Climate Friendly Communal Catering

Summary

A third of the ecological footprint and a fifth of all greenhouse gas emissions are food-related. The Austrian province of Niederösterreich (NÖ, Lower Austria) has enshrined climate protection in its constitution. For the NÖ Landhausküche, which provides daily meals to 1500 public employees, we conceived and implemented the so called "climate change focus": after conducting staff trainings, switching to regional ecological food suppliers, and optimising recipes, the percentage of ecological components has risen to 65% (even to 100% for meat, poultry, potatoes and seasonal vegetables). Produce/ingredients coming from within a 150 km radius are preferred. The serving size for meat was reduced, fish comes exclusively from Austrian lakes and rivers. All drinks (except tap water) are offered only in refillable bottles. Coffee, tea, bananas, orange juice and chocolate bars come to 100% from "fair trade" sources. They use no more frozen or processed food in menu 1. Acceptance among the customers was aided by employing an offensive communications strategy and by involving trade-union representatives already at an early stage of the project.