"Climate Plate". Copyright by Umweltzeichen.

Climate protection in the hotel kitchen

Together with Michaela Reitterer, President of the Austrian Hoteliers' Association, Climateaction Minister Leonore Gewessler presented the joint project "Klimateller" in the hotel kitchen at the Ecolabel Hotel Stadthalle.

Our diet is equally important for the climate and our health. 20-30% of greenhouse gas emissions in Austria are caused by our diet, from food production to cooking and preparation to waste disposal. If we want to achieve the Paris target, we must therefore also start with our diet and at the same time we can do something good for our health.

Therefore, the "Klimateller" initiative of the Austrian Ecolabel and the Austrian Hoteliers Association aims to raise awareness among the hotel industry on the topic of sustainable food and climate protection in order to provide incentives and information to design their food and beverage offer in a climate-friendly way and to motivate their guests to adopt more sustainable eating habits.

"We want the most climate-friendly food and beverage offer in Austria's hotels. With the Klimateller, vegetarian or vegan, organic, regional and seasonal delicacies become fixed starters in the hotel kitchen. The way to achieve this is through informing, motivating and convincing," is how Climate Protection Minister Leonore Gewessler and Michaela Reitterer, President of the Austrian Hoteliers Association and hostess of the world's first climate-neutral city hotel - the Boutiquehotel Stadthalle in Vienna - describe the goals of the cooperation: "Climate-friendly nutrition is as organic and meat-reduced as possible, and relies on regional and seasonal enjoyment," says Gewessler, who urgently recommends that interested companies take advantage of the subsidised consultations on the Ecolabel. "We will significantly reduce our carbon footprint without compromising on enjoyment. This will also score us points with our guests," says Reitterer in the fight against CO2 in the kitchen.

Press Conference with Ms. Gewessler and Ms. Reiterer.

In three steps to becoming a climateeller

The first step is to convince hoteliers and F&B managers of the 1,600 member establishments: "We rely on facts. We share knowledge," says Reitterer. Information is provided online, in fortnightly newsletters, with videos and information events throughout the whole of Austria, including best practices that encourage the changeover: "There are so many good ideas and convincing concepts. We are taking them to the wider community."

Putting it into practice

Guides and trainings of the ÖHV deepen the knowledge about food from bread and pastries to vegetables and eggs to beef and beer and their impact on the climate: "We show alternatives to the conventional standards and how to put them into practice as a host. The core element here is the realisation that ecology and economy go hand in hand in the kitchen," Reitterer explains step two. This starts with procurement and goes all the way to the recycling of the entire purchase, including the economically and ecologically valuable reuse of - significantly reduced - foodstuffs.
reuse of - significantly reduced - leftovers.

Hotel Stadthalle.

Score points with guests ...

The third step is to focus on the guests: "Sustainability and regionality are becoming increasingly important in our society. Sustainability with a high quality of enjoyment can be an ace up your sleeve when addressing guests: Those who master storytelling on the menu are convincing at the decisive moment. Those who act authentically score points," Reitterer points out opportunities. This is underlined by a survey of 1,000 guests conducted by mindtake on behalf of the ÖHV: regional food is preferred, one in two prefers organic. 76 % prefer to portion the food themselves, thus reducing plastic waste and food waste.

... and on the labour market

The Klimateller cooperation works out what is important to guests, where the journey is going, and also noticeable advantages in recruiting and team building: "This increases the team's identification with the company and thus quickly turns out to be a real USP on the labour market," Reitterer refers to his own years of experience.

Enormous savings potential: Culinary footprint times 150 million guests

For Gewessler and Reitterer, there is no question that the industry comes out as an economic and ecological winner with CO2 savings: "In 2019, hotel guests in Austria will have consumed 450 million meals. Every CO2 saving becomes an enormous lever. If we reduce the CO2 footprint of the average breakfast by only a quarter, we are already starting every day with a great success for the environment and tourism in Austria," Gewessler and Reitterer outline the enormous opportunities behind the joint action.

Goals at the Austrian level

In its government programme, the federal government has set several goals for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from food:

"regional and seasonal public procurement of high-quality food in combination with an organic quota of 30% by 2025 and 55% by 2030",
"the offer of a climate server in Austria's public kitchens".
the action plan against food waste.