The three dining centers on the Washington State University Pullman campus have achieved three-star certification from the Green Restaurant Association for their sustainability efforts.
The recent announcement by the international nonprofit, considered a leading voice for sustainable practices in the food industry, recognizes the ongoing work of staff in the Hillside, Southside, and Northside Café’s to make them green.
“We are thrilled to receive this certification, but for us, it is about much more than the recognition it brings,” said Solon Pietila, associate director of culinary and senior executive chef for WSU Dining Services. “Sustainability is one of our core values and we work hard at it because it’s the right thing to do.”
The certification process looked at many factors including energy and water use, waste, reusables, pollution, food sources, facility construction and furnishings as well as education and transparency. In all, the dining centers took over 40 environmental steps to achieve their three-star rating.
Pietila spent more than four hours with a Green Restaurant reviewer providing a virtual tour of each facility. The reviewer wanted to see things such as the types of energy-saving equipment used; the ways food is packaged; how much food is vegan or vegetarian; accessibility to reusable containers; the type of dishwashing detergent used; and access to on-site composting.
The certification process looked at many factors including energy and water use, waste, reusables, pollution, food sources, facility construction and furnishings as well as education and transparency.
“They even wanted to see the color of our roofs to measure the amount of sunlight reflected,” Pietila said. “It was definitely a deep dive into our operation to make sure we check the boxes for everything they consider important.”
Pietila said Green Restaurant releases new ratings every two years, but Dining Services consults with the association on a regular basis to keep improving its sustainability progress. The three dining centers achieved one-star certification in 2017 and have continuously worked to adopt new green practices since then. The association’s top tier is a four-star certification.
Working with Facilities Operations, the dining centers recently replaced aerators on 65 sinks to reduce water flow. That effort, combined with previous upgrades, earned the dining centers enough points to qualify for the three-star certification.
Pietila said students may not notice many of the changes Dining Services is making to be green, but staff know through the feedback they receive from its student advisory board members and informal conversations that many care deeply about maintaining a healthy campus environment and planet.
“I think every new generation of students is more aware of the threats to our world and many are taking active roles in addressing the challenges by the way they are living their everyday lives,” Pietila said. “We are seeing this in our dining centers as more students are requesting vegetarian, vegan, and organic foods. In Dining Services, we are proud to do our part in making our community a healthier place to be.”
