Sustainability

Our Initiatives

As a guest, it is easy to make smart environmental choices when you dine at a Sodexo café. We know today's college students want to do the right thing for the planet and we also understand you lead busy lives, so your Sodexo chefs and managers do a lot of the work for you behind the scenes!

This commitment was formalized with Sodexo's Better Tomorrow Plan. The Better Tomorrow Plan includes 18 commitments for a brighter future by focusing on four key priorities: health, planet, community and our people. Learn more about the Better Tomorrow Commitments.

Xprss Nap

Xprss Nap Dispensers save energy and waste. The napkins are made of 100% recycled paper and the dispenser encourages our customers to take (and waste) fewer napkins. Energy is saved because less power is used to recycle paper products than to create them from virgin material.

Local Suppliers

We work closely with local produce distributors to maximize the fruits and vegetables purchased from local farms. We also purchase from local dairies, and participate in farm to school initiatives. Tracking local purchases helps us to meet our Better Tomorrow Plan commitment of 20% local purchase by 2020.

Recycling

On campus we recycle the following products: cardboard, glass, aluminum, paper, plastic.

Re-useable Cup Discount

The environment and your pocketbook win! Bring your own reusable cup to purchase coffee and beverage in the Swarm Inn and save. Using your own reusable cup entitles you to pay refill price which results in a significant cost savings to you.

Apex

As part of our ongoing effort to minimize our environmental impact, we use the Ecolab's APEX dishwashing system. By using less water, energy and labor, we are supporting our environment and sustainability initiatives.

Sustainable Seafood

One specific example of a healthy choice we provide that is good for both you and the planet is with the seafood offered on your campus. Your Sodexo team is committed to sourcing 100% of our contracted seafood from sustainable sources. We are working with our suppliers and distribution partners to phase out seafood that is not certified by either the Marine Stewardship Council or the Global Aquaculture Alliance's Best Aquaculture Practices Program. We are pleased that we were able to increase how much we spend on sustainable seafood significantly in both the United States and Canada.

Waste Reduction

The Commons utilizes a Somat Waste Reduction System that reduces the amount of physical waste that is placed in landfills. The “Pulper” as it is commonly known, grinds up all solid food waste removing excess water resulting in an 88% reduction in solid waste going into landfills. It uses re-circulated water as a means to grind and transport the food waste which is a more energy efficient way than disposing of food waste into a traditional garbage disposal.

Weigh the Waste

Did you know that 40% of the food produced in our country is wasted? Periodically throughout the school year, we conduct a Weigh the Waste event. During the event, we weigh all of the uneaten food from guest’s plates. We consolidate the findings and report back to the community. We tie this to an awareness campaign that informs guests about food waste and its impact to our environment and our communities. We hold frequent campaigns in which we compare our results (and hopefully see our waste decline).

Reuseable Dishware

We offer china dishes in our dining locations. This reduces waste associated with using disposable containers. Dining in? Be sure to use china. We also use china at our catered functions on site.

Green Cleaning

92% of the chemicals Sodexo uses are “Green Seal” certified, concentrated or sustainable.

Re-usable To-Go Containers

Sign up for our reuseable container program. You can fill the contanier up with as mush food as you like and take it to go. Just bring the container back when you are ready, and we will give you a clean one to use again. Ask for details!

Grounds for Growth

Give new life to your garden with recycled coffee grounds! This new sustainable effort that we have implemented into the Graceland community is simple but effective. We brew 10+ bags of coffee a day in the Commons and Swarm Inn combined. After brewing it, why not use the used coffee grounds for good! We save the opened bags that the coffee grounds came in (which are usually thrown away) and fill them back up with dried used coffee grounds (which are also normally thrown away). We then seal the bags back up, place a Grounds for Growth sticker on them and offer those recycled coffee grounds to the students, faculty, staff, and the community to take home and place in their flower beds or gardens. The Grounds for Growth coffee grounds act as a gentle fast acting fertilizer by releasing nitrogen in to the soil and a popular addition to Graceland University.