Sustainability

Commercial Services Catering and Hospitality plays a key role in the provision and support of more sustainable choices for our customers.

We are constantly striving to incorporate environmental and social considerations when choosing our suppliers, during production and the delivery of our services.

Catering and Hospitality: Sustainability and Social Responsibility Policy 2025

YORCUP

Buy a reusable YORCUP for £5 to get your first drink for free and avoid the Latte levy.

Latte levy

We charge 35p for each single-use coffee cup, and every penny raised goes directly towards funding new sustainable initiatives.

Save 50%

Head to a participating outlet at the end of lunch to get 50% off hot and cold food.

Recycle your single-use cups

There are 25 giant cup bins across campus where you can dispose of single-use plastic lined cups, lids and leftover liquids.

The bins are emptied by Forge Recycling, who use the plastic cups to produce a range of items including notebooks, pens and other stationary items.

We purchased the bins using funds raised by the Latte Levy, and have recycled over 78,000 cups so far.

Single-use cup trial

In 2020 four campus outlets took part in a single-use cup trial, where they did not offer single-use takeaway cups. For takeaway drinks, customers needed to provide the barista with their own cup, or customers could join the YORCUP scheme.

Refill

All water fountains on campus are registered on the Refill App, including all of the catering outlets, where staff will happily fill your water bottle for you.

Download the Refill App