Aramark pledges 25% greenhouse gas reduction by 2030

Aramark has announced that it is the first contract catering company in the U.S. to sign the World Resources Institute (WRI) Cool Food Pledge that commits it to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions associated with the food it serves in the U.S. by 25% by 2030. The company says cutting carbon emissions is a critical component of its Be Well. Do Well. sustainability plan and that this announcement both supports those efforts and furthers its journey toward setting science-based targets, including its path to net zero emissions, since nearly half of its greenhouse gas emissions come from the food it purchases and serves.

“Partnering with WRI on the Cool Food Pledge will help us slash our food-related greenhouse gas emissions, while substantially expanding the availability of Cool Food Meals,” says Vice President of Sustainability Alan Horowitz. “This will make it easier for more of our guests to make climate-friendly and plant-forward meal choices, which according to our research, is what they increasingly want.”

In addition to signing the Cool Food Pledge, Aramark also announced it will drastically expand the availability of plant-forward, lower carbon footprint Cool Food Meals to all Higher Education, Workplace Experience, and Healthcare accounts in the United States in January 2023. It adopted WRI’s Cool Food Meals badge on its menus with a 10 university pilot program during the 2022 spring semester, reportedly the first contract catering company to do so and following the success of that program, the company is expanding availability of Cool Food Meals menu items to nearly 1,500 locations in the U.S..

Related:Lintons Harvest of the Month promotes fruits, veggies to kids

“Because of Aramark’s reach and profile, its commitment to cut food-related emissions and serve more low-carbon meals sends a big message to the industry and consumers that this is the future of climate action,” said Edwina Hughes, WRI’s Head of Cool Food. “Climate change is the great challenge of our time. This announcement means huge numbers of Americans will be able to reduce their carbon footprint through what’s on their plate. That’s extremely encouraging because it’s the kind of scale that’s needed to reach global climate targets before it’s too late.”