Our year of going ‘green’

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By Craig Clifford & Janet Smith
Thursday, September 4, 2008
We’ve come so far from the humble beginnings of the Hospitality Services sustainability committee just over one year ago.
 
We remember vividly our first brain-storming sessions when we sat as a committee to explore the daunting task of how to save the world! 
 
Our first task was to gather information and facts, and develop a mission statement and some goals. After watching Al Gore’s “An Inconvenient Truth”, surfing the web for info and gathering all of our facts, we were overwhelmed.
 
Sustainability is so big. Where were we to begin?
 
We came to the conclusion that we had influence in our day-to-day operations, our personal lives, as well as in the Western and London communities. Baby steps and small victories would be our stepping stones to success.
 
That decided, we broke down our approach into three smaller definitions we could more easily categorize.
 
  • Ecology: Our commitment to the environment through composting and the introduction to organic/fair trade foods.        
  • Culture: Our commitment to the community, to educate and increase awareness, and reduce, re-use and divert materials from land-fills.       
  • Technology: Continuation and improvement of our recycling program, purchasing energy-efficient equipment and implementing new green technologies as they become available. The best starting place for us was to figure out what we were already doing that was proactive or positive for the environment. Our committee was surprised at the large list of positive actions already taken. From there, it was a little easier to recognize other initiatives. Our mission statement set the tone for everything to follow. “Hospitality Services is committed to creating, producing and enhancing a sustainable culture for the life legacy of the Western community.” Here are some initiatives we were able to implement this past year: 
  • Sustainability Central: Centre Spot is now home to two new deluxe recycling stations that are easily accessible and more visible. The result... the number of beverage containers alone being recycled in this location has increased from 16 bins per day to 20. More Sustainability Central locations are planned for across campus. 
  • Composting: Great Hall Catering and all of our residence dining operations have been composting for many years. In October, the program was expanded to include Tim Hortons at Lucy’s, Somerville House. This new location composted over 5,000 pounds of material in first five months. Composting will be expanded to other campus locations. 
  • Styro-Free: Since September 2007, all residence operations have been styrofoam-free.  Styrofoam take-out containers have been replaced with biodegradable plates. Our goal has been to ensure that by this month, all Hospitality Services locations are styrofoam-free. Take-out containers will be biodegradable or compostable.   
  • Community Involvement: Our operations and many of our employees participated in Earth Hour on March 29 to reduce power use for one hour. We also hosted a sustainable campuses conference for university and college students from across the country.
  • Nutrition Kiosk: In March, a kiosk was introduced in the UCC Centre Spot to provide convenient access to nutrition information, enabling guests to make informed choices. 
  • Water-Free Hand Sanitizers: In support of our strong commitment to food safety and the safety of our dining guests and employees, these units have been installed in both the front and back of the house. 
  • Staff Conference: Hospitality Services hosts an annual staff conference where over 400 staff participate in training and information sessions as well as team-building exercises. Last year, the theme was sustainability and our committee did a presentation to increase awareness about the issues.
  • Blue Box Toss: To educate residence students on the importance of recycling and other energy conservation initiatives, we hosted the Blue Box Toss in all residence dining halls. Participants answered "skill testing" questions and then had the opportunity to toss the ball into the blue box to win prizes. The response was incredible.  
  • Fair Trade & Organic Foods: Last fall, Hospitality Services introduced fair trade and organic coffee and tea in all residence operations. It is also available at William’s Coffee Pub in UCC and all Starbucks locations on campus.  As a part of our five-week residence menu cycle, some organic meats and produce are also offered. 
  • Trans-Fat Free: We are moving towards trans-fat free products in all of our operations and have converted many products, including fryer oil, margarine and salad dressing.
  • Reduced Energy Consumption: Many staff members regularly turn off lights in their buildings, and unplug appliances when not in use. As a cap to our inaugural year of going green, the efforts of the Hospitality Services team were recognized with the presentation of Western’s Green Award.   
Craig Clifford is Residence Dining Unit Manager – Saugeen and Janet Smith is Marketing Manager – Hospitality Services. They are members of the Hospitality Services Sustainability Committee.

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