Innovation on your plate: why low-carbon menus are the future of sustainable dining

We are giving guests the option to make more conscious choices about their food by clearly labelling all buffet items during breakfast and meetings and events, as well as our food offer in all the dining through our menus. In the Verified Net Zero hotels, we promote dishes and menus that have the A and B labels, while still leaving some options with a C or even the occasional D level dish – if this is relevant to local cuisine.

We guide, not dictate. Our approach is to curate and gently nudge toward better choices, while always leaving the final decision in the hands of our guests.

Some recipes have been thoughtfully redesigned to improve their climate score. For example:

1. A “Plum Tomato, Mozzarella, Basil” buffet dish now features canned and white beans instead of mozzarella—upgrading it from a C to an A rating.
2. A “Baked cod loin, cherry tomato, and olive oil” dish has been transformed by replacing cod with pollock and olive oil with potatoes and beans—moving from an E to a B rating.
3. Even our vegan options are evolving: “Paprika halloumi bites” now use tofu instead of cheese, shifting the dish from an E to a B rating.

Low-carbon menus have many impacts:

1. Selected menus with up to 40% reduction in emissions per dish
2. Increase in the number of low- or very low-carbon recipes
3. Offer B2B exclusive low carbon menus for M&E

We’ve already taken strong steps to make our food offer more sustainable—by increasing plant-based options, sourcing local, seasonal, organic and fair-trade products, excluding high-impact ingredients, and committing to animal welfare principles. Now, with the introduction of low-carbon menus, we’re going even further—actively designing dishes that reduce environmental impact across the entire value chain.

Did you know that agricultural production alone is responsible for a staggering 39% of total CO₂ emissions from food systems? This highlights the urgent need to rethink not just what we eat—but how we grow, source, and serve our ingredients.

While eating vegetarian, vegan, local, and seasonal is a great start, it’s not the whole story. The carbon footprint of food is shaped by multiple factors, and some common assumptions don’t always hold up. Let’s bust a few myths:

Myth 1: Local is always better
It’s often assumed that local food is the most climate-friendly option. But transportation usually makes up only a small part of a food’s carbon footprint—unless it’s flown in, which is rare. In fact, an ingredient grown abroad in open fields and shipped in-season can have a lower footprint than the same item grown locally in energy-intensive greenhouses.

Myth 2: Rice is a neutral staple
Rice might seem harmless, but its cultivation releases significant methane, giving it a carbon footprint three times higher than couscous and 17 times higher than potatoes.

Myth 3: Butter is just another dairy product
Butter may be a kitchen staple, but producing 1 kg of it requires up to 20 kg of milk, making it a high-emission product. In comparison, margarine has a 78% lower carbon footprint.

It’s not just about ingredients—it’s about recipes and portions. By rethinking how we combine and serve food, we can create dishes that are better for both people and the planet.

By incorporating low-carbon menus into the very essence of Verified Net Zero hotels, we are not only reducing our environmental impact, we are also offering our customers a new, more responsible way of consuming, without compromising on quality or taste — a commitment already achieved in our Net Zero Verified hotels.