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A triple bottom line assessment of sugar

University of British Columbia. Campus and Community Planning

The University of British Columbia Food Systems is an ongoing project aimed at targeting various components of the UBC food system and providing recommendations for improvements in their sustainability. Our task was to conduct a triple bottom line assessment of product group that is purchased by the Alma Mater Society Food and Beverage Department and University of British Columbia Food Services. After communication with representatives of these organizations we decided to conduct our triple bottom line assessment of the primary sugar products used. We conducted extensive research through communication, both in person and through e-mail, with further representatives of our stakeholders, conducted online research of journal articles and various other literature sources, and investigated pricings by direct phone contact to applicable companies. We focused our research on the analysis of the sustainability from an ecologic, social, and economic lens, in order to satisfy the ‘triple bottom line’. Our ecologic analysis determined that organic sugarcane (Saccharum spp.) production was preferable; our social analysis determined that conventional sugarcane production is fraught with negative social impacts that can be avoided by purchasing sugar beet (Beta vulgaris) sugar or fair trade cane sugar; our economic analysis found that organic fair trade sugar incurs a significant cost over current sugar purchased. We recommend that UBCFS and AMSFBD make a concerted effort to find an economically viable plan to convert their sugar purchases to organic fair-trade sugar. Disclaimer: “UBC SEEDS provides students with the opportunity to share the findings of their studies, as well as their opinions, conclusions and recommendations with the UBC community. The reader should bear in mind that this is a student project/report and is not an official document of UBC. Furthermore readers should bear in mind that these reports may not reflect the current status of activities at UBC. We urge you to contact the research persons mentioned in a report or the SEEDS Coordinator about the current status of the subject matter of a project/report.”

Text

University of British Columbia. LFS 450; UBC Social Ecological Economic Development Studies (SEEDS) Student Report

Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library

10.14288/1.0108387

Land and Food Systems, Faculty of

Unreviewed

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/