University of Brighton wins first ‘Michelin’ award
The University of Brighton is the first higher education institution in the UK to be awarded a new rating for running sustainable restaurants.
The University Catering Rating was developed by the University Caterers Organisation (TUCO) and is being run by the Sustainable Restaurant Association (SRA) to recognise outstanding achievements of university caterers across the country and help drive best practice.
The SRA recognised Brighton’s policy of ensuring all the seafood it serves is from sustainable sources, its commitment to selling Fairtrade products at catering sites across campus, and its marketing programme, which recently achieved
a record-breaking 100% rating from independent assessors.
Plymouth University is the second university to receive the award and
Julie Barker, chair of TUCO, expects many more higher education
institutions to join the scheme. She said: “Using the University of Brighton as the pilot and making iterations through the process to ensure the model works regardless of the size of university or college – every TUCO member will now be able to benefit from this strategic new partnership as part of their journey
into sustainable improvement.”
The new scheme recognises the most sustainable restaurants in the UK and across the world, and gives diners a means of finding places to eat in that match their values: “As the leading authority on sustainability across the hospitality and foodservice sector, the SRA also provides expert advice to restaurants, pubs, hotels, cafés and caterers.”
The rating is built around three pillars – sourcing, environment and society
– all of which will be independently assessed against criteria developed alongside the University of Brighton,and takes into account the raft of dining occasions the site provides, and the unique nature of university catering.
