Sustainable Columbia

Columbia Dining is a partner working to help achieve goals set by the University's Sustainability Plan. Learn more about how our efforts are helping to create a more Sustainable Columbia.
Our Sustainability Initiatives
Sustainable practices drive our purchasing decisions, menu development, and physical operations. We order from local businesses and farms, provide a wide range of daily vegan and vegetarian options and prioritize recycling and reuse. Learn more:

Approximately 58% of all food served is purchased from vendors within 250 miles of the Morningside campus.

Our culinary team has added more plant-based items as a features on our menus, as part of our membership in the Menus of Change University Research Collaborative.

100% post-consumer recycled or compostable materials are used in our dining locations. We make every effort to reduce, reuse, and recycle.

We choose energy efficient equipment and follow processes that help to cut waste, like the InSinkErator that helps reduce food scraps sent to landfill by 85%.

We aim to be a 0% waste organization. (We love food too much to waste it.)

Columbia University received a Gold rating from STARS for its sustainability efforts, in which Columbia Dining played a key role.