Sustainability

Michigan Dining recognizes the social and environmental responsibility that comes along with feeding thousands of students each day. MDining works to promote sustainability in all that we do, both for all people and for our planet. Click on the image below to learn more about what we are doing to make MDining more sustainable!

Environmental Sustainability section of the wheel including carbon emissions, waste reduction, water use, biodiversity, animal welfare, and ingredient transparency
Social Sustainability section of the wheel including diversity, equity, and inclusion, collaboration, community engagement, student engagement and sustainable procurement.
Awards

  • National Association of College and University Food Service Sustainability Awards recognize leadership in the promotion and implementation of environmental sustainability as it relates to campus dining operation
    • Bronze in Carbon Neutrality: oat milk as the default in retail beverages (2025)
    • Bronze in Sustainable Procurement: vendor sustainability scorecard pilot (2025)
    • Gold in Waste Reduction: piloting a shelf attached to waste bins for collecting returnable cans and bottles for easy collection access (2024)
    • Gold in Sustainable Procurement: sustainable contract language (2024)
    • Silver in Diversity, Equity & Inclusion/Social Justice (2024)
    • Gold in Outreach and Education: implementing carbon labeling (2023)
    • Gold in Procurement Practices: local purchasing and Meet the Vendor program (2022)
  • A+ rating on the Humane World for Animals (HWFA) College and University Protein Sustainability Scorecard for our commitment to a larger percentage of plant-based meals and reducing the amount of meat purchased and consumed (2025)
  • Gold rating for AASHE STARS. Association for Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System (STARS) is a transparent, self-reporting framework for colleges and universities to measure their sustainability performance. (2022)
  • Campus Race to Zero Waste Competition
    • Top Ranking in Zero Waste Category (2022 and 2024)
  • PETA awarded Michigan an A+ for their vegan work. The availability of vegan and vegetarian options within the dining halls, as well as Sustainable Mondays, helped to earn this grade and also educate students on sustainability issues. (2019)
  • All MDining facilities were certified for platinum, the highest level attainable, in sustainability in 2015 by the University of Michigan Office of Campus Sustainability 

To learn more about sustainability at Michigan, check out Planet Blue.