Sustainable Food

• We developed our Sustainable Food Procurement Policy in 2020 and this forms the guiding principle for the food and drink services we offer. It is monitored and reviewed annually based on customer feedback and sales mix information.
• The Policy is shared with suppliers during the tendering process to set expectations and ensure contracts are awarded in line with our sustainable commitments.
• We introduced a circular economy scheme to reduce waste generated by single use cups. All of the disposable cups that were previously offered for our hot beverage service were taken away from all food outlets, cafes, and hospitality.
• We have introduced a disposable cup levy to minimise the use of single use coffee cups and promote the use of our reusable Huskee cup scheme. Over the last 12 months we have saved 77,025 cups from going to landfill.
• In advance of the Welsh Government’s bill to ban single use plastics, we removed plastic cutlery and introduced wooden alternatives, removed polystyrene takeaway boxes and introduced clamshell biodegradable boxes and introduced paper straws into our Starbucks outlets.
• All of our coffee and coffee beans are Fairtrade certified and this also includes our Hot Chocolate sachets.
• We also provide reusable china mugs for staff and students who are dining in at our cafe outlets in place of disposable cups.
• We are focussed on reducing avoidable food waste and partner with Too Good to Go to maximise our opportunities to mitigate waste and promote a healthier, sustainable lifestyle for all. We also promote the use of our Too Good To Go service to students and staff.
• To reduce food waste, we have introduced our own scheme of Waste Not Want Not bags of surprise food items that are offered to students and staff at discounted rates.
• We have sold 96 Too good to Go magic bags and 75 Waste Not Want Not bags, which has prevented more than 500 sandwiches ending up in landfill.
• We are supporting the Food Foundation’s Peas Please campaign by offering more vegetables and seasonal produce across our menu options within our catering facilities.
• We offer an increasing range of vegan and vegetarian meals, including a Meat Free Monday every week.
• We have created a Catering and Biodiversity Focus Group which serves to develop an improvement plan of actions, aimed at reducing the environmental impact of our catering provision and identifying opportunities for students and staff to get involved in growing fruit and vegetables.
• Where possible, we procure food from local suppliers and include them in all tender processes to reduce the impact of food miles derived from our operations.
• We have increased minimum spends with suppliers to reduce the number of deliveries carried out at each outlet. This ensures that the teams that place orders plan ahead, increase their basket size, limit small one-off deliveries and therefore, reduce the number of unnecessary smaller orders.
• We have single stream recycling bins in place across all our outlets and kitchens.
• There are 21 water fountains across our sites providing free chilled water for staff, students and visitors, and we introduced glasses for those outlets located in the food courts in place of plastic cups.
• We offer reusable food boxes (available in different sizes) and water bottles to reduce the amount of plastic and cardboard consumed across our estate.
• We support national campaigns and events such as Meat Free Mondays, 5 a day, World Vegan Day and Love food Hate Waste to raise awareness of the opportunities to reduce our collective carbon impact from our food choices.
• Our new sandwich supplier has used 100% renewable electricity since October 2021 at one of their production plants and 80% at their other production location. They also use electric and low emission vehicles to minimise transport emissions, and supply from local depots to reduce food miles.
• We are working closely with our suppliers to reduce the number of vehicles that deliver to our campuses each day.
• We installed wash stations at our main food court, to enable customers to rinse out their reusable food and beverage products.
• We have food waste bins in all buildings, Accommodation and catering outlets.
• We are currently working towards our Food Made Good accreditation via the Sustainable Restaurant Association and expect to receive the assessment results in July 2025.

Our Glyntaff Campus is home to beehives and we also have a greenhouse that can be used for growing fruit and vegetables. Located close to the Treforest Campus, Meadow Street Community Garden and the nearby woodland offers volunteering opportunities for students and staff to help and learn to grow fruit and vegetables for themselves and the local community.

We are committed to supporting local businesses through our purchasing and tenders, and ensuring that sustainability standards are a key part of our tendering process. Our suppliers are nominated and regulated through our membership of TUCO (The University Caterers' Organisation) or via local collaborative university contracts.