Sustainable food management in UDST

Sustainable Food Management within UDST

Joud Al Abtah 60099979

Majid Ahmed 60097729

Rumaisa Sheikh 60101163

Submitted to

Tahira Jehan Makda – MRKT 2002-1 Business Instructor

Due Date

October 27, 2022

Sustainable food management in UDST 2

Table of Contents

Introduction.................................................................................................................................. 3

Importance of This Research Project...........................................................................................4

Hypothesis............................................................................................................................... 5

Research Questions................................................................................................................5

Research methodology................................................................................................................ 5

Secondary Research................................................................................................................ 5

External Business Environment...............................................................................................6

Economic................................................................................................................................6
Socio-Cultural........................................................................................................................6
Technological..........................................................................................................................7
Legal........................................................................................................................................7
Environment...........................................................................................................................7
Competitor Analysis................................................................................................................8
Target Market or Customers....................................................................................................8
Analysis of the Marketing Mix................................................................................................9
Product....................................................................................................................................9
Promotion...............................................................................................................................9
Price........................................................................................................................................9
Place......................................................................................................................................10
Primary Research.................................................................................................................. 10

Research Analysis..................................................................................................................... 11

Food Suppliers....................................................................................................................... 11

Calculations and graphs.........................................................................................................12

For Students and Staff........................................................................................................... 14

Descriptive data.....................................................................................................................17
Research questions............................................................................................................... 18

Target Market......................................................................................................................... 19

Research Summary................................................................................................................... 20
Sustainable food management in UDST 3

Recommendations..................................................................................................................... 21

References................................................................................................................................ 23

Appendix 1.................................................................................................................................. 24
Sustainable food management in UDST 4

Introduction
Food is a source of enjoyment and emotional support in addition to being a supply of

important nutrients and energy for life. It has connections with the symbols of love, ease, relief

from stress, safety, rewards, cultural expression, creativity, and power. However, despite how

important food is, food wastage is a serious issue that is becoming worse. Food that is taken

from the production or supply chain and abandoned at the primary-production, processing,

manufacturing, transport, storage, distribution, and end-consumer phases, with the exception of

primary-production losses, is referred to as food waste. Food is wasted for a variety of reasons

including overproduction, needless inventory, production or equipment flaws, incorrect

processing or transportation, improper storage, losses during food preparation, and when food is

served, such as leftovers on customers’ plates. (Chan, n.d.)

The objective of the research objectives are by improving creation, storage,

ordering/shopping, marketing, labeling, and cooking techniques, food waste may be reduced.

Connect potential food contributors with groups that fight hunger, such as food banks and

pantries, to recover food waste. Owing to of the negative effects on the environment and society,

preventing food waste has become a crucial concern UDST. The goal of food wastage prevention

in canteens is to minimize food loss and waste, particularly during storage, preparation, and

service.

Importance of This Research Project

In this research conducted by us we will try to collect the information and the statistical

data of food wastage happening in the campus. By having the data of the consumption of food
Sustainable food management in UDST 5

we could apprehend the consumption percentage and relate it to the purchasing percentage. The

additional problem which could be potentially disentangled is the management process and the

production of the food on campus. This could save the university in both health and wellness

point of view and monetary point of view. The management board of the food and beverage

department in UDST could limit their production if we have all the necessary data which could

potentially lead to less wastage and proper consumption. This could open more opportunity for

the F&B department as to introducing new variety of food but in a productive manner.

By doing the research on food wastage and managing it precisely it could benefit both the

consumer and the production facilities as the consumers which are the students, and the staff can

enjoy guilt free meals with absolute portion of the food and beverages which can be consumed

by individuals as per their capacity. UDST and the management will also be benefited because

they can control and manage the wellbeing of the students and staff by increasing their quality

rather than focusing on the quantity. Which could also save some financial criteria for the

management. All the data collected and analyzed are from the students of UDST, so they are

accurate enough to get the data set for our survey and additionally none of the data are

hypothetical or assumptions.

Hypothesis

- Majority of the target audience are aware of sustainable food management

- Most of the students, staffs and food suppliers within UDST are willing to contribute to

sustainable food management.

Research Questions

- What is the approximate amount of food wastage in UDST daily?

- How do UDST members contribute to sustainable food management?

