À La Carbon: Sustainable Dining At Princeton University

1. À La Carbon: Sustainable Dining At Princeton University

2. EI- SUSTAINABILITY Intern For DS Marcus TheusJune 7th – August 13th 2010

3. About the Internship • Where: Princeton Dining Services Building 26 College Road West (Princeton University) • Supervisors: Stu Orefice, Director Sarah Bavuso, Special Events Manager

4. Objectives • Update the Sustainable Dining Purchases Metric. • Update reference lists of contacts and distances for local vendors • Update Sustainable Dining Web page information • Submit purchase totals for Sustainable Report Card and The Food Project’s Real Foods Challenge Report • Research for iPhone Carbon Calculator Applications

5. Project 1: Purchase Metric • Collecting purchase data for food purchases in the categories of Local, Organic, Fair Trade, Humane, Socially Just, and [Monterey Bay] Sustainable Seafood from July 2009 to present. • We are most interested in reducing our Food Miles1 and conventional purchases2 . • Distance food must travel to consumer (U.S average >1,300 miles for processed food and >1,500 miles for produce [source: USDA and DOE]) • Items that do not fit into any of the sustainable food categories

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8. Notable Accomplishments • Over 50% of our purchases are local (meaning they have traveled < 200 miles and as few as 0.6 miles). This includes over 90% of our eggs and almost all of our baked goods. • Almost all of our coffee and tea is purchased from businesses with Socially Just practices. • We decreased our conventional purchases by about 4%.

9. Project 2: Carbon Calculator Application • Determining a Method (Tiers) • Calculation Factors • Initial Growth (including feed ratios) • Processing/Harvesting • Transportation (including refrigeration) • Storage/refrigeration • Cooking • Waste • Significance/Environmental Impact • GHG emissions 1 (potency) • CO2e= Carbon Dioxide equivalence (burning fossil fuels, coal, etc.) • CH4 = Methane, 21 times potency. (transport/production coal, fossil fuels, etc. and ruminant fermentation) • NO2 = Nitrous Oxide, 310 times potency. (fertilizer, combustion of fossil fuels and solid waste) • Initiatives: local grass fed beef (Natural Acres), local free range chicken and eggs (Bell & Evans), local organic vegetables • Environmental Protection Agency (epa.gov)

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11. Additional Activities • Other App Features • Map w/ locater • Residential and Retail Info/Menus • Hours of Operations • Vending Info • GPS locations • Individual Dining Facilities • Residential and Retail • Vending Machines

12. Reflections • Overall, I found this internship to be both informative and rewarding. • In the first half, I learned about the University’s practice of large scale socially and environmentally responsible food purchasing. • In the second half, I learned about the true meaning and significance of a variety of sustainable dining practices—in particular carbon foot-printing. • I would highly recommend this experience to others.

13. Acknowledgements • Special Thanks to • All the Princeton Dining Services Administrative Staff—especially Kathleen Franc, Linda Recine, Fred Pierson, Richard Herbst… • Additional Thanks to : • Professor Xenia Morin: for assistance with carbon emissions calculations