Carleton will soon begin a food and supply sourcing audit on Dining Services, the organization responsible for providing food and drink to all campus locations besides student-run businesses and Treats in the CTTC building.
The audit was called for in September 2013 by the university’s sustainability strategic plan.
The audit’s purpose will be to establish benchmarks of where Dining Services is at the present time, David Van Dyk, general manager of Carleton’s food service provider, Aramark Canada, said via email.
“Following the audit, we will review areas for opportunities to put solutions in place that will have a positive impact in Dining Services and across campus,” he said.
According to the sustainability plan, there are four criteria the audit will examine.
The criteria are whether food is sourced locally from within 400 kilometres of the university, whether it is eco-sensitive, humane to animals, and whether it is fair regarding labour conditions.
Philip Mansfield, the newly hired manager of sustainability programs at Carleton, will be assisting Van Dyk and Aramark with the audit.
“I think the school will come out well after the audit from what I can see, what I’ve read, and the initiatives they’ve already implemented,” he said.
Once the audit is completed, the sustainability plan states the university will have a percentage of food and supplies meet at least one of the four sustainability criteria by June 2014.
Mansfield said that date is reachable and it should not be the endpoint.
He said he hopes the sustainability criteria will become embedded in the university’s ongoing work.
“When they have a new supplier, or they think about opening a new outlet, then the sustainability criteria just becomes another thing that is imbedded in their way of working. It should become part of their day-to-day operation,” he said.
Ali Pester, president of Carleton University Students for Animal Rights, said she is happy the audit is being done but more changes need to be made.
“The school needs more vegan options,” she said. “That’s one of the best things they can do for animals and for the sustainability of food on campus.”
“It’s likely that the animal products on campus come from factory farms. Carleton needs to make bigger changes and be more transparent about where they’re sourcing their animal products from,” she said.
