Quorn And Sodexo Launch The First Carbon Neutral Solution In Contract Catering

A plate of Japanese Crispy Katsu No. 1 meat free brand Quorn has joined forces with leading food services provider, Sodexo, to begin the global roll out of Carbono Cero, the world’s first carbon neutral solution for food services. The solution could save at least 7,296 tonnes of carbon each year.

This month sees the initial roll out of Carbono Cero at a number of Sodexo’s corporate client sites in the UK, with a plan to expand this globally to 1,500 sites by April 2023.

With over one-third of all man-made greenhouse gas emissions coming from the food system (IPCC), the Carbono Cero solution features recipes inspired by chefs at Quorn Professionals and Sodexo to help tackle the global climate crisis.

Carbono Cero is a range of ten carbon-neutral recipes which have three key elements:

  • Quorn – accredited low carbon protein
  • Seasonality / locality – low carbon ingredients
  • Each recipe has been created to reduce as much of its carbon footprint as possible before being offset to be carbon-neutral

Powered by four innovative Quorn ingredients (Buttermilk Style Burger, No Beef Pieces, Fillets and Wings), each recipe’s carbon is calculated using a globally accredited tool, Kilmato. The remaining carbon is then offset using gold standard projects such as Afforestation Programmes.

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Recipes include Asian Inspired Potato Chaat & Saag Dahl, Dirty Wing Burrito Bowl, Japanese Crispy Katsu, Louisiana Style Buttermilk Burger, Napoli Style Lasagne, Double Dip Korean Wings, Middle Eastern Style Shawarma, Ancho Chilli Miso Mole and Indonesian Satay Wing Goreng.

Paul Jennings, Head of Food Development for Foodservice at Quorn Foods says: “Quorn is a company born out of sustainable values; it underpins everything we do. We want to be part of the solution that the planet needs so it was a pleasure to develop Carbono Cero with Sodexo. We share many of the same values and each have Net Positive strategies to ensure we’re having a positive impact on the planet.”

John Wright, Global Head of Food at Sodexo says: “Our guests want more and more plant-based dishes that taste great and help to reduce the impact on the environment. It’s an exciting opportunity to leverage the collaboration with Quorn and for our chefs to bring carbon neutral dishes that are authentic and tasty for our guests to enjoy, that are also good for the planet.”

As part of the global roll out, Quorn’s development chefs Paul Jennings and Mark Wetherill are providing culinary development sessions with Sodexo’s regional food platform teams. The sessions will focus on seasonality and sustainable cooking methods with toolkits and carbon saving reports for each site.

The training will help Sodexo’s teams engage guests, helping them discover new ways of eating and bring to life the journey of what the solution is trying to achieve.

Paul adds: “Aspirational meat reducers make up 55% of the meat free market* and as environmental awareness skyrocketed in the pandemic and consumers of all ages recognised the impact of their meal choices, eating less meat is now a behaviour not a trend. We’re working hard with our partners, like Sodexo, to create delicious dishes that meet the needs of consumers.”

* Blue Yonder, Brand Growth System: Initial deep dive – January 2021