Reducing the environmental impact of food service in universities using life cycle assessment

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to use life cycle assessment to determine the environmental impact of food purchases at a small, liberal arts college. The authors also use the results to develop a simple decision-making tool for college and university dining services administrators, attempting to make their food purchases more sustainable.

Design/methodology/approach

Life cycle assessment was used to analyze the global warming potential (GWP) of all food products purchased at a college café during a four-month study period.

Findings

The authors found the top ten highest impact products accounted for 40% of orders by weight, but 80% of the GWP. In particular, beef and cheese exhibited the highest GWP/kg. These findings highlight the importance of considering the carbon intensity of food products when making purchasing decisions. The authors also examined the carbon intensity and cost of common meal options and developed a carbon intensity comparison heuristic that can assist in making food purchasing decisions with the goal of lowering the GWP of food purchases.

Practical implications

The results of this study show that life cycle assessment is a useful tool for university food service operations seeking to reduce environmental impact. The carbon intensity food comparison heuristic based upon this data serves as a helpful decision-making tool in guiding food service to reduce GWP.

Originality/value

While life cycle assessment has typically been used to analyze individual food products, this study demonstrates its use as a decision-making tool to guide purchasing decisions across an entire array of food purchases.

Citation

Sherry, J. and Tivona, S. (2022), "Reducing the environmental impact of food service in universities using life cycle assessment", International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, Vol. 23 No. 7, pp. 1469-1481. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSHE-06-2021-0224