July 12, 2010 (Raleigh, NC)—The Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce recognized North Carolina State University with the Smith Seal of NC Sustainable Business Award. NC State was acknowledged as an organization advancing and supporting sustainability efforts, and University Dining was recognized as a main contributor.
According to David Dean, outreach and communications coordinator for the Office of Sustainability, the University was chosen as the award recipient because of past and future sustainability projects.
“N.C. State won because of a multitude of efforts and programs happening on campus,” Dean said. “Winning the Smith Seal Sustainability Business Award says more about the forward progress N.C. State is making as a whole, rather than just the Sustainability Office,” said Dean.
The most noteworthy sustainability change came in 2008 when University Dining initiated trayless dining halls, saving 216,000 gallons of water monthly.
“We removed the trays due to area drought conditions and decided to make it permanent when we realized such significant water savings,” said Randy Lait, director of University Dining. “Students, faculty and staff were very supportive of the idea, which made it very easy for us to make this change. We are honored to have played such a significant role in enabling the University to win this award.”
Dining is also in the final stages of implementing composting sites in the dining halls, after a recent audit found that 70 percent of waste was compostable. Other sustainability initiatives include owning five North-Carolina based Port City Java franchises (which serve only certified organic and fair trade coffees), buying bread locally from Neomande Deli, and featuring a weekly local/organic salad bar in campus dining halls.
The award was accepted on May 4 by Charles Leffler, vice chancellor of finance and business, at the Raleigh Convention Center
For more information about North Carolina State University’s Smith Seal of NC Sustainable Business Award for 2010, visit http://www.technicianonline.com/news/. To find out more about University Dining’s sustainability projects, visit www.ncsudining.com.
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