Emerson College Dining has been recognized as the second most sustainable campus dining program in the world by The Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE).
Emerson’s ranking appeared in AASHE’s 2026 Sustainability Campus Index released on September 8. The results are based on the College’s most recent performance in AASHE Sustainability, Tracking, Assessment & Rating System, (STARS), the most widely recognized sustainability reporting framework in the world for higher education institutions that report their sustainability performance.
AASHE’s STARS program has more than 1,200 participating institutions from 52 countries around the globe. Participants report in five categories: academics, engagement, operations, planning and administration, and innovation and leadership.
In the Food & Dining category of the Sustainability Campus Index, institutions were evaluated on their sustainable and ethical food procurement, social impact suppliers, and food waste recovery programs. Emerson ranked second in the category behind the American College of Greece.
“It’s a nice signal of the collaboration we’ve had with the Dining team, to measure these outcomes year over year, constantly improve, and then get recognition for the work we do together,” said Jennifer Lamy, associate director of Sustainability at Emerson, “…it’s been really cool to see some results come from that.”
The recognition was given to Emerson Dining based on data the College reported from Fiscal 2024, the most recent data that was available at the time the report was prepared.
During that year, 22.9 percent of the food purchased by Emerson Dining had sustainability certifications or came from small producers with sustainable practices, and over half of Emerson Dining’s food and beverage budget was spent on plant-based items (53.6 percent). Additionally, 7.7 percent of its food purchases came from enterprises owned by people belonging to marginalized groups, social enterprises, employee-owned businesses, or Certified B Corporations (companies that meet high standards of social and environmental sustainability, transparency, and accountability, as judged by nonprofit B-Lab).
All of these sustainable efforts contributed to Emerson’s high score in the category, as well as the College having a food recovery program to minimize food waste. At the time the report was created, Emerson Dining was donating its surplus food to the local nonprofit Food For Free, but it has since begun a new partnership to donate excess food to St. Francis House, a shelter for those experiencing homelessness located one block from campus.
“No matter how much Dining works on making sure they’re cooking the right quantity of food for the number of students we have, there’s always going to be some kind of surplus,” Lamy said, “so having a good partner to send that to is really important.”
Another key part of the College achieving the distinction, Lamy said, is Emerson’s partnership with Bon Appétit Management Company, which provides food for campus dining and catering.
“We’re proud to have such a sustainability-oriented partner in dining,” she said. “They’re looking at social impact suppliers all the time, trying to get products that are either organic or fair trade, and that goes hand-in-hand with the fact that it’s a priority of Emerson.”
Bon Appétit Management Company District Manager Yvonne Matteson said the company’s eight-year partnership with Emerson has been rooted in shared values, and it’s proud to be a part of this recognition. Promoting sustainability, she added, is Bon Appétit’s guiding philosophy, and it has been a longtime leader in the food service industry for its green practices, including focusing on local sourcing, farmworkers’ rights, animal welfare, and reducing the food system’s impact on climate.
“This recognition wouldn’t have been possible without our collaborative partnership with
Emerson and the hard work of the talented Emerson Dining team,” Matteson said. “We’re honored to be a part of the Emerson community and offer a nationally recognized, sustainable, from-scratch dining program that they can be proud of.”
Still, even in the wake of receiving such an important distinction, Lamy said, the College is always looking for ways to make its dining offerings more sustainable, including through its recently debuted reusable-to-go program. The initiative allows students, faculty, and staff to take food from the dining hall to go by downloading the Fill it Forward app, and then checking out and returning a reusable box to cut down on single-use containers on campus.
“We’re always looking for new areas to improve, and we don’t even see getting a nice recognition like this as the finish line,” she said, “…we always welcome feedback on making our dining operations even more sustainable, because this is a great result…but we still have work to do.”
