SDG 2 - Strategic Initiatives
Sustainable Agriculture 
Western provides access to sustainable agriculture knowledge to local and national farmers and food producers.
Agri-food System: The Centre for Building Sustainable Value at Ivey Business School has identified Canada’s agri-food system as a target for shaping systems change towards an ecologically sound and fair future. They focus on engaging and mobilizing changemakers within the system, including researchers, farmers, and policymakers. Some initiatives include:
- Entrepreneurship and Sustainability Accelerator (“Regenerator”) Initiative: In collaboration with the Morrissette Institute for Entrepreneurship, this program compresses years of knowledge and learning into four months to promote a just transition to net-zero and a circular economy.
- Systems Transformation Pathway Initiative: This project engages farmers, processors, retailers, agri-tech entrepreneurs, investors, and policymakers to identify a nature-positive, net-zero, circular, diversified, and equitable shared vision for the Canadian Agri-food system.
Agrivoltaic Agrotunnel: This innovation combines photovoltaics with indoor and outdoor farming to provide locally grown food all year round. It offers reliable year-round food security. By managing costs within a controlled environment, it ensures stable crop prices regardless of the season, offering potential savings to consumers. The team is actively pursuing partnerships to introduce these structures into new farming communities in Canada.
Regenerative Agriculture: This project aims to inform agricultural practices across Canada, involving representatives from farming, municipal government, food processing, food science, civil society, and financial services. Regenerative agriculture refers to farming principles and practices that enhance the entire ecosystem rather than a linear supply chain approach to land management.
Free and open-source hardware: Western Engineering’s Free Appropriate Sustainability Technology (FAST) Research Group facilitates the creation of open-source physical technologies to advance sustainability. FAST is advancing sustainable agriculture by developing solar-powered, self-replicating 3D printers and innovative recycling technologies. By enabling decentralized production of agricultural tools and equipment, guided by open-source designs and enhanced by artificial intelligence, the group is improving efficiency, reducing costs, and increasing accessibility for Canadian farmers.
100% Great Lake Fish Ontario Supply Chain Analysis: Ivey has openly published a book on supply chain dynamics of fish harvesting and processing across the Great Lakes region. This document helps local farmers engaged in aquaculture to improve their practices and contribute to a more sustainable and secure food system.
Agricultural Events 
Ivey provides events for local farmers and food producers to connect and transfer knowledge.
Future of Agri-food Event Series: This series convenes Canadian thought leaders to explore the future of the Canadian Agri-food sector, covering key opportunities and challenges associated with a just climate transition. This free series is aimed at farmers, processors, retailers, agri-tech entrepreneurs, investors, and policymakers. It includes:
- The Future of Agri-food: Canada’s Leadership Opportunity: Explore the large-scale opportunity for Canada to be a leader in agri-food, examining facets such as sustainability, technological innovation, and global market competition.
- Circular Food Economy: Canada’s $50 Billion Opportunity: Panelists explore emerging innovations for reducing, and ultimately eliminating, food waste and examine opportunities to scale practices that support the circular economy through finance and policy.
- Regenerative Agriculture: The Role of Finance & the Value Chain: Explore the role that regenerative agriculture can play in the transition to a more sustainable food system, and how the food industry and the financial sector can incentivize and scale sustainable practices by producers.
- Challenging the Agri-Food Paradigm: Voices of the Farmer: Hear from three Canadian farmers about their decision to change practices, the challenges and opportunities they encountered, and key enablers for other producers to follow this path.
- Ivey Sustainability Conference: Ivey aims to create an inclusive community of scholars eager to push the frontiers of knowledge towards sustainable development. One keynote speaker, shakara tyler, discusses food justice, food sovereignty, and environmental justice, providing technical assistance to underserved farming groups such as Black, Indigenous, People of Colour, women, and beginning farmers.
- Sustainability, Food and AI Conference: ICFAR hosts this conference on technology and process solutions that can advance sustainable agri-food systems. The focus will be on combining solar energy production, food, and computing. Academics and business leaders will sync knowledge on issues, challenges, trends, and opportunities to create a sustainable food system.
Access to Farmers 
Western provides local farmers and food producers access to university research to improve sustainable farming practices.
- Agrivoltaics: Western researchers are exploring this technology to enhance sustainable farming by providing farmers with access to solar technology research.
- Western Farmers Market: Primarily serving the Western community, this market supports local farmers by providing a free venue to sell their produce.
- Sustainable Agri-food Futures: This partnership with the University of Guelph focuses on soil health, bringing together farmers, industry partners, and academics to address farming challenges through innovation. The project proposals involve field-testing the research on farms in collaboration with local farmers.
- Net Zero Energy Farm: This collaboration with Food Security Structures Canada involves developing a net-zero energy farm that produces berries year-round. The initiative provides local farmers with access to advanced growing systems and photovoltaic technology to enhance food security and sustainability.
- Molecular Genetics Unit: The MGU core provides facilities for plant and animal molecular biology research and analysis. Local farmers can access these facilities for research on crop genetics and other agricultural innovations, supporting sustainable farming practices.
- Western Research Parks: These facilities offer state-of-the-art labs, equipment, and tech to support innovation and commercialization efforts, providing farmers and other industry members access to cutting-edge research and technology.
