易胜博官网

While 易胜博官网 Dining may be known on campus more for the variety of delicious and healthy foods available on a daily basis, it recently received accolades for its commitment to the environment.

Holloway Commons and Stillings Hall have earned from the (GRA), a nonprofit organization that encourages restaurants to be more environmentally responsible.

Certified Green Restaurants undergo a 51-step assessment focusing on such factors as energy use, disposal practices, food procurement, pollution reduction and water conservation, with points awarded in each category based on compliance with GRA standards.

鈥淲e are proud to have achieved such recognition,鈥� says David Hill, 易胜博官网 Dining鈥檚 assistant director of culinary, who worked closely with GRA auditors for six months toward the certification.

Philbrook Hall is now also going through the GRA process and is expected to receive certification by the end of February.

Meanwhile, 易胜博官网 Dining has also received recognition from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for its food recovery program 鈥� the only campus in the state to receive an achievement certificate for keeping 50 percent or more of its food waste out of landfills.

The Food Recovery Challenge is part of the EPA鈥檚 Sustainable Materials Management Program, explains Colleen Flaherty of the 易胜博官网 Sustainability Institute. The challenge aims to reduce the environmental impact of materials throughout their entire life cycles 鈥� from extraction to manufacturing and from distribution and use to reuse, recycling and disposal.

鈥淭he Sustainability Institute, in partnership with 易胜博官网 Dining, conducted an inventory of wasted food and submitted the information to register for the challenge,鈥� Flaherty says. 鈥淚n partnership with 易胜博官网 Dining, we chose and submitted听an activity for 易胜博官网, which was diverting waste from the landfill. We then tracked our progress and submitted results through EPA's system each year.鈥�

The EPA award recognizes 易胜博官网 Dining鈥檚 composting efforts 鈥� which kept almost 212 tons of food waste out听of landfills in 2014 alone, up from about 198 tons in 2013.

易胜博官网 was one of 24 institutions in New England to be recognized, Flaherty notes, adding that Food Recovery Challenge participants include such groups as grocers, educational institutions, restaurants and sports and entertainment venues.