CO₂e labelling in the menu

CO₂e stands for the value of CO₂ equivalents. These indicate the amount of climate-damaging greenhouse gases, primarily carbon dioxide (CO₂), that are released during the production of a food product.

No, the CO₂ equivalents cover all relevant greenhouse gases produced during the life cycle of a foodstuff.

All greenhouse gases warm the earth's atmosphere differently. Methane, for example, contributes 25 times more to global warming than CO₂ emissions. Methane is produced in large quantities in animal husbandry and rice cultivation, among other things.

For the purposes of comparison, these gases are given as CO₂ equivalents, taking into account the different global warming potential of the gases.

Our nutrition is responsible for a third of global greenhouse gas emissions. For this reason, we consider it particularly important to take a close look at the labelling of CO₂ equivalents.

It is a further step towards sustainability and offers our guests the opportunity to become aware of the impact of the CO₂e influence of individual dishes.

To calculate the CO₂ equivalents, we work together with our service partner Greenado, which uses scientific methods to determine the environmental data of foodstuffs.

Greenado takes the following factors into account when calculating CO₂ equivalents:

• Cultivation and production methods of plant and animal products: Here, for example, cultivation in open fields or heated greenhouses, the amount of fertilisers and pesticides used, the type and production of fodder plants used for farm animals and the way in which the farm animals are kept are all important.
• Land use and land use change: Emissions caused by the conversion of natural areas into arable or pasture land and their utilisation are recorded. The values depend on the country of production. In Germany, the conversion of moorland into agricultural land plays a particularly important role.
• Origin and transport: The distance from the country of production and therefore the length of the transport route is important, as is the type of means of transport.
• Storage duration: Many foods are stored under special conditions, e.g. CA (Controlled Atmosphere), refrigerated or frozen storage. The resulting emissions depend on the storage period.
• Processing: Processing steps such as chopping, cooling, freezing and drying generate greenhouse gas emissions and are taken into account when calculating CO₂ equivalents.
• Preparation: Some foods undergo industrial preparation steps such as heating, cooking and frying. The resulting emissions are also recorded.
• Packaging type and size: The production and disposal of different packaging materials generate different levels of greenhouse gas emissions. Differences are also caused by the size of the packaging.

The calculation concept was developed with the advice of the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research in Heidelberg (ifeu Institute) and scientifically monitored. The CO₂ equivalents and the calculations are based on plausible and comprehensible principles.

A meal with chicken, for example, includes emissions from the rearing of the animal, the animal feed and the processing, packaging and transport of the meat.

We state the CO₂ equivalent in grams of CO₂ per portion of food. The CO₂ equivalent can be found in the following places:

• on the menu board
• in the online menu and on the monitors

It is displayed in the following form:

Cloud symbol with CO₂ equivalent for an exemplary dish

Yes, the values can change. This may be due to changes in cultivation methods, transport routes, types of packaging or new scientific findings on CO₂e emissions in various areas.

In general, plant-based dishes cause less CO₂e emissions than dishes with animal products. Beef and pork in particular have a significantly higher CO₂e footprint than poultry or plant-based foods. However, the CO₂ equivalents of plant-based products are also subject to fluctuations - depending on the country of origin, the transport route and the season.

We deliberately decided against the traffic light system as it would not adequately represent the complex CO₂e emissions of a dish. A traffic light colour coding system would categorise them as ‘right’ or ‘wrong’. We do not want to make this categorisation because it depends on many additional factors and is a separate decision. Instead, we are aiming for a differentiated assessment that reflects the complexity of the calculation.

An example of a comparative figure could be the CO₂e absorption of a tree. A medium-sized tree absorbs around 22 kg of CO₂ per year. So you can imagine how many trees you would have to plant to offset the CO₂e emissions of a dish.

Sometimes complete or precise CO₂e data is not yet available for certain dishes. This may be due to missing or non-standardised data on certain ingredients or processing methods, for example. However, we expect the proportion of missing data to be less than 5%.

Even similar dishes can have different CO₂ equivalents, as they can differ in terms of ingredients, origin, storage or preparation. A dish with seasonal vegetables, for example, has lower emissions than a dish with imported ingredients, even though both are vegetarian.

• Regional and seasonal: The emissions from transport are comparatively low and growing outdoors during the natural growing season saves on fertilisers and pesticides. In addition, there are no emissions from the construction and heating of greenhouses. In the case of imported goods, products that are brought into the country by plane should be avoided in particular.
• Fresh and largely unprocessed products: Compared to highly processed foods, they require no or hardly any additives and no or only a few energy-consuming processing and preparation steps.
• Regular supply of pulses: Healthy, sustainable and inexpensive - this applies in particular to domestic representatives of this group.
• Reusable and large containers: Small containers and in particular portion packaging should be avoided, as should disposable glass and tin cans wherever possible.
• Low-fat dairy products: Less milk is needed to produce low-fat dairy products than high-fat products, so greenhouse gas emissions are lower for the low-fat variants.
• Smaller portions of meat: Meat production causes higher emissions than the cultivation of cereals, vegetables and co. The main components of a meal should therefore be plant-based, with meat only being a side dish.