2015 Spring Grant Application. Amount Requested as: X Grant X Loan (Both) (Estimated payback period of loan in months: 6 months)

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1 Project Title: Bulk Bins Spring Grant Application Project title: Bulk Bins Total amount requested from TGIF: $5386 Amount Requested as: X Grant X Loan (Both) (Estimated payback period of loan in months: 6 months) Sponsoring Organization/Fiscal Agent: This will be the entity that holds your grant funds and administers all financial transactions and student intern hires. For Sponsoring Organization/Fiscal Agent, please also submit a completed Project Approval Form. Project Approval Forms will not be counted toward your application page limit. Cal Dining, Shawn Lapean Project Team: Please identify the project leader(s). If you want to list additional team members, please add the entries. Additional team member information will not count toward your page limit. Name Shawn LaPean Title and Executive Director, Cal Dining department Project Role Sponsoring Organization/Fiscal Agent Phone lapean@berkeley.edu Relevant Has worked with Cal Dining for years and has been a huge player in its experience or sustainability efforts. knowledge for this project Name Sarah Atkinson and Lucy Tate Title and Cal Dining Sustainability Coordinators department Phone (510) satkinson@berkeley.edu Relevant Sarah been a part of the Cal Dining Sustainability Team for two and a experience or half years and is majoring in environmental science with a focus on food knowledge for this sustainability. Lucy has been an intern on the team for a year and will be project the next sustainability coordinator. Name Anna Yip

2 Project Title: Bulk Bins 2 Title and Zero Waste Research Center Program Associate, Building Sustainability department at Cal GO! Team Member Phone yipyipanna@berkeley.edu Relevant Has worked with the campus sustainability efforts since her freshman experience or year and is a student in CNR. knowledge for this project How did you hear about this grant? SERC. Project Description 1. Please give a brief history of this project. Describe the overall goals of the project. In the hopes of furthering UC Berkeley s environmental movement and progressing the campus towards its Zero Waste by 2020 goal, the Bulk Bin project, a collaboration between Cal Dining, Building Sustainability at Cal and the Zero Waste Research Center, will introduce bulk food dispensers in on campus retail locations. The bulk bins offer a unique, upstream approach towards preventing and eliminating both food and packaging waste, giving students the ability to buy different food items in the quantities that they desire (by pricing by the pound) in compostable or reusable containers. The bulk bins will reduce the waste from individually packaged foods like candy, nuts and cereal and will encourage students to bring reusable containers to purchase the bulk items by giving a discount to these customers. The goal is that by promoting reusables by this avenue, students will start to use reusables in other aspects of their life at Cal, such as carrying reusable mugs and water bottles on campus. Cal Dining has approved the implementation of the bulk bins in four locations, Cub Market (CKC), Golden Bear Cafe, Bear Market (Unit 3) and Ramona s, and is willing to take on financial responsibility for expanding the project if deemed successful. 2. What will be the process for implementing your project? Describe the key steps of your project. We will conduct an audit this semester (Spring 15) analyzing the amount of waste that is sold from the on campus retail locations before the installation occurs to use for our metrics. We are also currently in the process of contacting/researching the companies Cal Dining already purchases from to see if they can offer their products to us in bulk. If they cannot, we will then look for new suppliers (ideally organic/local/fair trade where possible). When this list is finished, we will present our snack replacement suggestions to Cal Dining and then contact and work with these distributors over summer to purchase their items. When we have the list we will purchase the bulk bins, scale and reusable/compostable containers for the customers. We will then design our promotional signage and the banners for Bear Market to have ready for Fall opening of Bear Market. In August, we will help set up the installation of the bins and train the staff.

3 Project Title: Bulk Bins 3 Metrics and Measurability 3. Which aspects of campus sustainadbility will your project address, and why is addressing these issues important would your project fulfill a specific campus need or goal? Does your project coincide with any current campus sustainability initiatives? Does your project go above and beyond the requirements already mandated by UC Berkeley? Our project specifically addresses the issue of campus waste and would help get campus to its goal of Zero Waste by According to the Office of Sustainability and Energy, in 2013 campus was at a waste diversion rate of only 50%, despite the campus goal of reaching 75% diversion by With only five years to go, we have a lot more improvements to make. This Bulk Bin project, coinciding nicely with the Chews to Reuse campaign that was launched in the dining halls in 2012, will focus on reducing upstream waste from plastic, landfill packaging. Over the past 3 years, the University has made major advancements in the separation of its waste by providing more composting and recycling on campus, but has not extensively reduced the amount of landfill items it purchases for dining and other services. To reach the Zero Waste goal, we must significantly reduce our purchasing of landfill packaged items, because even if we provide recycling and compost, it means little if most items still must be put in the landfill. Since, campus has yet to mandate much in the realm of food service sustainability, this project will clearly go above and beyond campus expectations, which is not new for Cal Dining and Shawn LaPean, who have taken the lead on campus food sustainability efforts. On a larger scale, this project can be related to the plastic bag ban that Alameda County has implemented and the one that has (sadly) been placed on hold for the state of California. Although we recognize that this ban is for single use plastic shopping bags, we believe this movement should also be expanded to the reduction of single use/landfill plastic packaging for food items. 4. What quantitative and/or qualitative sustainability metrics will your project have? Will there be cost savings for the campus (Please show)? How will you measure and report on these metrics during your project and upon completion of your project? Please also fill out the CalCAP Metrics form for your calculations and submit it separately from your application. The 2011 Campus Sustainability Report contains additional information on campus sustainability. We will conduct an audit analyzing the amount of waste that is sold from the on campus retail locations before the installation occurs. After the bulk bars are introduced, we can then compare the amount sold to the previous audits, quantifying how much waste was diverted due to the bulk bins, information that we will share with TGIF, Cal Dining and students through informational posters in each location. We would also compare sales data to evaluate their cost effectiveness for students and to see how offering bulk bins has affected sales rates. Finally, we will send out surveys to residents to gauge their responses and collect their opinions on the project both before and after the project is implemented. Although we do not expect any significant cost savings for campus, we do believe that the bulk sales will help students save money. We would also like to attempt to measure how many students use the bins and how frequently, to test there effectiveness in engaging the student body.

