A key focus of our design and construction projects is sustainability, and we want to make sure that our operations reflect this commitment to the environment. With an office of over 120 people, we order a lot of catering for meetings. Thinking about sustainability, we were appalled at the amount of waste that was being generated at these meetings. This was bad for the environment, our budget, and not a good message to send to our clients while we pitch our sustainable approach to design/building.

So we decided to serve all of our catering using dishes and cutlery. We serve water in jugs with glasses as opposed to water bottles. We even decided to stop ordering disposable stir sticks in favour of using spoons.

We do order pop and juice but make sure to recycle the containers; we use Encorp’s Return-It program to collect the refunds to be put towards the United Way.

If we have to serve catering on disposable tableware, we ask that the paper plates are rinsed off and recycled (yes, it’s possible) and we use locally produced, biodegradable wooden cutlery.

Check out this site for the cutlery.

Not only have we tried to reduce waste from catering, we also order from local businesses which use some if not all organic items. We like Trees Organic Coffee and Seasons Catering. Not only is their food delicious, their service is spectacular.