“Climate Plate” in the Upper Franconian University Canteens

Many people feel the desire to eat in a healthier and more sustainable way. This wish is often difficult to put into practice, especially when one does not cook or shop for oneself – after all, you cannot tell from looking at a meal whether it has travelled long distances or was harvested in a field in Upper Franconia. To reduce the barriers to conscious nutrition and to raise awareness of the topic of food, the Studierendenwerk Oberfranken launched the “Transparent Canteen” project in the Bayreuth canteen, among others, at the end of September. The core element of this project is the indication of the CO₂ emissions caused by each dish, displayed directly alongside the description of the ingredients, allergens, and nutritional information.

Andreas Voigt, Head of Catering Services at the Studierendenwerk Oberfranken, highlights the particular importance of the “Climate Plate” for the SWO: “Awareness of nutrition and its associated ecological footprint has increased significantly in recent years within university catering. For this reason, it is important to the SWO to inform our guests in the canteens as thoroughly as possible and to ensure a high degree of transparency in our menus.”

The data used for the project comes from the database of cooperation partner Eaternity and has been reviewed according to scientific criteria. This database was created as part of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action’s initiative “Climate Plate in the Canteen” and includes comprehensive data from agriculture, logistics, industry, and the public sector. A key element of the “Climate Plate” initiative is also the daily highlighting of a particularly healthy and sustainable dish. “A dish is awarded the Climate Plate if it causes at least 50% fewer CO₂ emissions than a comparable meal. The CO₂ emissions of all ingredients on the plate are taken into account, from field to kitchen,” according to the project website.

The particular relevance of sustainability in nutrition becomes clear when looking at the figures. Depending on the calculation method, between 15% (direct emissions only) and up to 38% (including, for example, transport and agriculture) of global emissions are attributable to food. Many especially CO₂-intensive meals also have harmful health effects when consumed in excess. More sustainable meals are, in most cases, also the healthier ones – a synergy that should be utilised. Especially in large-scale catering, where half of all meals in Germany are consumed, there is a unique opportunity to implement measures with high impact and wide reach – as the canteen in Bayreuth has now done.