1. What is an Eco-Responsible Dining Hall and why is it important?
The Eco-Responsible Dining Hall by Ausolan is much more than just a space to eat. It is a model that combines sustainability, health, and education, designed to minimise environmental impact and promote responsible habits across the educational community.
At Ausolan, we are committed to providing healthy and sustainable diets, promoting resource efficiency, preventing food waste, and adopting a circular production approach.
2. What are the pillars of this model?
This sustainable model is based on nine fundamental pillars:
- Responsible procurement: prioritising environmentally and socially responsible products.
- Healthy and sustainable diets: encouraging the consumption of food and beverages that support nutritious, healthy, and sustainable diets throughout all life stages.
- Efficient resource use: progressing towards more sustainable energy and water use models.
- Food waste prevention: aiming for more sustainable production and consumption.
- Prevention, reuse, recycling, and waste recovery: transitioning towards circular production models through waste prevention and reduction.
- Eco-mobility: promoting more sustainable transport solutions.
- Sustainable education. Raising awareness of environmental impacts and fostering sustainable habits through comprehensive education and training in the dining hall, integrated into the school’s educational project.
- Integral co-responsibility of the school: extending sustainability efforts beyond the dining hall.
Healthy organisation: ensuring the health, safety, and well-being of workers.
3. What support does Ausolan provide to schools wanting to join?
At Ausolan, we support every educational centre through the transition towards a more sustainable dining model. We offer phased planning that includes continuous consultancy and training to facilitate the model’s implementation.
4. What benefits does this model bring to schools?
In addition to fostering sustainable values within the school community, the model helps comply with current and future legislation. Implementing this model reduces food waste and generates economic savings through greater energy efficiency.
All of this contributes to creating a more conscious and committed educational environment.
5. How does Bureau Veritas support this certification?
Following an independent audit process, Bureau Veritas has certified Ausolan as the first Eco-Responsible Dining Hall. This recognition confirms our alignment with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 12 on responsible consumption and production, which aims to halve global food waste. Each educational centre wishing to achieve this certification will be audited by Bureau Veritas to obtain it.
6. What message would you like to convey to schools?
We want to collaborate with educational centres that share our commitment to sustainability and are willing to integrate this model as a key part of their educational project. Our promise is to support schools that truly value this transformation, minimising the negative impact on the environment and shaping future generations.
We work with schools aligned with the principles of the Eco-Responsible Dining Hall model. This process allows both the school and Ausolan to dedicate the necessary resources, time, and effort to ensure a successful and sustainable transition.
If you are interested in being part of this initiative and believe your school shares these values, we would love to hear from you. Together, we can be more sustainable!
