Working hard to be the Greenest school in Bath, King Edward’s School has unveiled an enhanced sustainable food procurement and waste policy.
Coinciding with an £115,000 investment in a new deli bar in the Willett Dining Hall, from September, food sourcing across the school will be based on a set of principles, some of which were already in place, that are mindful of waste, food miles and origin. For example:
- All dairy (milk, butter and yoghurt etc) will be organic and sourced from producers such as Ivy House Farm and Brown Cow Organics, within a 20-mile radius of KES. KES will also look to introduce regional cheeses from the likes of Wyke Farms in Bruton.
- All meat will be Red Tractor certified (as a minimum) and sourced from local producers.
- All eggs will be free-range and procured from local producers, including family-run Southview Farm in Box, co-owned by OE, Anthony Ashby.
- Fish will be certified by the Marine Stewardship Council to ensure sustainability. Where menus use farmed fish or seafood, this will be certified by the Aquaculture Stewardship Council.
- Wherever possible vegetables and fruit will be sourced from local producers and be seasonal, where possible eg summer berries will be purchased from local suppliers, whilst root vegetables will feature on our winter menus.
- All tea will be Ethical Tea Partnership certified and all coffee Fairtrade certified.
- Where palm oil is included in bought in items, the ingredient must be from a certified sustainable source.
Addressing food waste, King Edward’s will ensure that, where possible, all food waste is composted. KES is also committed to drastically reducing its food packaging and single use plastic. The school will no longer use pre-packaged items in serveries and has swapped individual yoghurt pots for a fresh singular option, served with varied toppings. This change along will see the instant removal of approximately 300 plastic pots a week in the Senior School.
Elsewhere, new equipment in the kitchen, such as a new 20-rack combi oven, is helping to reduce energy consumption. A future ambition is to remove all use of gas in cooking and move to a sustainable electric source.
The new food procurement policy forms part of a wider School Sustainability Strategy, which has seen pupils taking a leading role and working closely with members of the Senior Management and Estates and Facilities teams, as the school seeks to establish an ambitious and all-encompassing plan for the future.
The KES Sustainability Strategy will be shared with the wider KES community later this term, and at its core is the commitment to be the ‘Greenest School in Bath’.
In the meantime, two exciting steps forward under the school’s Energy and Transport commitments are in place at the start of term. From September, the solar panels installed on the Sports Hall over the summer will generate approximately 30% of the electricity required on the North Road campus, whilst all Estates and Facilities road vehicles used by the North Road site are being replaced with electric alternatives.
Joe Johnson, a Year 13 pupil and member of the KES Sustainability Committee, said, “On behalf of the KES Sustainability Committee, I can say that these significant, tangible changes make us feel very hopeful and privileged to be at a school where pupil voice is taken seriously. This is only the beginning: the KES Green Evolution has begun!”
Martin Boden, Headmaster, added, “For many years, KES pupils and staff have added strong voices to initiatives such as the Environmental Action Group and the B&NES Youth Climate Summit. I am delighted that they are again helping to lead on ambitious projects that will help both the school and current and future generations of pupils to reflect on and tackle the climate challenges that we are facing.
Tom Davies, Bursar., commented, “Our pupils have set us the target of being the Greenest School in Bath and I am delighted to be working with them and my colleagues in meeting this goal. The school’s new food procurement and waste strategy, as well as the significant investment we have made in solar energy and electric vehicles marks just the start of our ambitious plans.”