What are Collections?
Collections are a way to group your dishes into menus or categories that make sense for your university catering operations. By creating collections, you can better understand and track the carbon footprint of different meal services, food categories, or dining sites.
Examples of how you can use Collections
✔ By meal type – breakfast, lunch, dinner, special event menus
✔ By dining site – different university cafeterias or food halls
✔ By dietary category – vegan, vegetarian, meat-based, low-carbon dishes
✔ By season or rotation – weekly, monthly, or termly menus
How to use Collections to compare across menus
One of the most useful features of collections is the ability to compare emissions across different menus or sites.
For example:
Compare the carbon footprint of your lunch vs. dinner menu to see which has higher emissions.
Compare the same menu across different sites to identify variations in dishes or ingredient choices.
Compare seasonal menus to track changes in emissions over time.
By reviewing the average carbon intensity and ratings across collections, you can quickly spot trends and identify areas for improvement.
Getting a detailed view of your menus
Each collection provides a breakdown of:
Average carbon intensity - the overall emissions per kg of food.
Product ratings - a visual breakdown of A-E carbon ratings.
Ingredient insights - what’s driving the emissions in your menu?
Using Collections to build low-carbon menus
Collections help you design more sustainable menus by:
✔ Identifying high-carbon dishes that can be swapped for lower-carbon alternatives.
✔ Tracking progress as you reduce emissions over time.
✔ Comparing similar meals to choose the most sustainable options.
For example, if you see that your Dinner Menu has a significantly higher carbon footprint than your Lunch Menu, you can explore ingredient swaps, portion adjustments, or new lower-carbon dishes.