4 Project Title: Bulk Bins 4 Project Education, Outreach, and Publicity Plan 5. What is your plan for publicizing your project on campus and getting the campus community involved? In addition to TGIF, who will you report your information to? This area within the on campus retail locations where the bulk bins will be housed will have informational posters containing waste and energy facts relating to food packaging, including information about Cal s Zero Waste by 2020 goal. The banners will encourage participation from students and will explain why this effort is being made. All Cal Dining retail and food locations will have signage promoting the program, and we will have an easy way for students to contact us with comments/suggestions. We will also try to get information about the initiative onto Cal Dining s website. 6. Do you have any specific outreach goals? If so, how will they be measured and reported? (Leave blank if already answered in the Metrics & Measurability section) Answered above and below. 7. Will students be involved in this project and if so, what roles will they play? Does your project target involvement of a certain section of the student body? Does your project directly benefit the student population? Aside from the three student project leaders, this project is designed with the hope of engaging students in a less wasteful lifestyle. It will show students that it is possible to make slight changes in their everyday lives that lead to a huge change (illustrated in our informational banners). We also believe that the bulk bins will save students money. Since they will be located in the on campus retail locations, the bins will most directly affect the freshmen and other students with meal plans. However, since Cal Dining would like to offer them in the locations more central on campus (such as Golden Bear Cafe), we imagine many more students and potentially even faculty will be able to participate. Project Approvals (Projects will not be considered without the relevant approvals). 8. Do any aspects of your project require approval from an entity on or off campus? If yes, please list and explain. (For example, a project which affects campus grounds or buildings must be approved by the Vice Chancellor for Facilities Services) For each described entity, you must submit a completed Project Approval Form. Project Approval Forms will not be counted toward your application page limit. No. 9. Are you partnering with any on campus or off campus departments, student groups, or organizations, besides your fiscal sponsor? If yes, please list here and include their contact information. No.

5 Project Title: Bulk Bins 5 Budget & Sustaining the Project Long Term 10. List all budget items for which funding is being requested under the appropriate category. Include cost and total amount for each item requested. Please be as detailed as possible. (Insert additional rows if necessary). If you have price quotes from vendors or additional historical budget information for projects that have occurred previously or are on going, please submit those with this application. Additional budget documentation will not be counted toward your application page limit. Item Equipment and Construction Costs Cost per Item Quantit y Total Request Bulk Bins $ $3600 Stainless Steel to go ware containers * $3 300 $900 Glass Jars * $ $261 Cloth Bags * $ $180 Compostable Bags * $5/ $125 Scale $80 4 $320 Publicity and Communication Outreach materials (posters and other signage) *costs covered by Cal Dining Personnel and Wages Dining Sustainability Team Interns *costs covered by Cal Dining General Supplies and Other TOTAL $5386

6 Project Title: Bulk Bins If your project is implemented, does is require any on going funding after its completion? What is your strategy for supporting the project after this initial period to cover replacement, operational, and renewal costs? (Note: TGIF is unlikely to provide funding beyond the initial grant for ongoing projects and we give priority to projects that only need one time funding or will be supported financially by the campus once TGIF funding is spent.) No. Cal Dining will resume financial responsibility if the project does not negatively affect sales and the general response from the students is positive. 12. List all non TGIF sources you are pursuing for funding, volunteer time, in kind donations, etc. Source/Description Amount Date Request submitted Date received / date funding will be announced CSSC Zero Waste Mini Grant $1000 3/06/15 Unsure Project Timeline 13. Please complete the following table to describe your project timeline. List milestones chronologically. For the Timeframe column, please estimate how long each task will take to be completed. (Insert additional rows if necessary). Each one of the following items must be included on your timeline: Project start date Target date for project completion Date by which you will need the first installment of TGIF money Date by which you expect to have spent all TGIF funds Target date for submitting final project report to TGIF Any significant tasks or milestones along the way (For example: identifying an equipment vendor, begin installing equipment, finish installing equipment, etc.) Task Timeframe (# Estimated completion date of wks to completion) Waste audit (before implementation) 2 5/10/15 Finalize list of items to be sold/who we 3 5/10/15 will purchase these bulk food items from Place orders for food and bins 2 7/1/15 *First instalment needed

7 Project Title: Bulk Bins 7 Place orders for containers (reusable & 1 7/25/15 *final instalment needed compostable) and scale Install Bins 1 8/10/15 Welcome Week Unveiling 1 8/23/15 Measurements of Effectiveness 15 12/15/15