Sustainable food management in UDST 6

- What are the practices followed by the food suppliers?

- What are the recommended alternatives and practices to reduce food wastage to become

more sustainable?

Research methodology

There will be use of both primary and secondary research. We will conduct a survey that

will be sent out to the UDST students and staff through email and interview the targeted food

suppliers personally about food wastage. We will also be using online secondary data articles to

collect data about the topic. that will help us write this report. The secondary data from online

resources will be used to explain our PESTLE analysis and the marketing mix of the university.

Secondary Research

For this report, we will be using some available secondary data from the resources

available in UDST website and UDST library online journal sources. UDST targets students that

search for affordable universities that also offers great facilities and excellent service experience.

UDST has been providing remarkable opportunities to their students, staffs and alumni and are

well known for their various memorable events. With the help of our research analysis, we will

further discuss how the background research of UDST also influences food wastages occurred in

the university. For this purpose, we will also review UDST target market, marketing mix,

competitors and its PESTLE analysis to have a brief knowledge on the university and understand

the possible reasons for food waste take place.

Sustainable food management in UDST 7

External Business Environment

PESTLE analysis helps a company understand their environment to operate their

business. PESTLE expands Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal and Environmental

factors. The following analysis of Pestle mentioned below are most likely to influence food

waste in UDST (Pestile Analysis, n.d.)

Economic. UDST does contribute to economy of Qatar by providing education and

various opportunities for its target market. They provide financial help in several ways for

students and pay satisfactory amount of salary to their staff.

Increase in food wastages can potentially lower the amount of food resources available in

UDST which directly impact the demand and pricing of these resources hence causing inflation

in the campus.

Socio-Cultural. The university has been always diverse attracting and welcoming people

from different place and culture. UDST also keeps the pride of Qatar and tends to keep some

traditional values unchanged.

Even though there is adequate food produced worldwide, approximately a billion

members of socially disadvantaged groups do not have access to or are occasionally

insufficiently fed. All the socio-factors like age, gender, religion, culture, etc. has an impact on

food wastage directly or indirectly. wastage of one social group differs from another because of

various factors. (SHS Web of Conference, n.d.)

Technological. UDST is also well known for its updated technology and their

technological education. The use of machines for either educating their students or simply for

daily work is quite natural in campus.

Sustainable food management in UDST 8

Technology is involved for the production of food supply within the university as well.

UDST can also invest their income or time in creating technology that could reduce food

wastage or could reuse the waste materials.

Legal. UDST is legally known for being 2nd national university of Qatar and are very

particular with following legal rules and regulations.

Millions of people suffer hunger every day when others just waste their food. There are

legal laws and regulation for food wastage where certain acts would make others avoid such

wastage.

Environment. UDST have kept a pleasant environment by planting within the campus

and maintaining them. They even provide course to create awareness on environmental issues.

However, they don’t have a track record of possible actions that might impact negatively

on environment. (Buzby, 2022)

Waste dumped in landfills adds to global warming. As leftover food breaks down,

dangerous methane is released into the environment. One of the harmful greenhouse gases,

methane is 21 times more potent than carbon dioxide. If these foods were composted properly,

less damaging carbon dioxide rather than methane may be released into the atmosphere. In

addition to food dumps, another element that has an impact on the environment is the

transportation of food across larger distances or its subsequent disposal. These operations

demand a substantial amount of fuel, which is adversely impacted over time by emissions from

exhaust gases. There will also be less resources available for other animals which might

endangers their existence. (SHS Web of Conference, n.d.)

Sustainable food management in UDST 9

Competitor Analysis
Qatar University, and Texas A&M university at Qatar is considered to be an indirect

competitor of UDST.

It is assumed that main competitive advantage of UDST is the tuition fees they offer

which is comparingly lesser than the competitors. They also propose 8 unique programs in Qatar

to attract their target market. Providing various opportunities, announcing events and activities,

and keeping a high profile has caught many eyes towards UDST

It is the first national applied university, established in 2022, after 20 years of experience

as an applied college in Qatar, (Qatar Tribune, 2022)

When we look through the competitors, it is clearly noticed that Qatar University do contribute

well to reduce food waste. However, UDST do tend to follow back by creating some awareness

and initiatives within and outside the campus.

Target Market or Customers

This research will target all the members of UDST that including both students and staff.

