Hosting sustainable events at the Humphrey School Conference Center
Events can be complicated, expensive, and often wasteful. But it doesn’t have to be! As an organization that hosts and supports hundreds of events every year, we’re always looking for ways to reduce waste. Here are some of the ways the Humphrey School Conference Center can help you and your organization promote sustainability.
Zero Waste Catering
Various local restaurants offer zero waste catering, meaning all containers and packaging is compostable or recyclable. Sky Lakes Catering is a University-owned catering service that provides Zero Waste options. You can also always call and ask a business if you are unsure if they provide Zero Waste catering.
Compostable Event Supplies
One way to maintain the luxury of single-use products without producing as much nonrecoverable waste is to utilize BPI-certified compostable products and serviceware for the event.
BPI stands for Biodegradable Products Institute, which is a third party compostable certifier in the United States. Anything with this BPI symbol is considered commercially compostable. This document provides more information on composting at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities.
We always have a stock of unused BPI-certified products including plates, cups and utensils. Ask us and we can check if we have enough to meet the demands of your event.
Food donations
We work with the student-run Food Recovery Network to ensure perfectly good food and beverages don’t get thrown out. They pick up our surplus catering from events–lunch boxes, juice bottles, unboxed non-perishables, desserts, etc.-- and distribute it to students and free pantries across the Minneapolis campus. If you’d like to donate your food or beverages, just let us know during or after your event.
Recycling at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities
The University of Minnesota Twin Cities has a unique event recycling system that separates waste into three main streams: recycling, compost, and trash. Sorting waste is the easiest, most effective way to make an event more sustainable, and below is a guide displaying how you can do so:
