COOPSCO is largest group to attain LEAF Certification

Level 2 LEAF Certification COOPSCO recipients

Towards the end of 2016, 25 food service facilities operated by 17 cooperatives of the COOPSCO Network in Quebec were awarded LEAF Certification. The major-scale project was run by Bleu Innovation and took over a year to complete. It was supported financially by the MAPAQ (Ministère de l'Agriculture, des Pêcheries et de l' Alimentation du Québec) through the Québec Food Marketing Support Program, which aims to encourage increased purchases of Québec food in the institutional market.

The COOPSCO Network is owned by more than 400,000 members (mostly students) in 60 school-based cooperatives in high schools, colleges and universities. They are known for their social and environmental commitments in their communities, so aiming for LEAF certification was a perfect fit. However, achieving LEAF Certification for facilities of this size is no small feat. For facilities that need to produce hundreds or even thousands of meals each day, local food purchasing and major procedural changes can be difficult. Despite this, some of their locations (COOPSCO St-Hyacinthe) were able to achieve up to 50% local food purchasing! But LEAF Certification is about much more than just food. 

Le Cafélix at the Universitaire de l’Outaouais uses programmable thermostats to reduce energy use, and was able to decrease food waste by over 10% last year by conducting food waste audits. The cafeteria in Lapocatiere has a heat recovery system that captures heat from the swimming pool, and COOP HEC Montréal has a large garden for produce and uses all energy efficient LED lighting. The St-Hyacinthe locations also have menus with 30-60% vegetarian and vegan items, and geothermal energy. The Cafétéria Principale in l’Université de Sherbrooke uses mainly Energy Star appliances.

Congratulations to the students and staff of COOPSCO on an incredible achievement and continuing to show leadership in your industry!

LEAF Certified COOPSCO Food Service Facilities

Region of Outaouais
-Cafétéria of the Campus Gabrielle-Roy of the college and university cooperative of the Outaouais
-Cafélix Coopsco of the college and university cooperative of the Outaouais
-Café student of the Cité Collégiale of the collegial and university cooperative of the Outaouais
-Cafétéria of the Polyvalente Mont-Bleu of the collegiate and university cooperative of the Outaouais

Montreal Area
-Café l’Escale of the Co-operative Library of the Cégep de Maisonneuve
-Café Le Capharnaüm of the Student Co-operative Association of Édouard-Montpetit College
-Caféria of the Valleyfield College Student Association
-Caféria Decelles of the Coop HEC Montréal
– The main HEC Montréal Cooperative
-Restaurant the Cercle de la Coop HEC Montréal

Region of Montérégie
-Cafétéria of Coopsco St-Hyacinthe
-Café Bistro of Coopsco St-Hyacinthe

Region of Mauricie
-Cafétéria of the Shawinigan College of Coopsco Trois-Rivières
Central-Québec Region
-Cafétéria of the cooperative association F.-X. Garneau -Cafresia of Coopsco Ste-Foy
-Cafétéria du Cégep, Coopsco Victoriaville

Region of Saguenay Lac-St-Jean
-Cafétéria of the student association of Chicoutimi -Cafétéria of Coopsco college of Alma

Lower St. Lawrence Region
-Cut-the-Mouth of the Institut de Technologie Agroalimentaire, Coopsco La Pocatière
-Cafétéria of the Cégep De La Pocatière, Coopsco La Pocatière
-Cafétéria of the Coopérative du Cégep of Rivière-du-Loup
-Cafétéria of the student co-operative association of the Rimouski College

Eastern Townships Region
-Caféria of the Co-operative of the University of Sherbrooke -Cafétéria of the Solidarity Cooperative of the Cégep de Sherbrooke -Bistro of the Solidarity Cooperative of the Cégep de Sherbrooke

About Bleu Innovation

Bleu Innovation is mandated to implement the LEAF certification in Québec by accompanying and certifying food establishments (restaurants, cafés, cafeterias …) in an eco-responsible approach that targets all operations of establishments. www.bleuinnovation.com

Level 1 LEAF Certification COOPSCO recipients

Radical Gardens leads as first LEAF certified restaurant in Timmins, Ontario

Timmins, Ontario recently gained its first LEAF Certified restaurant. Radical Gardens completed an audit and was able to achieve Level 2 LEAF Certification this spring. We talked to owner, Brianna Humphreys about the process, her philosophy and their accomplishments.

