A new effort from the World Resources Institute is designed to identify dishes with a lower carbon footprint on restaurant menus.
A new “Cool Food Meals” badge will identify dishes in line with what WRI research “finds is needed by 2030 to meet the Paris Agreement on climate change,” the organization noted in a release.
“People are becoming more aware of climate change and its effects, but many still don’t know what they can do about it. Cool Food Meals helps people understand that taking action is as simple as what we eat,” said Daniel Vennard, director of sustainable diets at WRI. “A busy parent or a college student — absolutely anyone — can now go into a restaurant and by choosing a Cool Food Meal, they are part of a growing group of people who are building a climate-friendly lifestyle.”
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Using a dish’s ingredients list, WRI calculates a dish’s carbon footprint by analyzing the emissions from the agricultural supply chains and the land used to produce the meal. If a dish’s carbon footprint falls below an established per-meal threshold and meets a nutrition safeguard, it is approved as a Cool Food Meal.
Panera Bread is the first company that will display the badges on its digital menu, website, and mobile app beginning Wednesday. According to the company, 55% of its entrees are certified as “Cool Food Meals.”
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