This week is the UN’s Zero Waste Day, a campaign aiming to promote sustainable consumption and production patterns, whilst supporting the shift towards a more circular way of living. To mark Zero Waste Day, we’re shining a light on the University Catering Team’s ambitious initiatives to reduce food waste across all campus outlets.
Published:
Over 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions come from food waste. With these emissions increasing global temperature, impacting communities and our natural world, it’s crucial the University takes positive, sustainable action.
In response, the Catering Team have been implementing changes in how they operate to ensure food waste from the University is kept to a minimum.
All catering operations track, monitor and review food waste data to enable more precise ordering of supplies whilst reducing overproduction. Any surplus food is repurposed into soups, salad bar dishes, and main meals. Remaining suitable items are donated to students via the Surrey Students’ Union (SU) Food Share scheme.
Actions taken to avoid overordering and using up food that would have otherwise gone to waste has resulted in the team significantly reducing the amount of food wasted across all catering outlets. The team not only ensures no edible food goes to waste, but their collaboration with the SU also supports students facing food insecurity.
Martin Wiles, Head of Sustainability, highlights the positive impact these actions are having: “the work our Catering Team are doing to reduce food waste is commendable. They are not only improving the environmental impact of their actions, but are also considering how initiatives implemented can further support the University community”.
Since September 2024, the team have also been running Zero Waste Days in campus coffee shops, including Hillside Coffee and The Hideout. The aim is to continue to minimise edible food being unnecessarily wasted, whilst providing affordable food options for staff and students during the cost-of-living crisis.
Depending on availability, products nearing the end of shelf life are reduced to £1.50 or less from 3pm onwards. Zero Waste Days are announced on the team’s social media pages and the Surrey Perks App.
Jenny Kelly, Hospitality Outlets Manager, reflects on the success of this initiative: "Zero Waste Days have been a great step forward for us. It’s a simple idea, but it’s helping us make better use of the food we have, and it’s been brilliant to see the response from our campus community."
The team aren’t just focused on reducing food waste, but are striving to embed sustainability into all aspects of their operations. They are also ensuring food served on campus supports a healthier community and planet.
Find out more about sustainable catering at Surrey.
