SP0319: Showcasing the Sustainability Products and Services Sold On-Campus

Our project aims to increase the accessibility of sustainable foods across campus by building a platform capable of
providing an online inventory of the different dining locations across the Mac and downtown campuses as well as by
highlighting the sustainability efforts being made by these stores. We will gather their inventory and sustainability
information and find ways to measure if the access to such information enables users to make more sustainable
purchasing decisions. We have already developed an online platform called Stocate. Its website and app enable
sustainable shopping and allow users to post store information and items.

In our first phase, the inventories of every food store (cafes, dining halls, vending machines) will start being gathered
by an intern visiting each location and by our established collaborations with the store managers and chefs. These
already secured collaborations will ensure that seasonal changes and availability are accurately reported. A
complete inventory of DanaHospitality run cafes will be shared with new students at the start of the Winter
semester in order to test the platform. To access the inventories and their sustainability information, the community
will be able to scan a QR code placed at conspicuous points inside each location.

In our second phase, we will highlight the sustainability efforts of each store by using badges and continue gathering
their inventories. Most of this information will be provided by our collaborators and will include the type of
packaging used, the origin of the item, nutritional info (vegan, gluten free, etc.), and fair-trade items as examples.
The badges will be used to promote constant store-wide initiatives such as offering reusable containers and to
highlight time sensitive menu items such as produce from Mac Farms. The platform will be tested again and codesigned with the summer McGill community which includes student tours and those living in residencies.

In our third phase, we will apply the feedback and results from the previous phases to improve the platform and
target the various orientation events in the Fall semester. This will allow us to ensure a maximum adoption rate for
the platform with new students and to collect data on the sustainable shopping habits of the McGill community.

The SPF funding will be used to hire students, to contract Stocate, and to collaborate with orientation events. The
interns will interact directly with Stocate to upload data and request changes to the user interface and experience
(UI/UX). Stocate will host this data, develop the platform to support the specific needs of the McGill community, and
improve their algorithms for sustainability evaluation.