The Government of Germany has endorsed “KlimaTeller”, a new app that enables restaurateurs to estimate the CO2 emissions of their food as well as put together and label climate-friendly menus on this basis.
The starting signal for the app is given on Tuesday, February 12, 2019 by the Parliamentary State Secretary in the Federal Environment Ministry, Rita Schwarzelühr-Sutter.
The KlimaTeller project, in which the app was developed, is funded by the Federal Ministry for the Environment via the National Climate Initiative (NKI) with around €160,000.
Schwarzelühr-Sutter said: “The KlimaTeller app helps restaurateurs to cook sustainable menus and make this visible to their guests. If you like, you can also cook climate consciously at home. About 15 to 20 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions in Germany can be attributed to our diet. The use of regional and seasonal products is therefore an important building block for climate protection.”
Using the KlimaTeller app, restaurateurs can label their food as a KlimaTeller if the ingredients of a dish in total cause less than 50 percent of the emissions of an average dish. An average dish causes around 1,600 g of CO2 emissions.
With the “KlimaTeller”, every guest knows that with his choice of food, he saves at least 800g CO2 emissions, which is about a five-kilometre drive.
“The KlimaTeller plate helps guests who value seasonal, regional and predominantly vegetarian food to find their way around. This will contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions,” a source said, adding:
“Around one-fifth of all greenhouse gas emissions in Germany are caused by nutrition. These include, above all, agriculture, processing, trade (including transport) and consumption. With the KlimaTeller we can significantly reduce these emissions and do something actively for climate protection.”
