Responsible consumption and production 2023
Operations
The University of Huddersfield spends c. £50m through Procurement Services each year, and makes a commitment to being exemplars of best practice when it comes to Sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility.
In food and drink, the new cafe in the Sovereign Design House has begun to offer a service where the use of disposables is reduced to a minimum. In-house food and drink beverages are only served on crockery, while take-outs are strongly encouraged to bring their own reusable mugs or containers. We have successfully replaced our plastic lined takeaway containers with a veg-ware alternative, therefore, based on 2018-19 figures we will have replaced 28,400 single use plastic containers p.a. with a biodegradable alternative. We have increased our crockery provision across campus and have introduced a 15p charge for a disposable cup. This initiative was launched in September 2022 and has had a dramatic positive impact. Before the 15p charge was implemented, 2% of hot drinks were sold in reusable cups; since implementation of the charge and an increased provision of crockery 32% of hot drinks are now sold in reusable cups. This has prevented 45,912 cups from being incinerated over the last academic year.
All takeaway containers purchased by the catering department in the 22/23 academic year were compostable or recyclable, and we meet regularly with suppliers to review the sustainability of our disposable products. After steadily replacing plastic cutlery with birchwood cutlery we moved away from plastic cutlery in April 2023 ahead of the single-use plastics ban implemented in October 2023: in the 22/23 academic year 13,000 birchwood cutlery items replaced plastic ones. At three of our outlets, we promote the use of reusable metal cutlery to our dine-in customers
As part of our ongoing menu development we are committed to expanding our range of plant-based menu options. In 2019 we opened a vegetarian and vegan café and have a range of plant-based options throughout each outlet. Recently we were recognised as one of the top ten vegan-friendly universities by the Veganuary campaign.
We ethically source and conscientiously purchase food and materials related to its provision on campus. We will certify to welfare and sourcing standards, and actively encourage local food production where possible. More specifically, we ensure that our fresh meat is Red Tractor assured, our fish is MSC certified, our eggs are free-range and our coffee is ethically sourced and certified.
Locally Sourced:
All of our fresh produce (dairy/sandwiches/fish/meat/fruit and veg, freshly made cakes) is sourced from within a 40-mile radius of the University campus.
Further afield:
All of our frozen and ambient products (around 60% of catering spend) are sourced through the local (Huddersfield-based) supplier Total Foods. Whilst this does not guarantee local supply, streamlining this range of products reduces the number of deliveries required to campus and therefore the associated CO2 emissions.
Coffee:
We sell three coffee brands across campus, Costa, Starbucks and Matthew Algie. These brands all have significant environmental commitments including sustainable sourcing, reduction of single-use plastic and the expansion of plant-based drink options. Matthew Algie coffee, sold in six of our nine coffee-led outlets, is triple certified, approved by the Fairtrade Foundation, Rainforest Alliance and Organic Food Federation.
Fairtrade:
In June 2022 we retained our Fairtrade accredited status to raise awareness of this status and the Fairtrade products that we sell through use of PoS, promoting on our social media account and celebrating Fairtrade Fortnight across campus.
Dairy alternatives:
In September 2022 we stopped charging for non-dairy milk alternatives for a number of reasons:
- To ensure that customers with food hypersensitivities and vegans are able to purchase beverage products for the same price as those that can consume dairy
- The carbon emissions associated with almond, oat and soy milk are less than a third of those generated by dairy milk, therefore we support the movement towards dairy alternatives.
- Mintel data demonstrate that 33% of 16–24 year olds, our core demographic, are choosing plant-based milks over dairy.
This change has been very well received and we are continuing to see growth in the number of hot beverage products made non-dairy milk options.
Vegetarian / Vegan options:
In December 2022 we changed our Chicken Shack outlet into ‘Eco Eats’. The Eco Eats outlet provides two dishes each day for £1.99 each. One dish is vegetarian and one is vegan. Eco Eats was introduced to support students and staff to be able to purchase a high-value, freshly prepared, and nutritionally balanced hot meal during the cost of living crisis. Between December 2022 and September 2023 4722 vegan and 2096 vegetarian £1.99 meals were purchased by university staff and students.
The pilot of the waste management streams has now been embedded within the University estate and awareness has ensured that we have not only increased recycling but decreased waste in general. The pandemic has skewed the waste figures, however in 2018-19 we disposed of 308 tonnes of waste, only 26% of which was recycled and in 2022-23 we disposed of 301 tonnes of waste, and on average 54% of this waste was recycled.
The introduction of the waste recycling stations in September 2021 across all our food outlets has encouraged students and staff to segregate their catering waste further increasing recyclable waste, demonstrated in the encouraging recycling figures of 54%. This initiative has also encouraged further awareness of segregation, particularly for international students who have been able to educate themselves when using the recycling stations which have five segregated waste options with clear information.
Throughout the pandemic the segregation of food waste and collection through ReFood UK continued, however there was a significant reduction in food waste due to most outlets being closed and the lack of hospitality trade. Since the department fully re-opened after the Covid19 pandemic at the start of the academic year 2021-22 there has been a monthly average of 1,001kg of food waste diverted from incineration. Our coffee outlets segregate all coffee ground waste which is then collected by our grounds maintenance team for use as rich fertiliser for our biodiverse campus. In 2022/23 9.6 tons of coffee-ground waste was reused as fertiliser.
Research
Amongst the many research groups and centres at the University which contribute to this SDG is the Technical Textiles Research Centre, a group which is, for example, a member of the Future Fibres Network+ (FFN+). The network’s research will embed environmental sciences at the heart of the fashion and textile sectors. It will establish systematic, circular and sustainable principles as the norm and build a critical mass of transdisciplinary expertise and methodologies.