Nestlé USA Launches Cool Food Menu Certification
Today, Nestlé Professional USA announces a partnership with the World Resources Institute (WRI) to bring more climate friendly meals to consumers in foodservice settings. A WRI initiative, Cool Food Meals menu certification provides consumers a quick and easy way to spot low carbon dishes when shopping or dining out, helping facilitate a shift toward more plant-forward diets that are better for the climate. The Nestlé Professional Cool Food Meals available at out-of-home dining locations will incorporate award-winning, plant-based proteins from Sweet Earth Foods, a Nestlé Professional brand.
“With an ambitious goal to be everywhere – from colleges and universities to restaurants – this partnership will enable more consumers to easily make climate-friendly food choices when eating outside the home,” said Perry Miele, president of Nestlé Professional USA. “We’re thrilled to partner with WRI to become Cool Food Meals Ambassadors and leverage our scale to help Nestlé Professional customers showcase more sustainable menu choices to diners.”
WRI calculates a meal’s carbon footprint by analyzing what it takes to produce the final product. If the carbon footprint falls below the established per-meal threshold and meets nutritional safeguards, it’s certified as a Cool Food Meal, and the official badge appears next to the Sweet Earth logo on menus. To create the per meal carbon footprint threshold, WRI has established a max recommended daily carbon footprint for a person’s diet that delivers at least a 25 percent emissions reduction from current regional diets (US = 18kg CO2e).
The agreement with WRI will give Nestlé Professional customers access to scores of pre-certified recipes featuring climate-friendly, plant-based ingredients from Sweet Earth, including the Awesome Burger, Awesome Grounds and Mindful Chik’n. Foodservice customers will also be able to design their own plant-based recipes for certification using those Sweet Earth ingredients.
While 67% of U.S. consumers are concerned about the impact of food production on climate change (IFIC 2020 Climate Change and Food Production survey), Americans have an opportunity to cut the climate impact of their diet by nearly half just by eating less meat.
“By simply changing what we eat, we have a significant opportunity to mitigate the impacts of climate change,” said Edwina Hughes, head of Cool Food at World Resources Institute. “This partnership dramatically scales the availability of Cool Food Meals, making it possible for consumers to choose a climate friendly meal at a wide variety of dining destinations.”
Foodservice organizations interested in learning more about the Nestlé Professional/Cool Food Meals partnership or featuring Cool Food Meals-certified items on their own menus can reach out to a Nestlé Professional representative via the organization’s website at www.nestleprofessional.com.
About Nestlé Professional USA
Nestlé Professional is dedicated to being an inspiring growth partner that delivers creative branded food and beverage solutions, enabling foodservice operators to delight their consumers. From innovative food systems under Minor’s®, Stouffer’s®, Chef-mate®, Libby’s Pumpkin®, along with beverage systems under Nescafé®, Nestlé Vitality® and Coffee-mate® brands, Nestlé Professional meets the needs of foodservice operators while satisfying the tastes of the out-of-home consumer. Nestlé Professional USA is a division of Nestlé, the world’s largest food and beverage company. It is present in 190 countries around the world, and its 328,000 employees are committed to the Nestlé purpose of enhancing quality of life and contributing to a healthier future. Nestlé is based in the Swiss town of Vevey where it was founded more than 150 years ago. For more foodservice product news and information, please visit www.nestleprofessional.com.
About Sweet Earth
Sweet Earth is a brand within the Nestlé Professional portfolio of custom and branded solutions, based in Solon, Ohio. Acquired by Nestlé in 2017, Sweet Earth has won over flavor-seekers and health-conscious consumers alike with its diverse portfolio of delicious, timeless dishes and ingredients, from its Awesome Burgers, Mindful Chik’n™ and complete entrees, to breakfast items and snacks. Sweet Earth encourages consumers to Never Stop Tasting, setting the expectation that compromising on flavor isn’t an option with plant-based food. Sweet Earth is also at the vanguard of Nestlé’s commitment to achieve net zero emissions by 2050 – Sweet Earth will achieve carbon neutrality by 2025. For more information, please visit www.SweetEarthFoods.com.
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About Cool Food & World Resources Institute (WRI)
World Resources Institute is a global research organization that works with governments, businesses and civil society partners to develop practical solutions to today’s pressing environmental and human development challenges. WRI currently has over 1,400 staff working in 12 offices, spanning Asia, Africa, Europe, the United States and Latin America. It focuses on urgent challenges in seven core areas: Food, Forests, Water, the Ocean, Cities, Energy and Climate. For more information, please visit www.wri.org.
Cool Food is an initiative of WRI that helps people and organizations reduce the climate impact of their food through shifting toward more plant-rich diets. Through Cool Food Meals and the Cool Food Pledge, the initiative is focused on making climate action delicious so the world can tackle the quarter of all greenhouse gas emissions that come from food production. To learn more, please visit www.coolfood.org.