This means it will involve individuals who are from or are residents of Qatar, all members above

the age of 16 years and of either gender. The target market needs to be cooperative and willing to

contribute to change their daily habits in order to reduce wastage. The research mainly targets

individuals who intentionally or unintentionally tend to waste food on daily basis. The report will

also target food retailers in UDST, including Ennabi, Cup of Joe, and Tim Hortons, to

understand their ways with food supply and if it influences the wastage taken place in the

campus.
Sustainable food management in UDST 10

Analysis of the Marketing Mix

This section will include secondary data and information on the four P’s: product,

promotion, price and place for your target market.

Product. UDST provides services to their students. As per their website, “UDST has

over 50 programs in the fields of Engineering Technology and Industrial Trades, Business

Management, Computing and Information Technology, Health Sciences, Continuous Education

and development and more.” They also claim to have around 8 unique programs in Qatar to offer

to their students (UDST, 2022)

Promotion. UDST is already using the best methods to promote their products through

actively engaging in social media and using various digital platforms like website, email, SEO

and SMS. They are also making headlines in news report and channels and have managed to

create a positive publicity for themselves. UDST have been announcing several social events

which have been boosting the publicity as well. However, it is suggested for the university to

conduct more environmentally friendly activities like the clean-up at Al Zubara beach to create

more awareness regarding various environmental issues faces in daily life. (UDST, 2021)

Price. The tuition fees and supplies for a course is reasonable as most of the other

universities cost comparingly more than UDST not leaving much affordable university option in

Qatar. The university rationally invest their income in order to be more successful. They even

provide financial aid and employment opportunities to the student and create various voluntary

activities which helps the university to increase their goodwill.

Place. The services provided by the university is all within campus. The food suppliers

and cafeterias as well are located within the university. Any offers related to the university can
Sustainable food management in UDST 11

be achieved by visiting the campus or from their website or by simply contacting the responsible

individual for required information whose contact details will be mentioned on the website.

Primary Research

We will be sending a survey via link to students of UDST and personally interviewing

the staff and cafeterias in the campus. Our sample will be completely random but grouped into

students, staff, and food suppliers. Each group will have different set of questions to understand

which one has major impact on the issue.

Students and staff survey will help us understand the approximate amount of daily food

wastage and what could be the main reason for that action. Whereas interview with the food

supply will help us understand how the suppliers are dealing with their food leftovers and if they

are able to follow through their techniques.

This way we will also be able to suggest and understand the better ways to prevent food

waste within campus and recommend some actions to reduce the waste.

From the survey, we will be able to gather information from our target market that helps

us calculate analysis and recommend other alternatives.

Students & Staff

- The sampling method used were clustered as students and staff were grouped to into 2

different category and randomly selected from each subgroup.

- We were able to receive 53 respond in total of almost equal gender and majority

purchasing food from within the campus (as seen below), proving their responds will be

held valid. However, we do have a limitation as our respondents’ number were smaller

comparing to target sample and majority of the respondents were students (94%) which

did not gave us much view from the staff of UDST.

Sustainable food management in UDST 12

Food Suppliers
- Our food suppliers were targeted and personally interviewed.

- The questions were mostly qualitative and gave us a good insight into food suppliers

within UDST.

Research Analysis
Food Suppliers

Food suppliers were interviewed personally to achieve a qualitative data which were analyzed

through SPSS and detailed insight.

The picture below, show the input of data in SPSS. Only some important questions were

highlighted for this research.

Calculations and graphs

food remained unconsumed

Sustainable food management in UDST 13

Valid Cumulati
Frequen Perce Perce ve
  cy nt nt Percent
Vali always 2 50.0 50.0 50.0
d consum
e
mostly 2 50.0 50.0 100.0
consum
es
Total 4 100.0 100.0  

The table above is created through SPSS frequency command, where as the table below is the
full version of the table created manually. The graph for table is also followed by.