LEAF: Do you have a food or sustainability philosophy? What is it?

RG: Yes, food sustainability is a mainstay of life for us. We started as a sustainable farm and still continue to farm. I guess our philoshophy is that: We need to give back into the Earth as much as we take.

LEAF: Describe your journey to sustainability – where did you start, and where are you now?

RG: I started out as a pretty small time hobby gardener and then it got out of control and then I bought a restaurant. Since the environment is key to our survival as farmers we made sure to create out restaurant with that in mind.

LEAF: What are the benefits of LEAF certification for Radical Gardens?

RG: The benefits are really for our customers, this certification allows them to really feel comfortable knowing that we are very serious in our commitment to sustainability.

LEAF: What sustainability accomplishments have you made at your restaurants that you are most proud of?

RG: Our composting for one. Any food waste that we may have gets sent back to our farm. Also our disposables and the fact that 90% of it decomposes or is recyclable.

LEAF: Why do you think sustainability is important in the restaurant industry?

RG: It is really important for any Business; if you don't come to realize that the Earth allows you the ability to run your own business no matter what it is we will lose it. For the restaurant industry specifically, there can be a large amount of waste created from our line of work, it is best to make sure you leave this place unstained.

LEAF: What sustainability goals are you striving to reach in the future?

RG: Our next goal is to purchase a large industrial composter that makes fertilizer and energy.

LEAF: Did anything surprise you about becoming LEAF certified?

RG: Actually i was pleasantly suprised to see that the certification process is rather in depth and pretty rigorous. I'm glad this certification is held to such a high standard.

Visit Radical Gardens today: RadicalGardens.com www.facebook.com/radicalgardens/ 163 5th Ave, Timmins, On

LEAF Releases 5th Annual list of Canada's Greenest Restaurants

RESTAURANTS AND DINERS ALIKE LOOK TO GREENER PASTURES
LEAF Marks Five Years Certifying Canadian Eateries for Sustainable Practices

VICTORIA, B.C., April 22, 2016 – If it’s one thing Canadians enjoy, it’s eating out. With so much selection and so little time to prepare meals at home, the resultant environmental footprint from a growing roster of overflowing eateries is immense. In fact, the foodservice industry is one of the most environmentally unfriendly industries with tons of food waste, heavy carbon imprints from food sourcing and deliveries, and an energy output five times higher per square foot than other commercial enterprises. But that is changing, one LEAF-certification at a time.

“We are certainly seeing an upswing in interest and engagement towards making operational changes for greater sustainability, particularly so on school campuses,” said Janine Windsor, president, Leaders in Environmentally Accountable Foodservice (LEAF), a third-party certifier of sustainability for food establishments.

Recently the COOPSCO in Quebec signed on 28 of its campus facilities to convert to a greener business model that incorporates sustainable practices such as sourcing local and organic ingredients, reducing waste and saving energy. The move follows other

campuses in Alberta and Manitoba that have earned LEAF accreditation for their restaurants and/or culinary schools.

Five years in, LEAF expects to see the list of certified restaurants jump from 50 to 90 this year, saving each member thousands in energy and operational costs from the eco- upgrades.

Hundreds of indicators are measured to determine where a restaurant stands in its green efforts. Upon becoming certified at levels one, two or three, restaurants are than able to display a LEAF decal that ensures diners they are making the most environmentally and socially responsible choice.

In addition to the 28 establishments to be certified by the summer, Degrees at the University of Manitoba upgraded to the highest certification at Level 3, and Care Bakery recently joined the list in Calgary, the city with the most certified restaurants.

Other highlights from this year's list - Top 6 most sustainable restaurants in Canada are:
Locals Restaurant - Food from the Heart of the Island, Comox, Vancouver Island, B.C. Boxwood Cafe, Calgary, AB

River Cafe, Calgary, AB
The Coup, Calgary, AB
Degrees Restaurant, Winnipeg, MB Chic Alors!, Quebec, QC
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About LEAF

Established in Calgary in 2009, LEAF is a non-profit organization that helps restaurants reduce their environmental impact and makes it easy for diners to identify green restaurants. The organization provides a benchmark to measure the environmental sustainability of foodservice establishments in Canada and fosters sustainability by working with the community to support the local economy.

Website: www.leafme.ca Twitter: @LEAF_Canada Facebook: L.E.A.F.