Case Study: Syracuse University tracks dining hall food waste emissions with Persefoni

Syracuse University Partners with Persefoni to Track Emissions from Food Waste

Syracuse University’s Dynamic Sustainability Lab and student researchers wanted to understand the greenhouse gas emissions tied to food waste in the university’s dining halls. They partnered with Persefoni, using its carbon accounting platform alongside Leanpath food waste tracking data to measure the climate impact of dining hall waste.

Persefoni helped the team upload waste categories, volumes, and sources to calculate emissions from food disposal across six campus dining halls. In one month, they tracked more than 71,000 pounds of food waste and measured 610 kgCO2e, creating a baseline that highlighted hotspots such as plate waste and overproduction and informed new reduction strategies like staff training, portion changes, and student-led audits.

Syracuse University