The SU and the University are working to reduce the environmental impact of food provision on campus. The Sustainable Food Commitment will launch in 2022/23 with the following goals: 

  • Using more seasonal food and locally produced for when it has a lower climate/carbon impact 

  • Sustainably sourced fish 

  • Reducing food waste 

  • Minimising packaging. 

  • Reducing meat and in particular ruminant meat consumption

 

What we are doing: 

We have already made some changes to the Plug & Tub bar which will come into effect in September 2022. 

  • We will aim to use the same suppliers as University catering outlets. This reduces carbon emissions for deliveries coming to campus 

  • We have added more vegetarian options to our menu 

  • We’ve made the difficult decision to remove beef burgers from our menu. Beef has the highest rate of carbon emissions and has a carbon footprint almost 10x higher than Chicken.  

  • We will be joining the University’s Xchange cup scheme in Starbucks 

 

What we have already achieved: 

  • At our club nights, we have replaced the disposable plastic cups with reusable ones. 

  • At Varsity and Summer Ball 22 we used reusable pint cups instead of disposable cups. 

  • No beef products were available from our external food vendors at Summer Ball 22 

  • All our food is served in takeaway packaging so you can take it with you and save it for later, reducing food waste. 

  • Food waste bins are available in the Plug so we can compost your food waste. 

  • All our food is made to order so we don’t have leftover meals at the end of the day. 

 

What we need to work on: 

The Sustainable Food commitment is a journey. Some changes can be complicated to implement and we want to make sure we are making changes in the right way for the right reasons. 

  • Reduce meat consumption for our flagship events such as Summer Ball, Varsity, Freshers’ Week and the regular Street Food Market 

  • Continue to improve sustainability at our flagship events 

  • Ensure our fish products are sustainably sourced 

  • Improve our takeaway packaging 

  • Continue to improve our menu within the capabilities of our small kitchen 

Find more information on the Sustainable Food Commitment on the official webpage