We take our responsibility very seriously to preserve nature and resources for the next generations and the generations after that. Accordingly, we strive to live a little more sustainably every day. Sometimes this succeeds with great effect,
sometimes only with a small effect, but no less important because of it. Many things need time and a solid concept behind them: But we are not afraid to continue to contribute our ideas and thoughts in order to be able to act even more sustainably, step by step.
From the purchasing stage on, we endeavour to buy fresh, regional and, as far as possible, seasonal food. This is why we managed to maintain many supply relationships with regional distributors over the past years.
We mainly purchase seasonal and regional vegetables and fruit (such as potatoes, asparagus, apples, cucumbers, tomatoes, salads and peppers) from local distributors to avoid long transport routes and to guarantee freshness.
Since several years fairly traded coffee, tea, chocolate bars and soft drinks are a fixed part of our assortment. Find out more about fair trade on their website FairTrade Germany.
If you have decided on one of those diets, you make a conscious decision in favour of the climate and the environment. We gladly share these thoughts and offer at least one vegetarian dish per day in our canteens. Moreover you will find a variety of vegetarian components in our salad bars as well as our soups of the day and desserts.
At the same time, we offer more and more vegan food in our canteens: Homemade smoothies, home-baked cakes, various filled baguettes and sandwiches. We also offer soy milk to white our fair-trade coffee.
In 2023, our canteens were recognized as vegan-friendly by PETA for the third time.
Nothing ends up in the trash bin so quickly here! That's because we calculate portions precisely and prepare food in our canteens in batches. To ensure that no food is prepared in vain, we also refrain from displaying the lunch offerings in display cases. To avoid waste, we sometimes make changes to the menu.
Fertilize with coffee grounds! The coffee grounds produced in our cafeterias are not simply thrown away either: 7,000 kg of coffee grounds are left over in our cafeterias every year. So it seems only logical to reuse this supposed waste. Coffee grounds contain valuable nutrients such as potassium, nitrogen, and phosphorus, making them ideal for high-quality, inexpensive fertilization of outdoor and potted plants. As an added bonus, this natural, chemical-free fertilizer also repels pests.
Every day, 5- and 10-liter buckets are available for free at our facilities in Potsdam, Brandenburg an der Havel, and Wildau. These can be picked up while supplies last, either in the morning from 9 to 11 a.m. or in the afternoon from 3 p.m. Please send us a quick note by email or phone.
The fish offered in our canteens comes exclusively from sustainable fisheries and controlled breeding.
No food for the rubbish bins: We steadily optimize the operation of our kitchen and the quantity planning in order to cook demand-driven. This is how we avoid food scraps as far as possible.
We introduced a deposit-free reusable system in all canteens in collaboration with our partner relevo. This replaced the compostable (biopolymer) to-go tableware that had been used until then. There is no charge for using the reusable system. Students who want to take their food with them but do not want to use the reusable system can continue to bring their own containers and cups.
We also introduced a deposit system for reusable cups in the Film University canteen.
In case you bring your own reusable cup, you even save 10 cents. However, if you really do need a paper cup, we try to make our contribution to the environment by using the biodegradable version.
Highest priority is given to the hygienic processing of food in our kitchens. That requires a lot of water, energy and detergents. We use all resources with care. Wherever it is possible, we also use cleaning products with the EU ecolabel (link: http://www.eu-ecolabel.de/) that are environmentally friendlier than other comparable detergents.
We also use water- and energy-saving devices to prepare the food in our canteen kitchens. Therefore our multifunctional steam ovens are equipped with an automatic cleaning program, that saves water, energy and chemicals.
