The food system in Austria is responsible for 20-30% of all greenhouse gas emissions, so it’s certainly worth examining what options are available for sustainable catering. (Source: Climate Change Centre AUSTRIA)
Vorarlberg loves and lives gastronomy. Here it’s easy for us to maximise culinary potential and offer sustainable catering as a flavourful highlight for an event. The focus is regional, seasonal products forgoing disposable packaging and minimising food waste.
Vorarlberg is known for its cuisine and there are various options to eat consciously without compromising anything. These Vorarlberg-based catering companies are recognised by the Austrian Ecolabel:
Feel free to contact us for further sustainable catering tips.
Reusable over disposable: a principle that always applies to sustainable events. The use of disposable crockery generates a lot of unnecessary waste. Caution should also be exercised with so-called environmentally friendly plastic alternatives. A study by the BEUC consumer protection organisation found harmful substances in many products.
Ideas & tips for less waste when catering: Use reusable cups, reusable dishes (plates, bowls), and reusable cutlery.
As regional and seasonal as possible! Ideally, seasonally fresh ingredients that are produced regionally. A product is categorised as regional if the main production of the food (cultivation, rearing, initial production, etc.) is within a distance of approximately 150 km from the event location.
Organic and fairtrade products are a good alternative for products that are not available regionally.
With the Austrian Ecolabel for Green Meetings & Green Events, extra points are awarded for inclusion of more regional & seasonal ingredients and drinks.
For successful certification with the Austrian Ecolabel for Green Meetings & Green Events, it is necessary to offer at least one vegetarian dish. Consider whether you would like to offer exclusively vegetarian or vegan dishes - additional points are awarded for this during certification. The choice of delicious and varied vegetarian dishes is greater than ever today and ranges from creative regional specialities to international highlights.
Tap water is an environmentally friendly alternative to bottled water as there is no plastic or glass packaging and there are no CO₂ emissions from the production and transport of bottles.
No food is used that is questionable from the point of view of animal and species conservation (e.g. endangered fish species from wild catch such as bluefin tuna, shark or whale; caviar, turtles, foie gras, frogs' legs, etc.). Additional points are awarded under the Austrian Ecolabel for Green Meetings & Green Events for meat from species-appropriate and/or animal welfare-certified husbandry:
Eggs used (fresh eggs) are all from at least free-range laying hens.
For successful certification with the Austrian Ecolabel for Green Meetings & Green Events, it is necessary to offer at least one ingredient and beverage in organic quality.
Products imported from the global south come from ethical, social, and ecologically sound sources.
This includes, among others, products such as:
Dishes are offered that are typical and characteristic of the region in which the event takes place. In Vorarlberg, traditional dishes include the famous Käsknöpfle, Flädlesuppe and Riebel with apple sauce.
