Sustainability

Sustainability

Greenest University

Harvard was named the Green Restaurant Association's GREENEST UNIVERSITY (the University or College with the most Certified Green Restaurants® ). Harvard University has 19 Certified Green Restaurants® located in Cambridge and Boston, MA. Collectively, these Certified Green Restaurants® have taken more than 1,000 environmental steps to earn over 4,100 GreenPoints™. 

Visit www.dinegreen.com/harvard for more information.

We also engage in numerous forums focused on the vital shifts needed to advance human and planetary health, such as EAT Lancet, the World Resources Institute and its Coolfood Pledge, and the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.

 

Highlights of our work include:


Facilities

  • Undergraduate dining halls are all 2- or 3-star Certified Green Restaurants®. Certification recognizes ongoing efforts to operate efficiently and source sustainable products.
  • The Harvard Kennedy School Cafe, Divinity Commons at the Harvard Divinity School, the Harvard Law School Cafe and Sebastian's Cafe at the Harvard School of Public Health are all Certified Green Restaurants®.
  • Dunster/Mather dining hall is LEED silver certified.
  • Through facility changes to refrigeration controls, exhaust fan controls, dishwashing equipment, and refrigeration waste heat capture, $245K utility savings achieved (annually), which translates to 12,454 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalents; 1,088,089 kWh electricity; 4,533 MMBTU steam; 1,518,666 gallons water

 

Locally Grown & Produced Food

  • Menus are seasonal to take advantage of locally sourced ingredients - not just produce but also baked goods, pasta, dairy, seafood, groceries and more.
  • 32% of our food budget is spent on local goods.
  • Depending on the season, 20 to 70 percent of produce in a dining hall is grown locally.
  • We purchase from approximately 250 local farms, via the MA Pioneer Valley Growers Association (PVGA) and the Southeastern Massachusetts Agricultural Partnership (SEMAP), and from partners such as Ward’s Berry Farm (Sharon, MA), Backyard Beauties (Madison, ME), Wilson Farm (Lexington, MA), Green Thumb Farm (Fryeburg, ME) and more

 

Other Sustainably Produced Food

  • Cage free eggs
  • No antibiotics ever chicken
  • Fair trade coffee from Fogbuster
  • Weekly “Catch of the Day” selections, caught by Boston-based fishermen and featuring a fair wage for under-utilized by-catch – explore the case study here.
  • 33% of entrees offered are vegan or vegetarian

 

Dishware & Eco-Friendly Incentives

  • Reusable dishware
  • Compostable disposables
  • No styrofoam
  • Reusable mug and water bottle program, with discount for refill in retail operations

 

Food Composting & Waste Diversion

  • All facilities compost pre-consumer waste; most also compost customer (or post-consumer) waste
  • Annual tonnage of compost (pre- and post-consumer combined): 26,500 pounds of waste weekly, yielding approximately 583 tons annually
  • Salvageable, perishable food is donated to Food for Free. 
  • Post-consumer food waste audits in undergraduate dining halls raise awareness and help contain plate waste to an average of approximately 1.6 ounces per person per meal

 

Recycling of Traditional Materials

  • Recycle all materials
  • 59% of recyclable waste diverted from traditional disposal

 

Community Engagement

  • The Food Literacy Project, which encourage awareness, engagement and behavior change with regards to food issues
  • The Farmers' Market at Harvard, which runs weekly on campus at the Science Center Plaza from June through October.