27 October 2026
Caterers across the UK have saved thousands of tonnes of carbon and millions of litres of water by shifting to more sustainable menus, an environmental calculator has revealed.
Working with caterers across the industry, the data from the Cool Food Pro impact report identifies cross sector savings of 1413 tonnes of CO2e, 87 million litres of water and over 26km2 of biodiversity through reduced deforestation.
These savings are respectively equivalent to 176 million smartphones charged from 0% to 100%, the daily water footprint of about 250,000 people in Western countries, and approximately the size of Oxford city centre in biodiversity gains.
Over the past two years the Soil Association’s Cool Food Pro environment and savings calculator, supported by Deloitte, has shown the value of impactful data across five key areas: serving seasonal food, offering less and better meat, reducing food and plastic waste.
The Soil Association says the project is fostering a collective understanding on “how small changes can make a big difference” by revealing significant environmental and economic savings.
“Cool Food Pro is an invaluable tool that has turned sustainability ambition into measurable action. By helping caterers understand the impact of everyday decisions, the two-year programme has delivered significant environmental savings and given organisations the evidence, knowledge and confidence to work more sustainably. The project demonstrates that small practical changes can make a big difference, delivering meaningful benefits for businesses, communities and the planet. Looking ahead, Cool Food Pro offers an industry-leading digital platform to caterers across the entire foodservice sector, enabling them to measure their impact, accelerate progress and embed sustainable practice at scale.”
Significant case studies include:
· Food Sense Wales who used the tool to measure the impact of their Welsh Veg in Schools project – switching out over 200,000 portions of imported veg for local and organic
· Norse Catering who replaced a percentage of meat content in their dishes with vegetable protein, saving 42 tonnes of CO2e, 5,000 litres of water and over 2000 metres of biodiversity across 14 schools.
· The University of Nottingham reducing their food waste by 23% resulting in costs savings of over £1000
With water usage, biodiversity and carbon emissions at the forefront of the climate agenda, the impacts of a tool such as Cool Food Pro are clear. Through providing transparent and accessible data on catering operations and menu analysis, caterers can be supported to make climate critical improvements to their operations, benefitting the entire food system. This improves outcomes for UK farmers and producers, refines the food on the plate and reduces the environmental impact on the planet, the Soil Association says.
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