À La Carbon:

Sustainable Dining At Princeton University

EI- SUSTAINABILITY INTERN FOR DS

Marcus TheusJune 7th – August 13th

2010

About the Internship

Where: Princeton Dining Services Building

26 College Road West (Princeton University)

Supervisors: Stu Orefice, Director Sarah Bavuso, Special Events Manager

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

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 .

1. 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])

2. Items that do not fit into any of the sustainable food categories

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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%.

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

1. Environmental Protection Agency (epa.gov)

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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

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.

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