Irish tech provider, Nutritics, is playing a key role at COP28, working with the organisers of the global sustainability congress to help reduce the environmental impact of food served, as well as presenting to global leaders across the conference, setting a vision for carbon reduction in the future.
With an estimated 250,000 meals being served each day, COP28 will offer the first 1.5°C-aligned menu at a COP conference, as part of its objective of making the conference carbon-neutral. Nutritics – the market leader in food service technology, which works with hospitality and foodservice operators in over 100 countries – is working with the COP28 Catering Team to support 80+ food and beverage vendors at the conference. And what’s more, this weekend, the company will be presenting insights on food sustainability to global leaders.
Nutritics CEO, Stephen Nolan, who last year was crowned the first ever EY Sustainability Entrepreneur of the Year at the EY Entrepreneur Awards, commented: “Playing a major role in training and educating both culinary teams and delegates at COP28 only strengthens our mission to put sustainability at the heart of the food sector. Nutritics has been developing and investing in our scientifically robust food data system for ten years, and our clients across the world are seeing both sustainability and financial benefits as a result. The fact that we have been chosen not only to advise and provide data, but also to present at the conference, speaks volumes for our industry-leading expertise as well as our unique tech proposition.”
In October, in preparation for the conference, Nutritics’ new sustainability consultancy arm, Knowledge Labs, visited Dubai to support the ‘Climate Conscious Catering’ workshop, collaborating with chefs and operators from the 80+ COP28 food suppliers, to reformulate menus for lower environmental impact, better health and even lower cost. Sustainability Lead, Dr Laura Kirwan, and Senior Technical Executive, Karen O’Brien, were on site to provide important data insights and metrics to ensure evidence-based reformulation.
Ingrid Garzon, Sustainability Manager, COP28 hailed Nutritics’ involvement with the Climate Conscious Catering Workshop. Writing on LinkedIn, Garzon said, “The Nutritics team was invaluable towards supporting chefs with understanding the importance of assessing & reporting both the nutritional value and the ‘foodprint’ impact in menu planning. Another stride toward achieving our essential 1.5°C climate target for COP28!”
Dr Laura Kirwan, Sustainability Lead at Nutritics, added: “Learning and training are key to achieving menus and operations with lower environmental impact, so working hands-on with chefs and operators at a futuristic, science based workshop was foundational to what we’ve been able to achieve at the conference.”
Nutritics’ tech is also central to the company’s presence at COP28: all caterers are using Foodprint to deliver more environmentally friendly menus for the entire event, while Ten Kites is providing full nutritional, allergen and environmental ratings of all meals and recipes provided to attendees across COP28 – including electronic menus and digital screens.
Nutritics will also have a prominent thought leadership role at the conference, presenting insights on food sustainability to global leaders on Sunday 10th December during an event titled ‘The Food We Eat at COP? – Walking the Talk’, showcasing how COP28’s menu was designed and delivered. Furthermore, findings from the LIFE Climate Smart Chefs project, where Nutritics has trained more than 160 chefs on sustainable and healthy diets, and 500 chefs are using Nutritics’ digital tools to design climate smart menus, will be presented at the EU Pavilion on 12th December.
The 28th United Nations Climate Change Conference takes place in Dubai from 30th November-12th December 2023.