Overall Rating Gold
Overall Score 75.04
Liaison Stars UM6P
Submission Date Oct. 13, 2023

STARS v2.2

University Mohammed VI Polytechnic
OP-8: Sustainable Dining

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.75 / 2.00 Fadwa BALADI
Sustainable Developpement Manager
Sustainable Developpement
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Part 1. Sustainable dining initiatives

Local community engagement

Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor host a farmers market, community supported agriculture (CSA) or fishery program, or urban agriculture project, or support such a program in the local community?:
Yes

A brief description of the farmers market, CSA or urban agriculture project:
Sookoa is a non-profit solidarity initiative, backed by the support services offered by CoopLab, a spin-off of the Social Innovation Lab (SIL), domiciled within the Mohammed VI Polytechnic University, and launched through the collaboration of the OCP Foundation, the 1337 school, as well as through the OCP Group systems, namely Al Moutmir and Act4community. It aims to defend the social and solidarity economy sector, to promote innovation and excellence in local production.

Sustainability-themed outlet

Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor host a sustainability-themed food outlet on-site, either independently or in partnership with a contractor or retailer?:
Yes

A brief description of the sustainability-themed food outlet:
The UM6P is offering a food truck service to the UM6P community as an alternative of the restaurant. The service is selling food and beverage to students, staff and visitors with a cheap price.
This initiative aims to :  

• Create different open places for the student to have their meals in the open air with a musical atmosphere throughout the day; 

• Offer the student a multiple choice of catering such as snack, barbecue days or open-air galas; 

The food trucks are managed by a local team recruited from the region to encourage and participate in the integration of the population of Benguerir in our activities; They serve meals in self-service mode for around 300 people per day. Chairs are set up at the level of the food truck next to sorting bins to eat meals without towels or trays so as not to produce waste.

Inclusive and local sourcing

Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor support disadvantaged businesses, social enterprises, and/or local small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) through its food and beverage purchasing?:
Yes

A brief description of the support for disadvantaged businesses, social enterprises, and/or local SMEs:
The UM6P has recruited two disadvantaged women from Benguerir to prepare and sell Moroccan pancakes at the university cafetaria. The purpose of this social initiative is to encourage disadvantaged local businesses and to improve the standard of living of marginilized families.

Estimated percentage of total food and beverage expenditures on products from disadvantaged businesses, social enterprises, and/or local SMEs:
---

Low-impact dining

Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor host low impact dining events or promote plant-forward options?:
Yes

A brief description of the low impact dining events and/or plant-forward options:
Following the requests of students who request gluten-free / vegetarian meals… The facility management and catering in collaboration with the SD department organizes a weekly vegetarian day (MEATLESS DAY). This is a varied menu of salads and legumes made from local products. This program will not only promote the local production of benguerir, but also reduce the consumption of meat within the community and thus reduce carbon emissions.

Vegan dining program 

Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor have a vegan dining program that makes diverse, complete-protein vegan options available to every member of the campus community at every meal?:
No

A brief description of the vegan dining program:
---

Labelling and signage 

Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor inform customers about low impact food choices and sustainability practices through labelling and signage in dining halls?:
Yes

A brief description of the sustainability labelling and signage in dining halls:
* Display of nutrient intakes of each food on the MEATLESS DAY Menu.
* The restaurant encourages a healthy and balanced diet by offering complete and healthy menu choices displayed on the screens.
* Posters promoting hygiene and food waste reduction have been installed in the restaurant.

Part 2. Food waste minimization and recovery

Food recovery program

Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor participate in a competition or commitment program and/or use a food waste prevention system to track and improve its food management practices?:
Yes

A brief description of the food recovery competition or commitment program or food waste prevention system:
At the dining hall of the university, students and employees have the right to ask for a specific quantity of meal which help to reduce food waste.

Trayless dining and portion modifications 

Has the institution or its primary dining services contractor implemented trayless dining (in which trays are removed from or not available in dining halls) and/or modified menus/portions to reduce post-consumer food waste?:
Yes

A brief description of the trayless dining or modified menu/portion program:
The food trucks do not offer trays to the consumers, which helps to save the consumption of dishwashing chemicals and energy consumption.

UM6P has a monthly menu that is shared in advance with the entire UM6P community. This menu was adopted by the service contractor to avoid the large amounts of waste generated by the restaurant.

At the food truck, trays are not available and chairs are installed to avoid food waste and resource consumption through utensil cleaning.

In addition, since the university's dining options are all-you-can-eat, food waste is significantly reduced by controlling portions at each dining point.

Food donation 

Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor donate food that would otherwise go to waste to feed people?:
Yes

A brief description of the food donation program:
Eco Rep : The bread is sorted and collected at the canteen by the city dump collectors in order to resell it to breadcrumb manufacturing suppliers.

Food materials diversion 

Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor divert food materials from the landfill, incinerator or sewer for animal feed or industrial uses?:
Yes

A brief description of the food materials diversion program:
The ECO STAR company recovers used cooking oils from the university for use in biogas

Composting 

Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor have a pre-consumer composting program?:
No

A brief description of the pre-consumer composting program:
---

Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor have a post-consumer composting program?:
No

A brief description of the post-consumer composting program:
---

Dine-in service ware 

Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor utilize reusable service ware for “dine in” meals?:
Yes

A brief description of the reusable service ware program:
The UM6P canteen is equipped with reusable porcelain ware for “dine in” meals.

Take-away materials 

Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor provide reusable and/or third party certified compostable containers and service ware for “to-go” meals (in conjunction with an on-site composting program)?:
Yes

A brief description of the compostable containers and service ware:
The packaging used during Meatless Day is ISO 14001, FSC ,PEFC certified
The juices and salads of the MEATLESS DAY are offered in certified eco-friendly containers.

Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor offer discounts or other incentives to customers who use reusable containers instead of disposable or compostable containers in “to-go” food service operations?:
No

A brief description of the reusable container discount or incentives program:
---

Optional Fields

A brief description of other sustainability-related initiatives not covered above:
The Sustainable Development Department has launched a practical guide designed to students and aiming at raising awareness of the UM6P community on good food practices in order to reduce food waste.

Website URL where information about the sustainable dining programs is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
---

Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
---

The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.