Catering
In 2018, the percentage of sustainably produced foods served in the cafeterias and cafés was further increased: 50% of the meat was sourced from animals raised under humane conditions; the percentage of goods transported by air made up just 0.12% of the total shopping cart. The introduction of reusable dishes from reCIRCLE offers an environmentally friendly alternative.
Goals 2019 - 2021
Building on the 2018 database (see "Status 2018"), the University of Basel developed goals and actions for the 2019-2021 timeframe for the further development of sustainable catering.
Further reduction of packaging waste
Reducing packaging waste by raising awareness about the reCircle reusables service and offering discounts on hot beverages to people who bring their own cups.
SV Group in collaboration with the Executive Director's Office staff and Sustainability Office
Further reduction of food waste
Reducing food waste by running a marketing campaign to make day-old food more appealing.
SV Group in collaboration with the Executive Director's Office staff and Sustainability Office
Continuing to expand the range of sustainable products
Continuing to increase the share of sustainable and/or certified products in the shopping cart
SV Group in collaboration with the Executive Director's Office staff and Sustainability Office
Status 2018
There are seven University of Basel dining facilities operated by the SV Group. Around 260,000 meals were sold in them in 2018. The University of Basel concept for sustainable catering is based on the SV Group’s ONE TWO WE program, which sets annual targets and comes up with measures that are adopted jointly by the university’s Catering Committee and the SV Group. The results are published each year in a performance report. The university is actively contributing to the implementation of the Canton of Basel-Stadt’s program for sustainable food.
Catering-related CO2 emissions
In 2018, the average CO2-eq emissions per meal was 2.2 kg, corresponding to an absolute total of around 572 tonnes of CO2-eq emissions produced by all catering services at the University of Basel in 2018. It would take 45,760 beech trees to offset this.
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CO2 emissions caused by the foods purchased along the value chain each year are measured. Image: University of Basel, Sustainability Office link.zoom
Various measures are taken to reduce catering-related CO2 emissions. This includes expanding the range of vegetarian options – half of the foods on offer are vegetarian – and using less foods that have to be transported by air. In 2018, the percentage of goods requiring air transport made up 0.12% of the total shopping cart. New offers include fair trade organic bananas, organic Swiss tofu and Swiss quinoa from IP SUISSE. The overall structure offers the potential for climate-friendly catering. Since 2012, CO2 emissions were reduced by a total of 7% per meal.
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The percentage of vegetables, fruit, meat and fish that have to be transported by air is measured. Image: University of Basel, Sustainability Officelink.zoom
Food waste and packaging waste
Food waste has been reduced by 71% since tracking first began in 2006. A program to reduce waste by selling leftover products from the previous day at a discounted price was introduced in 2017. These products are identified by the «Do good» sticker.
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Image: University of Basel, Sustainability Officelink.zoom
In 2018, additional measures were implemented to reduce disposable packaging and waste.
Animal welfare
All of the beef, veal and pork used for catering at the University of Basel is sourced from Switzerland. In 2018, the percentage of this meat originating from particularly animal-friendly farming (besonders tierfreundlicher Stallhaltung – BTS) and from animals with regular freedom to move around outdoors (regelmässiger Auslauf im Freien – RAUS) was 51%. Since July 2018, only Swiss BTS chicken is purchased. BTS and RAUS are Swiss animal welfare standards that go above and beyond the requirements of the Swiss Animal Welfare Act.
All fish and seafood served in cafeterias at the University of Basel is categorized by WWF Schweiz as recommended or acceptable for consumption. In 2018, 84% of the fish and seafood served was MSC- or ASC-certified.
