At Swansea University, we strive to produce fresh, healthy and sustainable food that you can trust. Our Catering Services team use environmentally responsible, ethically sourced and local ingredients. We integrate health, wellbeing and sustainability criteria into our catering, as outlined in our Sustainable Healthy Food Policy. This is worked towards, and progress is tracked in regular sustainable catering meetings.
Sustainable Food Accreditations
In 2022, Swansea University achieved the Sustainable Restaurant Association Food Made Good 1 star rating, covering the majority of our catering outlets on campus, and we are working hard with Catering Services to increase this to 2 stars.
We also achieved the Fairtrade University Award in 2023, requiring action to embed ethical and sustainable practices through the curriculum, procurement, research and campaigns.
Zero Waste and Emissions
At Swansea University, our Catering contractor, Chartwells and Sustainability team work in partnership to prevent waste from our campus catering outlets. We achieve this in a number of ways:
- We work closely with the University-based, volunteer-led charity Discovery, and community-based charity GoLeudy to distribute food that would have gone to waste, to students and staff at affordable costs to help reduce waste and food poverty.
- Our catering outlets apply a discount on hot drink takeaways in a reusable cup.
- We have switched to lower impact packaging, crockery and cutlery on our mission to cut out single use plastics.
- We use segregated at source recycling bins at all our food outlets and throughout campus. You can find out more about our recycling facilities over on our waste pages.
- Separate recycling bins are provided at our outlets, specifically for the collection and recycling of single use cups.
- Our food waste is collected and sent for anaerobic digestion.
- Tetra Pak recycling has been introduced on campus for catering outlets.
- We have introduced a coffee ground scheme that encourages staff and students to take the used coffee grounds home for their gardens. What is left is used by our University grounds team.
- A “Too Good To Go” scheme has been introduced at all of our outlets, with over 3,400 meals saved and 8,500kg of CO2 saved since 2021.
- A social kitchen is soon to be opened, teaching staff and students about sustainable, healthy cooking and avoiding food waste.
- Our campus fleet includes Zero Emission Vehicles.
Growing food on campus
Our campus growing project “Tyfu Tawe” backed by Community benefits funds and NUS Student Eats provides our community with space to learn about growing vegetables on campus. The benefits to mind, body and our environment from going your own are well known so please Get Involved with Tyfu Tawe.
In addition to Tyfu Tawe, The Sustainability Team have been working throughout 2021 to create and provide a community orchard for staff, students and visitors to enjoy. To date, a total of 28 fruit trees across both our campuses have been planted with the help of staff and students including apple, plum, pear, damson and fig trees. Funding for this project was a mix of allocated Sustainability University budget and the Welsh Circular Economy Fund.
Ben, our Biodiversity Officer has also been working with the project team and staff in IMPACT to develop and manage a living green wall. The living wall supports native species and is the pilot scheme to demonstrate how we can develop more living walls with sustainable food as a key component.