All food production causes up to 30 per cent of the greenhouse gas emissions caused by humans. But how can the guests of our refectories identify those dishes and meals that have less impact on the climate?
The Studierendenwerk Tübingen-Hohenheim has therefore labelled its range of dishes in the Morgenstelle refectory with a CO₂ label. This means that our guests no longer have to rely on their instincts to assess how climate-friendly dishes are. The CO₂ labelling will now be successively extended to the other refectory locations.
This is made possible by linking the entire merchandise management system and menu planning with the service of an external service provider. On behalf of the Studierendenwerk, eaternity has calculated the emissions incurred for every product and every recipe in the menu. All ingredients used are weighted according to their origin and production, etc., and are included in the calculation as so-called CO2/greenhouse gas equivalents. This process is automated and accurate to the day.
FAQ
Who is eaternity?
Since 2009, the Swiss organisation “Eaternity” has been building the most comprehensive life cycle assessment food database worldwide and has also analysed the Studierendenwerk’s dishes. In their calculation, they take into account the entire life cycle of the product – i.e. the environmental impacts of products throughout the entire life cycle of a product/food. During the production, use phase and disposal of the product, as well as the associated upstream and downstream processes (e.g. production of the raw materials, consumables and supplies).
How should the CO2 value of your meal be classified?
The production of a Ø meal produces approx. 1.300g of CO2. Below 650g CO2 your meal has a positive carbon footprint.
CO₂-equivalents (CO₂e) - what is that?
CO₂-equivalents (CO₂e) are a unit of measurement to standardise the climate impact of the different greenhouse gases. In addition to the most important greenhouse gas caused by humans, carbon dioxide (CO2), there are other greenhouse gases such as methane or nitrous oxide.
Where does the data come from?
The individual CO₂e values are the result of collaboration with scientists from the Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW) and Quantis World Food Database, University of Zurich (UZH), Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETHZ), Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL), ecoinvent v3. 6, Agribalyse, Agrifootprint, peer-reviewed literature, reports (grey literature), or are based on Eaternity’s own research, subsequently adjusted to ensure comparability. The EDB is currently the largest and most comprehensive database performing CO₂eq calculations for food products worldwide.
Are there limitations/boundaries?
These are only approximate values. The following limitations must be taken into account:
- the database is not all-inclusive (especially spices, exotic fruits, etc. are not yet fully included)
- often the supply chains of certain products are opaque
- sometimes assumptions/estimates have to be made
- there is no accounting with regard to packaging materials
What goals does the Stuwe pursue with CO2 labelling?
The Studierendenwerksgesetz (Student Services Act) of the state of Baden-Württemberg obliges all student services to take the principle of sustainability into account when providing social support to students. With this project, we would like to meet this requirement more closely and create more transparency. In the long term, a higher proportion of food from demonstrably more environmentally friendly criteria is to be incorporated into the production planning of the refectories in order to make the menus increasingly climate-friendly.
By indicating the carbon footprint, we make it easier for our guests to consciously orient their lifestyle towards sustainability.