Rating scale Frequency

always consume 2

mostly consume 2

neutral 0
mostly 0
unconsumed
always 0
unconsumed
total 4

Rate of food consumed by UDST residents

always consume mostly consune neutral mostly unconsumes always unconsumed

Sustainable food management in UDST 14

willing to achieve sustainable food

management
Valid Cumulati
Frequen Perce Perce ve
  cy nt nt Percent
Vali woul 1 25.0 25.0 25.0
d d put
som
e
effort
totall 3 75.0 75.0 100.0
y
willin
g
Total 4 100.0 100.0  

Willingness to contribute for sustainable management Frequency

not at all willing 0
do not want to put many efforts 0
neutral 0
would put some efforts 1
totally willing 3

Research findings in a table -

 Sustainable food management in UDST 15

Cafeteria Amount of fresh Leftovers and Proportion Importance of Willing to follow

food Packed food consumed sustainable recommendations
food
management

Tim Hortons Prepared daily Discarded Major Important neutral

Ennabi Prepared daily Discarded All Important neutral

Cup of Joe NOT Prepared daily Discarded Major Important Willing

Eat Cafe Prepared daily Distributed Minor Important willing

For Students and Staff

Students and staff were surveyed through email from which we received 53 respondents

which is a limitation for us as we targeted 150 students and staff in total for strong validity.
Sustainable food management in UDST 16

The above 2 graph shows the strong validity of the survey in regard to gender and food

consumption within campus. We received responds from 26 males and 27 females and were able

to reach out our target audience who majorly consumes food from the UDST food suppliers

within the campus.

However, the below pie chart shows that we received responds mainly from students and

almost non from the staff which is a disadvantage for our report as we were not able to reach all

our target audience.

Sustainable food management in UDST 17

The respondents were asked to rate the café the purchase from where 1 was most visited

and 5 was least visited. The results formatted into the table below.

1 2 3 4 5 SCORE
TIM
HORTONS 11 12 9 12 9 155
CUP OF JOE 18 3 8 7 17 161
ENNABI 10 13 9 11 10 157
EAT CAFÉ 13 15 10 9 6 139

The table shows the scores of all the 4 targeted cafeterias from which Cup of Joe has the highest

score which shows that respondents least visit this supplier whereas they mostly visit Eat Café as

it has the lowest scores.

Descriptive data
Mean Median & Mode

Genders:
Mean - 50
Median - 50
Mode – 27, Female

Student or Staff:
Mean - 50
Median - 50
Mode – 90% students

How frequently do you purchase food from campus?

Mean – 12.5
Median – 1.9
Mode – 1.9

On average, how much do you spend on buying food? (In QAR)

Mean – 25
Sustainable food management in UDST 18

Median – 7.55
Mode – 3.8,

Do you feel money impacts your food purchase?

Mean – 33.3
Median – 39.6
Mode – 53%, yes

I am well aware of food wastage while consuming my food

Mean – 20
Median – 7.5
Mode – 55% strongly agree

If you waste food, how do you manage your food waste?

Mean – 19.8
Median – 11.3
Mode – 62% somewhat familiar

Research questions

- What is the approximate amount of food wastage in UDST daily?

- How do UDST members contribute to sustainable food management?

- What are the practices followed by the food suppliers?

- What are the recommended alternatives and practices to reduce food wastage to become

more sustainable?

Each of the questions are analysed and the answered as seen above through graph and

calculations.
Sustainable food management in UDST 19

It is clear that UDST members do not contribute much on sustainable food management as

they are not well aware of it. Majority of food is wasted due to the same reason.

Food suppliers as well don’t follow much practices due to which major proportion of food is

effortlessly wasted.

However, Most students, staff and food suppliers are willing to follow any recommendations

to contribute to food management. Below table shows proof for this statement.

Cafeteria Willing to follow

recommendations
Tim Hortons neutral

Ennabi neutral

Cup of Joe Willing

Eat Cafe willing

Sustainable food management in UDST 20

Target Market

We targeted students, staff and food suppliers for the research but were able to receive only 53

responses majorly from students and were not able to achieve a good proportion of responds

from the staff. The pie chart for the target market can be seen in the validity section of this

report.

Research Summary
• For Suppliers –
Though most of the cafeterias are not able to sustain their food waste, they are willing to follow
any recommendations and show their contribution to reduce food waste
• For Students –
Students and staff are willing to achieve sustainable management and waste major part of food
they purchase. They need more awareness and contribution from UDST management to achieve
sustainable management as majority are not aware of what sustainable food management is.
Sustainable food management in UDST 21

For researchers who tend to research on similar topic, it is highly recommended

- To interview the food suppliers personally instead of giving them the survey
- Try to achieve valid data, like similar proportion of students and staff
- Get as many respondents as possible
- Don’t ask too many questions that are not much necessary in the survey.

