Stephen Nolan, CEO, Nutritics commented, “Playing a major role in training and educating both culinary teams and delegates at COP28 only strengthens our mission to put sustainability at the heart of the food sector. Nutritics has been developing and investing in our scientifically robust food data system for ten years, and our clients across the world are seeing both sustainability and financial benefits as a result. The fact that we have been chosen not only to advise and provide data, but also to present at the conference, speaks volumes for our industry-leading expertise as well as our unique tech proposition.”

In October, in preparation for the conference, Nutritics’ new sustainability consultancy arm, Knowledge Labs, visited Dubai to support the ‘Climate Conscious Catering’ workshop, collaborating with chefs and operators from the 80+ COP28 food suppliers, to reformulate menus for lower environmental impact, better health and even lower cost. Sustainability Lead, Dr Laura Kirwan, and Senior Technical Executive, Karen O’Brien, were on site to provide important data insights and metrics to ensure evidence-based reformulation.  

Ingrid Garzon, Sustainability Manager, COP28 hailed Nutritics’ involvement with the Climate Conscious Catering Workshop. Writing on LinkedIn, Garzon said, “The Nutritics team was invaluable towards supporting chefs with understanding the importance of assessing & reporting both the nutritional value and the 'foodprint' impact in menu planning. Another stride toward achieving our essential 1.5°C climate target for COP28!”

Dr Laura Kirwan, Sustainability Lead at Nutritics, added: “Learning and training are key to achieving menus and operations with lower environmental impact, so working hands-on with chefs and operators at a futuristic, science based workshop was foundational to what we’ve been able to achieve at the conference. 

“Companies can embrace technological advancements such as Nutritics, to not only position themselves as market leaders but also as advocates for a more transparent, responsible, and forward-thinking industry. There is no reason why a food business does not have, at the very least, a benchmark of the environmental impact of their food and drink offerings in 2023”.

Nutritics’ tech is also central to the company’s presence at COP28: all caterers are using Foodprint to deliver more environmentally friendly menus for the entire event, while Ten Kites is providing full nutritional, allergen and environmental ratings of all meals and recipes provided to attendees across COP28 – includingelectronic menus and digital screens.

Nutritics will also have a prominent thought leadership role at the conference, presenting insights on food sustainability to global leaders during an event titled ‘The Food We Eat at COP? - Walking the Talk’, showcasing how COP28’s menu was designed and delivered. Furthermore, findings from the LIFE Climate Smart Chefs project, where Nutritics has trained more than 160 chefs on sustainable and healthy diets, and 500 chefs are using Nutritics’ digital tools to design climate smart menus, will be presented at the EU Pavilion on 12th December.

The 28th United Nations Climate Change Conference takes place in Dubai from 30th November-12th December 2023.