Catering & Food
Content
The ‘Catering & Gastronomy’ chapter of Labor Tempelhof 2022 can be found here.
1. Overview and problem statement
Did you know…?
A vegetarian diet could reduce the global greenhouse gas emissions around 63% and a vegan diet around 70%? 23
In the context of large scale events, highly processed, quickly prepared and inexpensive food is typically used to enable the sale of a large volume of items in a short time. Most often, food from conventional agriculture is used, the production of which involves the use of harmful chemicals such as pesticides. Conventional agricultural practices make the food less healthy and pollute the soil. Large events also typically offer food made with animal products. Along with mobility and energy, switching to plant-based food sourced from regenerative agriculture is one of the biggest factors in making an event as climate- and resource-positive as possible.
The challenge of sustainable, circular event-planning is, among other things, to create the shift towards a plant-based diet – regarding the availability and scalability of vegan/vegetarian dishes as well as regarding the emotional level with the audience and the people on the production team. Another major action item is excessive food preparation due to miscalculation and the composting of food waste generated during preparation.
Another consideration is the use of packaged food by caterers and food vendors. Additionally, food is often served on disposable tableware. However, since January 1, 2023, caterers with more than 80 square meters of sales area or more than 5 employees have been legally obliged by EU laws to provide their customers with reusable packaging for takeaway food and beverages. 24 In the case of food packaging, it is still mostly disposable plastic packaging that contains harmful substances such as plasticizers.
The regulations for the event industry vary from municipality to municipality. Rostock, for example, only permits the use of open public spaces and facilities if food and drinks are served in reusable or compostable packaging. Essen imposes a reusable packaging requirement for events in public spaces. The state of Berlin has included a ban on disposable tableware and cutlery in its catering guidelines. In practice, however, implementation remains a challenge here too. A large amount of the disposable packaging that is still used often ends up in waste incineration or, in the worst case, in nature due to a lack of recyclability. Even supposedly biodegradable single-use packaging is usually not a sustainable solution, as either non-circular composite materials are used or industrial composting plants are not equipped to utilise the recyclable materials.
In short, the topic of food is complex and emotionally charged. At the same time, events can be a place to inspire and encourage people to adopt an alternative way of eating – the quality of the food available and a proper communication are absolutely key factors here.
2. Our Benchmark for Labor Tempelhof
In order to achieve an event that is as fully circular and sustainable as possible in terms of food and drink, we at Labor Tempelhof have defined the following ideal scenario:
- Exclusively vegan-vegetarian catering for the audience, crew and bands. The catering should have a positive impact on greenhouse gas emissions, land and water consumption, biodiversity and the quality of agricultural soils.
- Rethink supposed leftovers or waste and view them as a source of nutrients: If they cannot be avoided in production, then collect them separately for later composting or utilisation in the biogas plant.
- Ideally, all food should come from regenerative agriculture with at least organic certification. In the case of foods such as coffee, cocoa, wine, sugar or chocolate, which are very likely to be produced conventionally under precarious working conditions, also obtain fair certification (e.g. direct trade or fair trade).
- When packaging food, favour recyclable packaging and suppliers with take-back and deposit systems.
- Only provide reusable packaging/tableware at all food stands.
- Good communication concept to communicate the choice of vegan/vegetarian dishes and the return process for reusable containers as simply as possible, without pointing fingers.
- Free drinking water for everyone.
3. What worked well, what can be improved?
Labor Tempelhof took various measures to optimize food and catering in the direction of sustainability and circularity.
Food vendors
What worked well?
- 100% vegan-vegetarian food in the public and backstage areas (40% whole plant-based, 60% vegetarian).
- Labelling of the dish with the lowest CO₂ footprint.
- Free drinking water in all public areas.
- Provision of a prototype of the Phantor: a machine that can filter up to 10,000 litres of drinking water a day from the ambient air. We fed the water obtained from the Berlin air into a drinking water station and made it available to visitors.
- Implementation of reusable containers on the site: cups, crockery and cutlery.
- The reusable system for crockery and cutlery was planned in cooperation with the ‘mehrweg.einfach.machen’ initiative, Vytal Events and Gastro Team Bremen (GTB). This also included the documentation and scientific monitoring of the implementation by Kühne Logistics University, including a public survey during the event.
- Deposit-free distribution of reusable crockery and cutlery on a ‘trust basis’.
- Uncomplicated return options for reusable crockery and cutlery at four return stations and 23 ‘nutrient islands’ (waste collection stations as part of the disposal concept)
- Serving of circular beer brewed with leftover bread at two stands.
- C2C chip forks made from traceless® material: created as a pilot project in 2022, in use in 2024 with a print run of 1,500 units
- Development of a prototype for a compostable chip tray.
- Collection of valuable used fats from the restaurant and catering sector to feed them back into the cycle as raw materials.
- A drinks cooler with recyclable cooling technology in the Cradle Village.
What can be improved?
- Sourcing food and drinks exclusively from companies that have fair, transparent and controllable supply chains and where organic raw materials are processed. Weighing up with short delivery routes.
- Larger selection of innovative plant-based products and beverages in organic quality.
- Ensure faster serving at all food stands.
- Implementation of a digital deposit system for reusables can contribute to a higher return rate.
- Where the use of disposables is unavoidable (e.g. napkins for certain dishes): demand C2C quality from service providers.
Catering for Production, Bands & Crews
What worked well?
- 100% vegetarian/vegan food in the backstage and production areas.
- Use of reusable coffee cups and return logistics.
- Use of reusable crockery and cutlery.
- Comprehensive and visibly communicated separation system for the return of residual and recyclable materials.
- At Die Ärzte: Via Technical rider, an attempt was made to avoid products from companies that are not transparent, do not use organic raw materials and are publicly criticised for their supply chains, their business model and their handling of social aspects. Proven success with Nestlé 25 products.