Recommendations
Through the survey in this report. It is understandable that besides the common

recommendations which are simple to follow, the UDST management needs to focus on some

critical facts and implement actions on it in order to obtain sustainable food management.

Recycling
Sustainable food management in UDST 22

- UDST have already emailed the campus residents regarding the announcement of

penalizing any organization that does not follow recycling method, by ministry of

municipality during October 2022. The UDST management created awareness regarding

the ‘3 Rs’ and recommended everyone to follow some alternatives to reduce waste within

UDST. This step will also help to reduce food waste with the campus.

- As see in the survey, majority of students and staff are not much aware of what

sustainable food management is. UDST has been contributing to many events such as

breast cancer, mental health, workshops etc., it is highly suggestable for them to conduct

an awareness event as well and letting the environment club involved to let everyone

understand what sustainable food management is and follow up with some

recommendations to obtain it.

- It is recommended for food suppliers to either distribute their food leftovers or let the

employees take over the leftovers with them instead of always throwing it. They can even

promote their packed leftovers and let the customers know the reason of promotion to

increase the last-minute sale. The other leftover food can also be used to feed the needy

or else stray animals instead of simply throwing them.

- It is also recommended for the suppliers to prepare food in reasonable quantity as per

their busy days. Overproducing the same amount of food daily would waste a good

amount of food during the non-busy schedule.

- Students and staff can avoid purchasing surplus and share their campus food with their

friends in order to reduce waste.

Sustainable food management in UDST 23

- Food Suppliers can also showcase a daily chart that highlights food wasted daily so that

consumers are aware of their purchase and try to contribute to sustainable food

management.

- The suppliers can also create awareness within their cafeteria through posters and letting

others know their contribution to food management.

References

Buzby, J. (2022, January 24). U.S. Department of Agriculture . Retrieved from

https://www.usda.gov/media/blog/2022/01/24/food-waste-and-its-links-greenhouse-

gases-and-climate-change

Pestile Analysis. (n.d.). Retrieved from

https://pestleanalysis.com/what-is-pestle-analysis/#:~:text=PESTLE%20is%20a

%20mnemonic%20which,Legal%2C%20and%20E%20for%20Environmental
Sustainable food management in UDST 24

Qatar Tribune. (2022, 06 08). Retrieved from https://www.udst.edu.qa/about-udst#:~:text=UDST

%20has%20over%2050%20programs,Education%20and%20development%20and

%20more.&text=UDST%20is%20recognized%20as%20a,in%20the%20State%20of

%20Qatar

SHS Web of Conference. (n.d.). Retrieved from

https://www.shs-conferences.org/articles/shsconf/pdf/2020/02/shsconf_glob2020_03010.

pdf

UDST. (2021, January 18). Retrieved from

https://www.udst.edu.qa/about-udst/media/news/students-college-north-atlantic-qatar-

participate-clean-al-zubara

UDST. (2022). Retrieved from https://www.udst.edu.qa/about-udst#:~:text=UDST%20has

%20over%2050%20programs,Education%20and%20development%20and

%20more.&text=UDST%20is%20recognized%20as%20a,in%20the%20State%20of

%20Qatar
Sustainable food management in UDST 25

Appendix 1

Success of UDST

The distinguished performance of the University of Doha for Science and Technology

(UDST) was not merely a coincidence, according to Minister of State for Energy Affairs HE Eng

Saad bin Sherida Al Kaabi; rather, it was the result of ongoing cooperation between the state's

various sectors to develop academic curricula and create national cadres capable of excelling and

advancing the nation's institutions in light of the competitive economy.

Beach Clean up

The College of the North Atlantic-Student Qatar's Affairs unit took part in a coastline

clean-up at Al Zubara beach as part of its environmental awareness initiatives. The Seashore

Recycling and Sustainability Center and Qatar Museums worked together on this program. The

initiative was held in the presence of Dr. Salem Al-Naemi, Acting President of CNA-Q, Mr.

Faisal Al Naimi, Director of the Department of Archaeology at Qatar Museums, and Mr. Salem

Saeed Al-Mohannadi, CEO of Seashore Group.