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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Psychol.
Sec. Environmental Psychology
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1445655
This article is part of the Research Topic Health Promotion in the Universities and Other Educational Settings View all 19 articles

Sustainable flavor, healthy future: Towards a Green transition of the UPV in the food sector

Provisionally accepted
  • 1 Universitat Politècnica de València, Valencia, Spain
  • 2 i-FOOD Team, IIA-FoodUPV, Valencia, Spain
  • 3 Institute for Conservation & Improvement of Valentian Agrodiversity, Polytechnic University of Valencia, Valencia, Valencia, Spain
  • 4 Department of Architectural Design. Polytechnic University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Due to the current climatic situation of the planet and the increase in concern for the environment, the Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV) aims to be a model for the university community in terms of the preservation of the ecosystem and prevention of the environmental impact caused by daily tasks; thus, aligning itself with the goals of the 2030 Agenda. For this reason, a project has been launched to carry out the green transformation of the UPV towards a university that prioritizes sustainability in all its areas. As part of this project, a survey was conducted using anonymous online questionnaires for the student population and employees. The study aimed to gauge the perception of sustainability and campus food supply and included items related to waste management and public awareness. A total of 800 students and 100 employees from the three UPV campuses (Vera, Alcoy, and Gandía) participated, ranging from 17 to 66 years old. After the statistical analysis of the results, significant differences were identified in most of the questions of the different thematic blocks and, in some cases, in terms of gender and age group. In general, good knowledge about sustainability was observed, although participation in initiatives organized by the university was low in both population groups. On the other hand, as the age of the participants increased, a greater adoption of sustainable behaviors was observed, especially in buying and recycling habits. Regarding the food supply on university campuses, the need to improve it to promote healthier and more sustainable options is highlighted. This work investigates ways to improve the menu choices offered in university settings to promote healthier and more sustainable habits. Additionally, the study aims to identify potential obstacles within the university environment that may hinder these efforts, raise awareness, and encourage more environmentally friendly behaviors. The proposed improvements include: i) increasing the variety of plant-based options, ii) sourcing food locally to reduce its carbon footprint, and iii) implementing a waste management system that encourages recycling.López et al.

    Keywords: sustainability, Green transition, ecological, healthy eating, Waste Management, Awareness

    Received: 12 Jun 2024; Accepted: 03 Dec 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 López López, PICO SIRVENT, Domingo-Calabuig, Martínez Monzó and García-Segovia. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Rebeca López López, Universitat Politècnica de València, Valencia, Spain

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.