Values
To us, food is more than just the fuel that gets you through the day – it is a way to change the world. We are an entirely student-owned company, and our unique ownership structure allows us to take a bold stance as a sustainability pioneer and driver of change.
Our aim is to make sustainable choices easy for everyone. We are continuously working to reduce our carbon footprint and cut down on waste, and we are offering more and more environmentally friendly vegan meals. More than 45% of the meals we sell are vegan. In 2019, we removed beef from our menus entirely to reduce our environmental impact.
Our commitment to sustainability extends beyond food to people. By offering meals at student prices, we aim to support student well-being and equality alongside environmental responsibility. We are committed to equality, and everyone is welcome in our restaurants just as they are.
And our sustainability work does not end there. We continuously follow global developments, improve our sustainability practices and look for new ways to make our food even more environmentally friendly.
Take a closer look at how UniCafe’s parent company, Ylva, puts sustainability into practice: ylva.fi/en/sustainability
How is the carbon footprint of a UniCafe meal calculated?
The carbon footprint shown on the menu represents the estimated climate impact of one complete UniCafe meal. It is expressed in kilograms of carbon dioxide equivalent per meal, kg CO₂e/meal. Carbon dioxide equivalent combines the warming effects of different greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide, into a single comparable unit. The climate impact is assessed over a 100-year period, using the GWP100 value.
The calculation is based on life cycle assessment, or the LCA method. The aim is to account for the climate impacts of a food product from primary production to the production of the finished product and, where possible, up to the retail or wholesale stage. Transport of imported food products is included if it is not already covered by the emission factor.
How are emission factors selected? Emission factors are based primarily on peer-reviewed studies. Other sources include reports by the Natural Resources Institute Finland and other research organisations, as well as product-specific calculations provided by manufacturers. Where possible, figures reported by manufacturers are compared with values presented in the research literature.
When selecting an emission factor, consideration is given, where possible, to the raw material and its production method, level of processing, country of origin or manufacture, and the relevance of the data to the products used by UniCafe. If precise data is not available, the carbon footprint is estimated based on the ingredient composition or the closest comparable product category. In such cases, the result is a reasoned estimate rather than a detailed product-specific calculation.
How should the figure be interpreted? Different data sources do not use exactly the same system boundaries, and customers’ choices and portion sizes vary. The carbon footprint shown on the menu is therefore an estimate based on the best available information. It helps customers compare the climate impacts of UniCafe meals calculated using the same method.
How the meal’s carbon footprint is calculated and what is not included
How is the carbon footprint of the whole meal calculated?
The carbon footprint of a recipe is calculated by multiplying the quantity of each ingredient by its emission factor and adding the results together for one serving as specified in the recipe.
The figure shown on the menu includes:
- the main course
- any side dish served separately
- items from the salad bar
- bread and spread
- the meal drink.
The quantities of the other meal components are based on the portion sizes specified in the meal recommendations for higher education students. Differences between meal types are also taken into account. For example, no separate potato, pasta or rice side dish is added to soups, salads, bowls or dishes that already contain pasta.
What is not included in the calculation?
The figure primarily represents the climate impact of the meal’s ingredients and their supply chain. It does not include:
- energy used for cooking or in the restaurant premises
- transport from the wholesaler to the restaurant in Finland
- serving ware and other utensils
- waste treatment
- packaging, unless it is included in the emission factor used.
Food waste is not added as a separate source of emissions, but the calculation is based on the size of the portion served.
What does “Low carbon footprint” mean on the lunch menu?
Low carbon footprint means that the calculated climate impact of the meal’s ingredients is no more than 0.5 kg CO₂e per portion. The threshold is based on the sustainable eating emissions budget used in WWF’s One Planet Plate model, derived from the IPCC’s 1.5 °C scenarios. This is not a WWF certification.
Reducing waste
The Finnish restaurant sector produces 75–85 million kilograms of waste each year, and approximately one fifth of all restaurant food in Finland becomes waste. We want to do our part to reduce this amount, which is why we are actively taking measures to cut down on waste.
- We sell unsold food at a discount at the end of the day in our restaurants and through the ResQ app.
- We have set organic waste targets for each of our restaurants, which are tracked using specially installed organic waste scales.
- We use channels such as social media and the digital displays installed at our organic waste scales to communicate to our customers about waste sorting, the quantities of waste produced by leftovers and our goal to reduce organic waste.
- Some of our restaurants offer waste-grounds-free coffee.
- Rotating menus and further processing of ingredients improve our food planning, which in turn results in less waste.
- In the event our restaurants run out of certain foodstuffs, they can be replaced with other items.
You can also help reduce waste by only taking as much food as you intend to eat, eating according to the one plate model, recycling appropriately and buying our Leftover Lunches at the end of the day.
