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Blake Warren:
I decided to go in-depth more into the Grand Valley State University(GVSU) Campus Dining organization. They are responsible for feeding all GVSU students living on or off campus. They offer meal plans for students depending on their needs. They have lots of healthy food options so that students can get the nutrition they need.
Campus Dining’s main goal recently is to improve and expand on their sustainability while serving the campus community high quality foods and excellent customer service. They have gotten involved in many social efforts to bolster their sustainability ideas. They have gotten involved with events such as the GVSU’s Farmers Market and Farm to Table. They also have new coming employees go through a sustainability training course so that they can have the knowledge needed to have a positive impact on the environment. They also use a lot of local vendors to get their produce from so that there is less fuel consumption from sources of transportation that deliver food to the campus.
At there various dining locations such as in Kirkhof and Kleiner, there are lots of recycling bins to throw items such as plastic and paper in. In fact, GVSU in general is one of the top 10 colleges in terms of recycling, and campus dining plays a big role in this. There are also many other sustainable products at these locations such as compostable plates and bowls, napkins made from sugar cane, biodegradable cups, corn-based cutlery and portion cups made from natural and renewable produces.
IT is important that GVSU campus dining relies on local farms and other sustainable groups in the Michigan area because having local partnerships might help students feel complied to join these efforts.
Heidi Richman
Grand Valley State University has core values consisting of excellence, integrity, inclusiveness, community, innovation, and sustainability. One way that they are fulfilling their value of sustainability is by creating green movements on campus specifically seen throughout dining halls such as Kleiner.
A very important principle and practice is using compostable materials. Things such as cups, lids, straws along with bowls and plates, are all made of compostable plastics and materials. Using these resources allows them to create bins for trash, recyclables, and compost. Students can then separate their waste into the correct bins when finished. They also use compostable trash bags and reusable towels for cleaning instead of paper towels. The main goal of theirs is to be a zero-waste campus dining location. This is done by tracking how much food they order compared to what they actually go through along with providing zero-waste meals if requested by students.
Another way that Kleiner is practicing sustainability is by saving resources such as water, energy, and paper. Low emission fluorescent lights are used in Campus Dining coolers along with Implementing the use of digital menu boards at The Blue Connection, Kleiner, Einstein Bros Bagels, Panda Express, and Seidman Cafe. The lights help save energy and using the digital menu boards cuts back on the amount of waste and paper the dining halls are producing. GVSU had also eliminated the use of trays at Fresh Food Company to reduce energy, water, and detergent usage. This resulted in saving 1,619,000 gallons of water from 2007 to 2008.
The third main thing they do to accomplish their value of sustainability is by using local vendors. By partnering with companies between 0-210 miles away they are reducing fuel being used to deliver food to campus. They also use a flex-fuel vehicle to get the food from these vendors.
https://www.gvsu.edu/campusdine/sustainability-68.htm
Kyle PelathThe Sustainable Agriculture Project (SAP) is now 13 years old, beginning in 2008, and is now a community collective of students, staff, and faculty who want to help bring sustainable agriculture and food systems to GVSU, This all starting from six environmental studies students. From 2011 to 2012, with the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Academic Advising Center, Brooks College of Interdisciplinary Studies, and Student Senate, two hoop houses were installed to help extend growing seasons for the plot of land without using fossil fuels. I had a class at the SAP about bees, and it was one of my most influential classes. It was a blast to learn about bees and the role they play at the farm as pollinators.The four principles of the SAP include seeding sustainable food practices, cultivating leadership and learning, nurturing a place, and growing community. I think the farm is excellent at combining the promotion of sustainable farming practices with the community's education. They are also great at being ecologically, socially, and economically conscious while exploring new food production techniques.The SAP takes the triple bottom line approach to its practices and keeps the people, planet, and profit in mind. This approach and its goals ensure that everyone is treated with respect and allows shared knowledge throughout the community. The land and all systems within it are supported to sustain the farm ecosystem and find sustainable, educational ways to profit.In conclusion, I think the Sustainable Agriculture Project perfectly incorporates the triple bottom line and has a robust and sustainable mission. I wish the beekeeper's page were more updated with information, but that is the only recommendation.https://www.gvsu.edu/sustainableagproject/
Hi, my name is Claudia Fitzpatrick, and I am doing my presentation on Dairy Farmers of America. DFA is a national milk marketing cooperative that is owned by and serves more than 7,500 dairy farms in 47 different states, one of them being Rathmourne Dairy, owned by my Uncle Brian Ingram and managed by my father, Chad Fitzpatrick. I worked there since I was little, so as environmental and sustainability major it gave me an interesting perspective. Its often hard for large families to become and to be seen as sustainable, but Dairy Farmers of America is doing just that.
So, the first principle DFA has implemented is setting goals of reducing their greenhouse gas emissions by 30% by the end of the decade. They have also claimed to cut their carbon footprint, as well as other emissions through the transportation of their milk products.
To do this, DFA has changed their diesel-ran trucks to natural gas powered. Which will displace carbon emissions equal to 2400 cars per year from the road. This was first implemented in February of 2014. In a different fleet in Colorado. The company switched to quad-axle trucks which allowed them to carry an additional 20,000 pounds of milk per load. This in turn has reduced the cooperative’s gas purchases by 10% and can even in some cases, transport 40% more milk.
DFA has also replaced their uses of non-renewable resources to move renewable resources such as wind turbines, solar panels, and methane digesters that convert animal manure to energy. To continue the switch to renewable resources, Dairy Farmers of America has partnered with Vanguard Renewables in order to provide additional tools and resources to advance their progress in sustainability.
Along with the partnership, DFA has incorporated FARM Environmental Stewardship evaluations in their Gold Standard Dairy Program.
https://www.dfamilk.com/our-commitment/sustainability
Delaney Dorsch
Delaney Dorsch
Play the video to listen to the narrative presentation.
Mailyn Miller
GVSU prides itself on its sustainability practices on campus. One building on campus that is relatively new is the Marketplace. I have decided to look at the GVSU Lakerstore specifically because I work there. The new Lakerstore opened in 2015 because the old one was outgrown by the ever-growing campus community. The new store includes apparel, textbooks, and technology. This new store encompasses Grand Valley’s sustainability ideals.
The principles that are pushed at the GVSU Laker Store include reusing, recycling, and having a LEED gold star certification (GVSU Project LEED Certifications, 2018). Employees are encouraged to recycling all paper products and cardboard. On top of this, employees are encouraged to reuse many items.
The practices that are done at the GVSU Laker Store reflect the principles well. To begin, recycling is encouraged for employees and customers. There are several recycling bins in the store for paper and plastic recycling as well as recycling for cardboard boxes. In addition, employees at the store reuse items between semesters. This includes backtags for merchandise, shelf tags for textbooks, and placeholder cards for eBooks. These paper items just have the stickers peeled off and are reused, rather than printing new ones each time. In addition to this, there are many practices put in place to reduce waste that is produced. For example, instead of discarding open box technology items, if they are still practically new, they are sold at a lower price. In addition to these, the building itself has a LEED gold star certification (GVSU Project LEED Certifications, 2018).
GVSU Project LEED Certifications. (2018, June 25). https://www.gvsu.edu/cms4/asset/83D77566-0FCE-1482-0E85CB93ACE30B91/leed_bldgs_062518_revpmh.pdf.
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