Cool Food Pro saves caterers 1,530 tonnes of CO2, paving the way for more sustainable catering

Food production creates a quarter of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. In just two years, Cool Food Pro has supported 37 caterers in the UK and 74 in France to save 1,530 tonnes of CO2 (carbon dioxide).

The project was a cross-border collaboration between England and France, delivered by a team of five partner organisations, with Soil Association in the UK supporting website development and caterer engagement.

With the help of Cool Food Pro’s carbon reduction calculator, caterers can see what impact changes to their working practices will have on the environment. These changes can include serving less but better meat, reducing packaging or sourcing more local and organic ingredients.

Sustainability is a big part of our Food for Life Served Here and Green Kitchen Standard Awards, meaning we were able to utilise these award networks to engage with school, hospital, university, and independent caterers.

Despite the challenges caterers are facing — supply issues, rising food costs and staff shortages — caterers appreciated how easy the calculator was to use, as well as its flexibility, and user-friendly features. They could easily track their process and see the impact of the changes they were making, leading to significant environmental savings.

The Norwich School, catered by Thomas Franks, reduced meat in three dishes and served these twice a month to 600 students. Between September and March, they saved 29,940kg of CO2e – a measurement which includes all greenhouse gases, not just carbon dioxide.

Christine Bailey, Group Director of Nutrition and Wellbeing at Thomas Franks Ltd, says:

“Being able to measure and monitor key aspects such as food waste, meat and dairy consumption and use of seasonal foods has enabled us to significantly reduce our carbon footprint and support our educational work. Cool Food Pro is now an essential tool in all locations and provides additional support for our clients' sustainability initiatives.” 

Following this success, Cool Food Pro is now being rolled out nationally, with an additional 150 caterers already signed up. The carbon calculator is free to use and will continue to help caterers reduce their environmental impact, along with free downloadable resources on the Cool Food Pro website. Additionally, subscription and consultancy packages offer online training and on-site educational workshops.