The Shipley School, a private school located in the suburbs of Philadelphia in Bryn Mawr, was recently awarded the 3-Star Certified Green Dining Room Certification from the Green Restaurant Association for their Avery Silverman Dining Room.

Less than five schools in Pennsylvania earned such certification.

The private school made strides in making their dining room sustainable by sourcing 45 percent of their eggs locally, offering vegetarian and vegan options, use of LED lighting, installing new waste receptacles and signage, and use of a rainwater catchment and reuse system.

All utensils, cups, plates and bowls in the cafeteria are also compostable. The compostables are delivered to Linvilla Orchards. Philadelphia is one of twelve cities with a composting requirement.

The Green Restaurant Association, an international nonprofit, works with restaurants, manufacturers and distributors interested in becoming environmentally sustainable by gathering data to determine the necessary steps to earn certification and which criteria has already been met.

The certification is based on a point system covering areas such as recycling, no polystyrene foam, staff education, and continual change.

There are 5 levels in each category that determine the number of points that will be awarded. Shipley reached 3-Star by earning 200.94 GreenPoints on the GRA’s scale and implemented 57 environmental steps.

The Avery Silverman Dining Room in the Shipley Commons partnered with SAGE Dining Services and Boyer Sudduth Environmental Consultants to aid in the changes and have since decreased the amount of waste being sent to the landfills. Shipley is SAGE’s first school to earn the certification.

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Siani Colón is a Philly-based journalist, born and raised in the city, focused on community-based reporting. In her free time, she volunteers with the Tacony Creek Park. View all posts by Siani Colon