Chartwells Takes Dining to the Next Nevel of Sustainability
January 31, 2025

Stanislaus State dining partner Chartwells recently announced it earned a three-star Certified Green Restaurant® status from the Green Restaurant Association (GRA). GRA has pioneered the Certified Green Restaurant® movement, encouraging restaurants to enhance the sustainability of their operations using transparent, science-based certification standards. 

“This achievement reflects the hard work and dedication of our Chartwells Higher Education team,” said Chartwells Higher Education Dining Services Supervisor Melissa Gonzales. “We are proud to support Stanislaus State in creating a dining environment that prioritizes sustainability and helps set an example for positive change within our community.” 

GRA is an international nonprofit organization that was founded in 1990. GRA has helped to increase sustainability standards for thousands of restaurants to become more environmentally sustainable in areas like energy and waste. The rating also looks at water consumption and chemicals as well as disposables. The rating earned at Stan State is for Chartwell’s Main Dining location, which offers an “All-You-Care-to-Eat Destination.” 

“It is so exciting for Main Dining to be recognized for their ongoing efforts to reduce waste and encourage a climate-friendly diet,” said Jennifer Daniels, Stan State sustainability specialist. 

Salad bar

At Main Dining, students and staff can discover a variety of fresh, delicious options, including Hispanic, global and traditional American dishes. Customers can build meals with customizable sub sandwiches or pasta and salads.  

“Main Dining at Stanislaus State earning a Green Restaurant Certification aligns well with our campus sustainability goals and systemwide policy,” Daniels said. “Sourcing local, providing reusable service ware, offering reusable to go boxes, removing single-use plastics and ensuring to conserve utility resources all add up to make Main Dining a strong partner in campus sustainability.” 

Daniels said many of the ongoing sustainability practices in Main Dining were implemented for the fall 2023 semester. Those efforts added up and earned GreenPoints™ during the certification process. 

“We are very proud of this certification, as it reflects our University’s dedication to sustainability and responsible dining,” said Stan State Warrior Eats Marketing Specialist Briana Lopez. “Reaching this milestone helps us reduce our impact on the environment and encourages our students and staff to make sustainability a part of their everyday lives.” 

GRA operates in 47 states and Canada. It works with restaurants, manufacturers and distributors to fulfill its mission of greening the restaurant industry.