SAVOR…Chicago, the food service provider for McCormick Place, has become the first food service provider in Chicago to be certified to an international sustainability standard.
SAVOR…Chicago achieved Level One certification to the ASTM Standard pertaining to the Evaluation and Selection of Food and Beverage for Environmentally Sustainable Meetings, Events, Trade Shows, and Conferences.
The Food and Beverage standard is one of nine standards developed by the meetings, conventions, exhibitions and events industry to provide event planners and suppliers with specifications for producing events in a more sustainable manner.
Shaun Beard, SAVOR… Senior Vice President, commented, “We are excited to be the first food service company in Chicago to attain ASTM certification. Certification to the industry’s global standard is further evidence of our ongoing commitment to sustainability.” Kevin Jezewski, Director of Sustainability and Special Projects, for SAVOR…Chicago led the certification effort.
“This is great news for Chicago and all of us working to make Chicago a more sustainable destination for corporate meeting planners,” said Aaron Joseph, Deputy Sustainability Officer for the City of Chicago. “We congratulate SAVOR…Chicago on being the first food service provider in the city to achieve certification to the standard.” SAVOR… Chicago joins McCormick Place and Choose Chicago as organizations certified to the ASTM Standards in Chicago.
The ASTM Food and Beverage Standard delineate the procedural requirements for specifying, selecting and procuring food, beverage and non-consumable food- or beverage-related items. The standard specifies specific performance criteria for staff management, communications, waste management, energy, air quality, water, procurement, and community partners as well as equipment required in the preparation and service of food and beverage. The standards were created in partnership with ASTM International, an ANSI-accredited standards development organization.
Connie Bergeron, President of the Green Meeting and Industry Council (GMIC), the non-profit professional meetings association that led the development of the ASTM Sustainable Meeting Standards, added, “ Responsible environmental and social practices in the meeting industry is a global concern. We are delighted to see SAVOR…Chicago take the lead in the Food and Beverage sector in Chicago and hope that this will encourage other food service providers to pursue certification.”
iCompli, a division of BPA Worldwide, a non-profit international auditing organization headquartered in Shelton, Connecticut developed the certification protocols for the ASTM standards and performed the independent third party certification of SAVOR…Chicago’s compliance with the Food and Beverage standard. Glenn Hansen, CEO of BPA Worldwide, commented, “Our certification of the event sustainability standards driven by GMIC and now adopted by SAVOR…Chicago continues our long-standing partnership with the event industry to promote transparency.”
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