And how you can help

We care about sustainability - from sourcing food to what happens after it leaves your plate. This is reflected in us recently achieving the top result of 3 stars in the Food Made Good Standard, the world's largest sustainability certification for the hospitality sector.

Food waste is one of the biggest contributors to carbon emissions, which is why we want to dive deeper into what we do to fight this issue – and how you can too! 

What we do

• Use an innovative AI system: we partner with Winnow, an AI-powered waste management system that helps track and reduce waste in our kitchen and restaurant at Bankside House catered halls. 
• Feedback: by consistently feeding back our data results to students and staff, we're able to share best practices for future improvement. 
• Increase awareness: we have run campaigns like 'Embracing Sustainable Dining at Bankside House' to encourage students to learn more and make an impact. 
• Adjust serving utensils: to promote mindful portioning for both staff and students. 

Thanks to our data-driven strategy, we have been able to see measurable change – a 34% reduction in food waste during Action Week! But that's not all, production has been optimised and portion sizes have been adjusted to your appetites.

So you can be assured that each year, we're adapting our strategy to reduce even more!

What you can do

Do your part in fighting food waste both on and off campus with these easy tips: 

• Practice portion control: filling your plate and not finishing it every time you dine? Learn what portion size suits you to avoid any food waste. 
• Still hungry? Have seconds: we offer 'seconds' at the end of service to make sure our surplus food is available to you instead of being discarded, so if you're still peckish, dig in on campus or take it home! 
• Store food properly: in your accommodation, keep fresh food stored correctly to extend its shelf life. 
• Save your leftovers: instead of scraping your leftovers into the bin, they make great meals the following day or can even be frozen to eat in the future.
• Use a reusable cup: don't forget that you can also avoid drink waste by using a reusable cup over disposable ones. Not convinced? Here's 5 reasons why you should use one. 
• Share your ideas: if you have any suggestions for reducing waste, let us know! 

Help us create a more sustainable and responsible dining culture, one mindful meal at a time. 

Find out how we have been improving our food waste reduction strategy and read about what's next in our sustainability journey in Ana's interview with The Sustainable Restaurant Association! ♻️