Sustainable cafeteria concept coming to SDU

Imagine that every day you can see how much your lunch impacts the climate, and that you can pick up 100% sustainable and great coffee when you’re hankering for a cup of joy. This will become a reality when the cafeterias in Odense, Kolding and Slagelse open their doors, offering more organic dishes, more local ingredients and less food waste.

‘We have no desire to bash people on the head, but we would like to get everyone to consider the alternatives’, explains Thomas Guldbæk, Catering Manager of the Compass Group, which has won the latest cafeteria tender at SDU.

Something old, something new ... that’s the philosophy of the new cafeteria, as the service provider is actually the same as before, but the terms of the new tender are somewhat different. At the same time, the Compass Group, which has run the cafeterias so far, has merged with Fazer, another major provider in the market. According to Thomas Guldbæk, it makes a positive difference for customers that the Compass Group can bring the best of both worlds to the table.

More organic dishes

‘The cafeterias will have a special focus on carbon dioxide, and we’re able to calculate the carbon footprint of all dishes. Our concept allows us to continue our vegetarian and vegan alternatives for those who do not eat meat or just want a meat-free alternative’, says Thomas Guldbæk.

‘We will be increasing our efforts on organic principles, and our goal is that 60% of the food items should be organic. Our previous contract stated that 30% of our food items should be organic, but that included everything we sell, including beer and soft drinks, for example. Our new contract sets a goal of 60%, and that applies to food items only. That’s really positive’, he emphasises.

It is not just the cafeterias that get a boost in sustainability. A new and 100% sustainable café, Elements, will be opening around 1 September in the same location as the old Starbucks on Campusvej.

Waiting for customers

From SDU's part, the new tender places an increased emphasis on sustainability in general, and the Compass Group welcomes the new challenges. However, there is a small – or rather large – but: the current COVID-19 situation.

‘All of the initiatives we want to roll out are based on normal cafeteria operation, where we have a large customer throughput. We need revenue to be able to write off our investments, so we won’t be able to have everything in place on 1 September’, Thomas Guldbæk explains and continues:

‘The reality is that we will have to take a slightly different approach to all the new initiatives, but our customers will continuously encounter new initiatives and an increased focus on sustainability.

The physical settings will also undergo some changes, but they will happen bit by bit’, Thomas Guldbæk explains.

‘The dishes will be arranged somewhat differently than they are today. Right here and now, we cannot serve a buffet, so it will be missing. We’ll have to wait and see when the buffet will be back. Also, the old Sandwich Factory on Campusvej will be housing a coffee shop. However, the opening will have to wait until we’re certain there are enough customers on campus.

New local restaurant

At the same time, the restaurant on Campusvej will feature a new concept in which only local ingredients are used.

‘We intend to make a Funen-themed restaurant with local ingredients. This means the many guests that SDU dines will only be served ingredients from Funen. This is also in line with the idea of sustainability.

The principles of the cafeteria operation and the coffee shop are identical in Kolding and Odense. In Slagelse, things will be a little different, as the customer throughput is smaller. In Sonderborg, there is another service provider, while employees and students at SDU in Esbjerg will be dining in the cafeteria of Aalborg University Esbjerg.