Freemans Event Partners to put carbon labelling on menus at sporting events

Confex member Freemans Event Partners has formed a partnership with food sustainability firm Klimato that will allow carbon labelling to be placed on menus at venues including Wembley Stadium, Lord’s Cricket Ground and Twickenham Stadium.

The Klimato tool enables calculation of the carbon emissions created by each and every menu item that Freemans Event Partners provides. This means that the 15 million guests across 400 events each year that the company caters for will be able to clearly see the carbon impact of the food and drink they choose.

The carbon impact of food is measured in kg of CO2e, a standard unit for measuring greenhouse gas emissions. A typical beef burger might score 4.0kg CO2e, while a portion of fish and chips might score 1.8kg CO2e and a vegan falafel salad might score 0.4kg CO2e.

At the same time, Freemans Event Partners is undertaking a full review of its menus and, where possible, switching out certain ingredients or cooking methods to a more sustainable alternative. This will ensure that as many dishes as possible have a low score and reduce the overall carbon footprint of the food and beverage offer at events.

Simon Hanna, chief operations officer at Freemans Event Partners, said: “More and more consumers are interested in making sustainable food and drink choices, and this new partnership with Klimato will enable them to do that just as easily when at some of the UK’s biggest events as when they are at home.

“The technology means we can also look to optimise every dish on our menu to ensure it has the lowest carbon impact possible without losing any of the great taste and quality we are known for.”

Carbon labelling across Freemans Event Partners’ network will be going live early this year, meaning that guests can expect to see full information on menu items for the busy spring and summer sporting events calendar.