Chartwells have achieved the Soil Association’s Bronze Food for Life Catering Mark

Food For Life Catering Mark Bronze PhotoThe Food for Life Catering Mark is based on the principles that food should be fresh, local, seasonal and better for animal welfare. It means food is freshly prepared using ingredients which are free from GM and harmful additives.

This means that the food Chartwells serve is meeting standards around freshness, provenance and traceability; meaning that staff and students can eat at BU with confidence. The Catering Mark shows that Chartwells prioritise and promote healthy choices and sustainable purchasing.

Ricky King, General Manager for Catering, BU said “For the Chartwells team to achieve the Bronze Food for Life Accreditations is a fantastic result. Meeting the standards for traceability, integrity and good provenance with a trusted industry symbol makes us very proud and it is one of the key goals we have pledged to achieve with BU, bring on Silver standard!”

Chartwells have passed a thorough inspection by the Soil Association to show that they meet the bronze standards detailed below, and will be inspected every year so that they can show they’ve kept up the good work.

Bronze Standards

  • Meals contain no undesirable food additives or hydrogenated fats
  • 75% of dishes are freshly prepared
  • Meat is from farms which satisfy UK welfare standards
  • Eggs are from cage-free hens
  • Menus are seasonal
  • Training is provided for all catering staff
  • No GM ingredients are used
  • Free drinking water is prominently available
  • No fish are served from the Marine Conservation Society (MCS) ‘fish to avoid’ list
  • Information is on display about food provenance
  • All suppliers have been verified to ensure they apply appropriate food safety standards

For more information about the Catering Mark please visit the Soil Association website.

Photo: Shane Wilson, Catering Manager for BU at Talbot Campus and Thom Barker, Head Chef for BU, with the Food for Life, Bronze Standard Certificate.

Athena SWAN Charter holds talks at BU

The Athena SWAN Charter commenced a series of talks at BU last week.

The charter is dedicated to improving recognition for women in Science, Technology, Engineering, Medicine and Mathematics (STEMM) academia.

Guest speakers included members from Queen’s University in Belfast, with the discussion covering key topics that are high on the list of the Athena SWAN agenda.

Hosted by Vice Chancellor Professor John Vinney, among the many issues debated was the notion of ‘unconscious bias’ and gender inequality.

Equal Opportunities Officer for Queen’s University, Jane Garvey, gave some background as to the visit from Queen’s to BU.

“Queen’s have been involved with Athena SWAN since its conception and we were invited by Bournemouth University to share our experience.

“Bournemouth is off to a good start with the application for the Athena Bronze Award, and that sets a foundation for a potentially successful journey.”

The second guest speaker was the Director of the Queen’s Gender Initiative, Professor Teresa McCormack.

Professor McCormack, who has chaired the SWAN Champions group of representatives from academic schools in Queen’s, is also known for her work with the Athena SWAN awards, promoting gender equality in the sciences and engineering.

Professor McCormack gave her take on what the Athena SWAN Initiative is hoping to achieve.

“I think that the whole ethos that surrounds the Athena Swan process is one that does not want to discriminate against men or devalue their contribution in anyway.

“It’s about making a fair workplace for everybody. We know that there are balances that need to be addressed at the senior levels of management in academia, but a lot of our work actually focuses on creating an equal working environment for both men and women to thrive in.”

BU started the journey to Athena SWAN accreditation in December 2012 and has now completed the application for a Bronze Award.

More details about BU’s work with Athena SWAN