Leftover Lunch
When we have unsold food left over from lunch, we sell it at a discount after lunchtime is over. Leftover Lunches are available at all UniCafe restaurants and come in 750 ml containers. You can also bring your own reusable container and get Leftover Lunches even cheaper. Available are warm lunch items, sides and salads from the side salad table.
Please note that student discounts are not available for Leftover Lunches, as they do not qualify for Kela’s meal subsidies. Leftover Lunch prices can be found here.
ResQ
Some of our restaurants offer baguettes, bowls and other display cabinet products at a discount through the ResQ app. Unfortunately, student discounts are not available for products bought on ResQ.
Promoting equality
The basis of our social responsibility is ensuring that human rights and employee rights are realised. We are also responsible for promoting the well-being and equality of students by facilitating healthy and affordable meals.
As a student-owned company, we listen closely to our customers and do our utmost to ensure the feedback and development suggestions we receive are heard. We opened the fully vegan Myöhä Café & Bar in Kaivopiha in October 2022 based on the feedback we received. We also promote equality by
- observing our non-discrimination and equality plan
- declaring all our spaces discrimination-free
- being a responsible and fair employer to our staff
- offering our staff the opportunity to develop and train to become the best professionals in the business
We also require far-reaching responsibility and sustainability from our partners. We expect our partners to be committed to human rights and doing business sustainably. We react quickly in the event we become aware of conduct that conflicts with our values occurring in our value chain.
Quality and environmental policy
Our restaurants observe the international ISO 9001 quality standard, which determines the requirements of our quality system. Observing the standard helps improve the quality of our operations and testifies to our excellent quality management. In addition to the quality standard, we also observe the ISO 14001 environmental management system standard, which supports sustainable development from the perspective of our ecological and financial goals.
We also pay close attention to responsibility and sustainability in our procurement criteria. For example:
- In our procurement, we take into account human rights, environmental impacts and the amount of waste produced.
- We actively follow world events and react to changes as fast as possible.
- In response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, we no longer use ingredients of Russian origin, and we actively investigate our ingredient procurement chains for possible links to Russia.
- We use exclusively Finnish meat and poultry.
- We always prefer Finnish bakery products and ingredients according to season.
- We use organic and fair trade labelled products extensively. We are an ten-time winner of the Luomu SM competition’s Large Private Operator category.
We select sustainability agents from among our staff for each of our restaurants. They are responsible for assisting restaurant managers and shift managers by ensuring that practices related to responsibility and sustainability goals are carried out correctly.
In cooperation with
Food Industry Material Efficiency Commitment 2022-2026
UniCafe is committed to improving material efficiency in the food industry. The commitment’s goal is to further develop Finland’s circular economy. We are actively seeking ways to replace plastic in our disposable packaging and reduce food waste. Additionally, we facilitate plastic recycling and communicate the environmental impact of packaging to our customers.
Green Deal
UniCafe is committed to a voluntary green deal agreement aimed at reducing the consumption of plastic disposable drink cups and food packaging. We are committed to reducing the amount of plastic in our disposable packaging by 40 percent by 2026. In 2023, approximately two-thirds of the portion packs used in UniCafes are made from natural materials instead of plastic. The green deal agreement is part of the implementation of the EU’s plastic strategy.
Stairs to Organic
Stairs to Organic is a program designed for private and public food services that helps professional kitchens reach their organic targets as part of sustainable development activities. UniCafe has partaken in the Stairs to Organic program since 2013. We systematically increase the number of organic products in our restaurants, and nowadays, the selection covers about 200 products.
Certified responsibility
UniCafe has met the standards of the ISO 14001 environmental management certification as well as the ISO 9001:2008 certification for quality management systems. Here at Ylva, we follow the realisation of responsible operations with several different indicators and external auditing. Our partnerships include, for example, UN Global Compact and Bureau Veritas.
MaRa
The Finnish Hospitality Association MaRa (Matkailu- ja Ravintolapalvelut, MaRa) is a lobbyist for employers and labour market association in the restaurant business. Their activities promote the operating conditions of the companies in the field as relates to the area of industrial politics and influences the development of the appeal and appreciation of the field.
UN Global Compact
We are committed to abiding by and promoting Global Compact’s ten principles of responsible business operations within the sectors of human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption. We report on our sustainability using the global “Communication on Progress” framework of the Global Compact.
FIBS
FIBS is the leading corporate responsibility network in Finland. By participating in its operations, we are utilising our knowledge of trends, best practises and tools related to corporate responsibility. We are here to learn and come up with new ideas in order to promote responsible business operations.
Zero Accident Forum
Since 2007, UniCafe has been the first restaurant business to attend the Zero Accident Forum of the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health. We learn from all accidents and close calls by going through the events with the personnel and making agreements about changing procedures. This is done in order to chart the risks included in our activities and to prevent accidents in the future.