About SCA
The Sustainable Catering Association
Based in Portland, Oregon, U.S.A., The Sustainable Catering Association is a membership-based trade association that works with enterprising caterers to enhance and further integrate sustainable practices into their business model. Since its founding in 2008, The Sustainable Catering Association has embraced the principle of Triple Bottom Line, advocating initiatives in the areas of People, Planet, and Profit. Its mission is to provide high value-added education and training for caterers, vendors, legislators and other regulatory bodies, and other interested stakeholders, who wish to understand the benefits inherent in sustainable practices within the catering industry.
About Sustainability
Sustainability is just one word and yet there exists over 300 definitions.
The best-known definition of sustainability is the definition by the World Commission on Environment and Development. This suggests that sustainability is defined as “forms of progress that meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs.”
The Sustainable Catering Association uses The Natural Step‘s Four System Conditions for a society to be sustainable and applies these Conditions to the Catering business.
These System Conditions are:
- In order for a society to be sustainable, nature’s functions and diversity are not systematically subject to increasing concentrations of substances extracted from the earth’s crust.
- In order for a society to be sustainable, nature’s functions and diversity are not systematically subject to increasing concentrations of substances produced by society.
- In order for a society to be sustainable, nature’s functions and diversity are not systematically impoverished by physical displacement, over-harvesting, or other forms of ecosystem manipulation.
- In a sustainable society, people are not subject to conditions that systematically undermine their capacity to meet their needs.
As a starting point for the Sustainable Catering Association we are seeking members who endorse these principles in their daily business practices, seeking always to increase their participation in best practices as quickly as practical.
If you are interested in the Sustainable Catering Association membership, sponsorship, service on the board of advisers, or anything else, please use our contact form and let us know your requests or contribution.
Because our organization has only recently been formed we are in constant development with our website. Please bookmark us and visit often for additional information.