- Open-Source Photovoltaics: Solar energy technology is being used to optimize the production of food in a modular, scalable production system. Collaboration between farmers, engineers, and AI specialists aim to transform their concepts into tangible—and tasty—solutions.
- Western Nanofabrication Facility: An open-access facility that supports farmers in optimizing pesticide and fertilizer use, and in developing crops with greater resistance to pests and environmental stresses.
Hospitality Products and Services 
Hospitality Services is dedicated to reducing our environmental footprint by prioritizing purchases of products from local, sustainable sources.
- Buying Local: How do we define local? Anything produced, raised, or processed in Ontario!
- Fair Trade: Hospitality Services went Fair Trade in 2015! We offer coffee, tea, and chocolate bars.
- Sustainable Seafood: High Liner Foods, the main seafood supplier for Residence Dining, has pledged to source responsibly, with 99% of their supply certified as sustainable or responsible, and Bento Sushi is MSC-certified.
- Meatless and Vegan: Residence dining serves 48% of their menu options as meatless, and half are completely vegan.
- Nutrition Support: A registered dietician is available to support food allergies and special diets like halal, vegan, and gluten-free.
- Nutrislice: An interactive portal allows students to explore the emissions grade of their meal choices.
- Honeybees: Great Hall Catering maintains honeybee hives on campus, from which honey is used in various recipes, made available for tea and coffee, and also bottled for sale.
- MealCare: Western partners with the NGO MealCare to rescue surplus food and redistribute it to feed those in need in our community.
- Food at Western: Everything food at Western. From healthy eating to meal planning to food support programs and helpful apps, your food questions are answered here.
For general inquiries on Hospitality Services Sustainability, please email hs-sustainability@uwo.ca.
Food Waste Tracking
Hospitality Services’ commitment to reducing waste and supporting a circular economy is reflected in a range of initiatives aimed at minimizing landfill impact, diverting waste streams, and supporting local communities. The Choose2Reuse Ecotainer program reduces plastic waste. Through a partnership with Second Harvest and MealCare, salvageable food from residence dining and campus eateries is recovered and redistributed to organizations in the London community. From May to October 2024, Western has donated over 8,000 meals to 20 non-profit agencies and saved more than 15 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions.
Western University is focusing on improving waste reduction and diversion through consistent infrastructure updates and working with vendors to identify waste sources for more effective management. Western Sustainability posts historical waste diversion rates on their website. We also track and report waste through AASHE STARS. Our organic waste is transported to a waste management facility just outside of London where it is used to generate energy.
Sustainable Food Choices
Western University is committed to providing sustainable, healthy, and affordable food choices for everyone on campus at all food outlets, including vegetarian and vegan options.
Hospitality Services Sustainability Report 2024
- Sustainable Sourcing: Western emphasizes responsible sourcing, with 38% of food and beverage purchases identified as plant-based or sustainably/ethically sourced.
- Vegetarian and Vegan Options: The university offers a significant number of meatless and vegan entrees. Approximately half of the entrees served in residence dining are meatless, and half of those are completely vegan.
- Local and Fair-Trade Products: Western supports local farmers and the economy by sourcing over 30% of its food locally. Western has been a Fair-Trade campus since 2016.
- Sustainability Goals: Hospitality Services works with the Office of Sustainability to identify successes and areas for improvement. They are dedicated to responsible sourcing, sustainable dining, education, and waste reduction.
Value Picks Program
Hospitality Services developed Value Picks: affordable and nutritious meal options under $10 are labelled on menu boards. Our Registered Dietitian has classified our Value Picks into three categories, based on the value of select macro- and micro-nutrients important for overall health. Visit food.uwo.ca to learn more about everything food at Western.
Dietary Accommodations
- Dietary Icons: Menu items tagged with one of the dietary icons indicate that the menu item aligns with that dietary pattern. This includes halal, vegan, vegetarian, and made without gluten.
- Food Allergy: The hospitality team undergoes annual allergen training. Menu items identify the priority allergens outlined by Health Canada.
- Registered Dietitian: Western employs a registered dietitian who helps students use nutrition to support a healthy lifestyle, including finding food options that fit their dietary needs.
Nutrislice
Saugeen-Maitland residence is part of a pilot program in collaboration with Nutrislice. All menu options are listed on a website that includes dietary icons. Each meal is also given an emissions grade, allowing students to make informed choices about the sustainability of their food consumption.
Food Insecurity
Western addresses food insecurities for staff through the following interventions:
- Living Wage: all of Western’s employees receive remuneration equivalent to at least a living wage. This enables staff to meet their basic needs, including food.
- United Way Campaign: the Western contribution to the United Way Campaign is the largest in the region. United Way is a non-profit that partners with local agencies to provide food assistance and address the root causes of food insecurity.
- MealCare: Western has partnered with MealCare to divert unused food to feed people in need in London, Ontario. Staff in need can make use of this.
- Food Banks and Meal Programs: These services within the city of London are available to staff struggling with food insecurity.
- Western Community Garden: This garden is primarily used to grow food crops. Garden plots are available on a first-come, first-served basis.
- Value Picks: nutritious and affordable meals are identified at every food retailer and help staff to make healthy, affordable food choices.
