the buildings and picked up three times a week by Always Green Recycling (AGR).  AGR transports the totes to St. Louis Compost, Belleville, IL where the scraps become plant food (compost) in 180 days.

“We are very honored and excited to be selected for Madison County Food Scrap Pilot Program,” stated East Alton District #13 Superintendent, Mr. Virgil Moore.  “With the addition of food composting to our already established single-stream recycling program, the East Alton School District will come very close to achieving zero waste.  These programs allow our District to realize a significant reduction in operating costs while, at the same time, teaching our students to be responsible citizens.”

The program kicked-off on America Recycles Day.  After only one and one-half months into the program, over 6.48 tons of food waste has been diverted from the landfill.  The program is a partnership between the Madison County Green Schools Program, Madison County Health Department, Always Green Recycling and St. Louis Composting.

 

Vending Reinvented: Imagine a supermarket where packaged goods are made to order

Read the full story in The Hub Magazine.

It’s amazing how technology has changed our lives over the last few decades with the advent of personal computers, smart phones, and the internet. However, with the exception of improvements at self check-out, the retail store remains essentially unchanged, especially the store shelves. As marketers seek to satisfy the desires and preferences of an ever growing populous with pre-packaged flavors, scents and sizes, the proliferation of product offerings clogs our shelves, confuses our shoppers and stresses our planet.

We need to rethink product packaging, as it is the single largest category of landfill waste and the biggest component of ocean litter that harms marine life. The average American produces about 4.4 pounds of garbage a day and 1,600 pounds a year. The Environmental Protection Agency reports that the energy to produce, use and dispose of products and packaging, accounts for 44 percent of total US greenhouse gas emissions. While we have embraced the convenience of disposability, the reality is that a disposable society is no longer a sustainable one.

The world simply cannot continue to satisfy the variety of consumer desires with pre-packaged goods. I envision something radically different. By incorporating the sophisticated technologies of modern culture, we can create game-changing packaging solutions for a more sustainable future.

 

Global Food: Waste Not Want Not

Via Docuticker.

Global Food: Waste Not Want Not
Source: Institution of Mechanical Engineers (UK)

From Press Release:

Between 30% and 50% or 1.2-2 billion tonnes of food produced around the world each year never reaches a human stomach;

as much as 30% of UK vegetable crops are not harvested due to them failing to meet exacting standards based on their physical appearance, while up to half of the food that’s bought in Europe and the USA is thrown away by the consumer;

about 550 billion m3 of water is wasted globally in growing crops that never reach the consumer;

it takes 20-50 times the amount of water to produce 1 kilogram of meat than 1 kilogram of vegetables;

the demand for water in food production could reach 10–13 trillion m3 a year by 2050. This is 2.5 to 3.5 times greater than the total human use of fresh water today and could lead to more dangerous water shortages around the world;

there is the potential to provide 60-100% more food by eliminating losses and waste while at the same time freeing up land, energy and water resources.

• Direct link to Report (PDF; 1.1 MB)
• Summary and Press Release