Environmentally and climate-friendly food in public and private canteens

The project Environmentally and climate-friendly food in public and private canteens: Strengthening supply and demand, making best practice examples known (umEssKantine) was carried out on behalf of the Federal Environment Agency by corsus, A’verdis (project management) and ISIconsult. The aim of the project was to develop concepts for healthy and environmentally friendly catering in public and private canteens, based on the experience of existing initiatives and pilot projects in which health and ecological aspects are implemented.

corsus’ task in the project particularly involved the environmental impact. After all, making food more environmentally friendly and health-promoting is also in out-of-home catering an important step towards achieving the United Nations’ sustainability goals . One result of the study:

“The aim is to encourage guests to eat more healthily through the food on offer. According to the ‘Planetary Health Diet’, it is necessary to reduce the consumption of unhealthy foods such as red meat and sugar by less than half worldwide and at the same time increase the consumption of healthy foods such as nuts, fruit, vegetables and pulses by more than 100 per cent. Of course, this must be regionally adapted. The consumption recommendations of the Eat Lancet Commission provide a good basis for this. In addition, food should be sourced and processed – not only in communal catering – that is produced within planetary boundaries, with farming practices that help to preserve biodiversity, follow responsible water management and contribute to carbon storage. A key starting point here is also the reduction of the proportion of animal products and the sourcing of goods from controlled organic farming. Agricultural producers should focus on producing a wide variety of nutrient-rich foods. It is also beneficial to design meals in such a way that they reflect the seasonal availability and to avoid goods that have been transported by plane.

Another important starting point for reducing the environmental impact of the meals provided in communal catering is to reduce food waste, which is relatively high in out-of-home consumption. In addition, almost three quarters of food waste in out-of-home consumption is considered avoidable and can therefore be significantly reduced through better kitchen and quantity planning.” (UBA-Text in German 155/2023, p. 197f.)

The project was funded by the Federal Environment Agency under research code 3719 11 301 0. The project was managed by a’verdis and the project partners were ISI consult and corsus.