Quality and sustainability

For Studierendenwerk Würzburg, the core task of catering is closely linked to the principles of sustainable food procurement. Cooperation with regional suppliers not only strengthens the local economy, but also protects the environment. Seasonality plays a central role in our menu planning and procurement in order to guarantee the freshness and quality of the ingredients.

We avoid buying fresh fruit out of season, thus avoiding long delivery routes and reducing transport-related CO2 emissions. For example, we have long since stopped offering strawberries in December and asparagus in February on our menus.

Our aim is to give preference to food from the region wherever possible when purchasing our ingredients. Due to quantity, tendering and local environmental conditions, it is of course not possible to use a regional alternative for all foods. However, as soon as seasonal products are available from regional suppliers, we source them directly from the region wherever possible. For example, salads, Franconian asparagus and our range of apples are sourced directly from farms in the region during the season.

This conscious selection not only promotes regional agriculture, but also allows us to offer a variety of fresh and local foods and adapt our menus to the respective seasons. This not only protects the environment, but also contributes to a balanced and healthy diet for students. 
 

 

Vegetarian and vegan dishes

Our menu evolves with the needs of our guests: due to increased demand, the range of vegan and vegetarian dishes on our menu has grown. Our menu now includes vegan and vegetarian dishes every day. We offer at least one vegan or vegetarian dish in our canteens every day. Our cookbook currently contains more than 250 vegan and vegetarian recipes.

In order to meet our guests' desire for dishes without animal ingredients, we offer vegan bowls on days without a warm, vegan alternative on the menu, for example in our Alte Weberei cafeteria in Bamberg.

Vegan baked goods, such as sandwiches and muffins, are available as standard in our cafeterias. The range varies depending on the size of the cafeteria. 

The aim of our gastronomy is to avoid food waste as much as possible through active measures. The majority of our dishes are produced “just in time” according to demand. For dishes that require more preparation, we rely on effective menu planning in order to sell as much as possible on the day of production. The basis for this is our in-house merchandise management system, which enables us to plan according to demand. By accurately recording sales data and analysing students' eating habits, the amount of food prepared can be optimized to minimize waste and any surpluses.

Prepared meals that have not been served are finished the next day and offered as surplus.

Leftovers from production, any leftovers from guests and prepared food returned from the serving area are fed into the energy cycle and passed on to service providers, who then process them into biogas or similar. This holistic strategy helps to ensure the sustainable and resource-conserving management of catering facilities and raises awareness of how food is handled.

Green electricity

Studierendenwerk Würzburg committed itself more than a decade ago to making a significant contribution to environmental protection by using 100% green electricity from renewable sources at all its locations. This sustainable energy practice underlines the Studierendenwerk's long-term commitment to environmentally friendly measures and demonstrates its commitment to a sustainable future.

Since 2024, Studierendenwerk Würzburg has taken a further step towards ecological responsibility by purchasing its green electricity for the halls of residence at all locations from Stadtwerke Augsburg. This electricity is generated 100% from renewable energy sources, including hydropower, solar and wind. This switch to renewable energy sources not only marks an important milestone in the Studierendenwerk's environmental strategy, but also demonstrates a targeted focus on sustainable partnerships with companies that are actively committed to environmental protection.

When deciding on electricity suppliers, Studierendenwerk Würzburg always focuses on the composition of the energy mix.

Energy-saving light bulbs

In the student residences, greater attention is being paid to sustainable energy practices and efficient use of resources. This is reflected in particular in the use of energy-saving light bulbs in all newly constructed buildings. However, this goes beyond the new buildings, as old light bulbs are also gradually being replaced with more energy-efficient bulbs in older buildings as part of replacement purchases in order to make a comprehensive contribution to optimizing energy consumption.

Energy saving campaign

While the Studierendenwerk provides the basis for an energy-efficient everyday life through the choice of electricity supply and the lamps installed in its buildings, students in the halls of residence are also regularly involved in the important joint task of sustainability as part of energy-saving campaigns.

In cooperation with the Deutsches Studentenwerk, the Association of Student and Student Services has launched the energy-saving campaign “Flip the Switch”, in which the Studierendenwerk Würzburg regularly participates. The aim is to reduce energy consumption together with the residents in the student residences and to reduce the CO2 footprint through effective measures. Through a series of informational posts on social media, students are given easy-to-implement tips for a more sustainable everyday life, such as minimizing printouts, efficient heating or unplugging unused electrical appliances overnight. 

 

Since May 2024, we have been offering new reusable cups and trays for our guests in all canteens and cafeterias as part of the restructuring of our reusable range. The items can be purchased and returned as part of our own deposit system in all Studierendenwerk Würzburg facilities. By implementing this reusable system, disposable packaging and thus waste is avoided, which minimizes the consumption of resources. At the same time, this take-away offer allows our catering guests to be more flexible.

Furthermore, we are gradually switching to glass bottles in our range of drinks and trying to reduce the use of disposable bottles. 

Packaging material
Looks like plastic - but it's not! Due to legal requirements, it is not possible to sell baked goods without packaging in our cafeterias. In order to act sustainably, Studierendenwerk Würzburg has been using biodegradable disposable tableware and packaging materials made from PLA plastics since 2020. PLA stands for polylactide, a type of bioplastic made from fermented lactic acid, usually from plant starch such as corn. The partially transparent bags for baked goods in our cafeterias look like plastic, but under certain industrial composting conditions they can be composted without leaving any residue and are 100% recyclable. This environmentally friendly measure reduces waste and encourages students to act consciously and responsibly towards the environment.

Since 2022, we have been using wax foil in our catering operations as a substitute for cling film, aluminum foil and containers with lids.

Thanks to the increasing digitalization of processes, we are saving on printed materials every day. E-receipts have been introduced in all of our canteens so that a QR code can be scanned at each checkout monitor to view the receipt digitally on a smartphone.

In addition to our employees' efforts to reduce the number of printouts and paper waste in their day-to-day work, we only use paper certified with the EU Ecolabel in our printers. The label sets requirements for the entire paper manufacturing process. The use of chemicals is limited in order to conserve water and air. The material used must also be at least 70% recycled and/or certified by external certification systems such as FSC and PEFC.

As part of our media and public relations work, we try to extend the life cycle of printed products as much as possible by planning ahead and using up old materials. New posters and flyers are designed in such a way that they remain valid for a long time and can be used again as part of regular campaigns. Our social media channels and screens at various locations enable us to replace some of our print media with digital advertisements or, for some purposes, to dispense with them completely.

In addition to recycled paper, we prefer to use materials from a sustainable cycle for printing at external print shops: Our roll-ups for events, for example, are made from 100% recycled ocean plastic.