- Dispensers for drinks in the crew and artist area.
- Equipping the tour crew with their own drinking bottles for refilling
- Collection of valuable used fats for reintroduction into the nutrient cycle.
- PET drinking bottles from the crew’s backstage area were collected and recycled throughout the production site on a cargo bike with the help of local staff.
What can be improved?
- Exclusive use of beverage dispensing stations with refillable containers, no more PET bottles.
Food Stuff Remains and Disposal
What worked well?
- Avoidance of food waste, cooperation with food sharing initiative.
What can be improved?
- 100% regional food from ideally regenerative agriculture with delivery in reusable crates/large containers, return and deposit systems for packaging, recyclable packaging.
4. Findings and Recommendations
Food vendors:
- The food offerings have an immense influence on water consumption at an event. By offering exclusively vegan- and vegetarian dishes in the public and backstage area, Labor Tempelhof consumed around 85% less water than conventional concerts of this scale. 26 This resulted in conserving around 251 million liters of water.
- In the area of food and catering, Labor Tempelhof concerts emitted around 50% less CO₂ than conventional concerts of this scale. 27 This equals about 178 fewer tons of CO₂.
- In order to avoid challenges when procuring exclusively vegetarian/vegan dishes, it is recommended that you start planning your food offerings at a very early stage.
- The vegan and vegetarian food offer (40% vegan, 60% vegetarian) was received well by the majority of the audience and all those involved, both in front of and behind the stage. The following incentives can be created for an audience that prefers a meat-based diet:
- Focus on tasty plant-based products and high-quality meat alternatives for a positive ‘wow’ experience!
- The overall appearance of the stands and the presentation of their vegan-vegetarian food offerings should be modern and contemporary and not too complicated. No moralising ‘eco’ finger pointing.
- Ensure a moderate price structure.
- Consider the need for quick service at peak times when selecting food stands and dishes (ideal case: vegan-vegetarian high-performance stands).
- Time-consuming but effective: Calculate the real prices of meat-based dishes and display them alongside the actual sales price.
- In order to measure the impact of the measures taken and to further improve future events, it must be known as precisely as possible which dishes were purchased particularly frequently or particularly little at which location.
- Talk to the catering provider at an early stage about such data collection and reporting. If necessary, make it a contract term or deliverable.
- Measurement and communication can be challenging, especially at large events, due to the high number of subcontractors used by catering providers.
- Through the support of the initiative ‘mehrweg.einfach.machen’, Gastro Team Bremen and Vytal Events, it was possible to offer almost 100% reusable tableware and cutlery for up to 60,000 people every day on a deposit-free basis. The implementation was scientifically monitored and analysed by Kühne Logistics University.
- Around 59,000 items of disposable crockery and cutlery saved through the use of reusable products.
- More than 90 % of the deposit-free reusable tableware and cutlery was returned (loss rate: 9.39 %).
- On-site surveys show that the public has a positive impression of reusables in terms of convenience, quality and sustainability.
- approx. 98% of respondents rated the implementation of reusables as very good/good
- the return process was perceived as simple by almost 90% (return in less than 30 seconds for approx. 88% of respondents)
- The use of reusable tableware should be discussed in advance with the performing artists with regard to potential risks, such as use as throwing objects or tripping hazards.
- Further facts and figures on the implementation of the reusable system at Labor Tempelhof can be found in the publication “Mehrweg auf Großveranstaltungen” by mehrweg.einfach.machen.
- Food service and the topic of waste disposal must be thought through together and coordinated at an early stage.
- Ensure separate collection of food scraps by food stands and subsequent recycling in composting or biogas plants, as well as reutilization via food sharing initiative.
- Collect used grease and return it to the cycle as a raw material.
- Communicate the food concept to the public: highlight the potential, avoid pitfalls.
- Do not characterize dishes explicitly as “vegan” or “healthy”. Everyday life shows: this can discourage people from buying the meal.
- Best practice: describe the type of meal and highlight the flavors, for example “Spaghetti with succulent Lentil-Tomato Bolognaise”.
- Focus on positive characteristics, for example through labeling the dish or the stall with the best CO₂ balance and/or a resource-positive balance. 28
- Leverage market power
- Large event organizers, big venues and well known bands/artists can place very concrete demands on breweries, beverage distributors, catering companies and foodservice providers: on the quality of the product, the type and manner of their production, as well as the type of packaging and the delivery. This market power can be used to drive a change toward climate- and resource-positive events, not just selectively for one event, but fundamentally and systematically.
- Define objectives and needs as a clear requirement and condition for cooperation from the beginning.
Catering for Production, Bands & Crews
- Beverage supply in the production area/backstage can be completely converted to reusable.
- Offer drinking water points and premix stations if necessary.
- Ask employees to bring their own refillable reusable bottles/cups.
- Provide a certain number of reusable bottles/cups (possibly against a small deposit).
- In addition to the actual choice of food (vegan-vegetarian, organic and Fairtrade), clarify other climate and resource-related issues with the catering providers at an early stage.
- Reusable crockery and cutlery.
- Focus on reusable, recyclable packaging solutions, possibly with a deposit/return system.
- Purely vegan-vegetarian catering is easy to implement.
- Select a catering provider that has experience with alternative food offerings or already meets the requirements/expectations of the organisers.
- If a location is tied to a specific provider, seek dialogue about the required range of dishes (vegan-vegetarian, organic, Fairtrade) at an early stage and find compromises. Demonstrate the economic and strategic potential of vegan-vegetarian catering.
- Transparent communication to employees.
- The more often production employees/crews are told to cancel for unused meals in good time, the greater the reduction in food waste.
- Create additional awareness of the connection between food waste and commitment/ cancellations.
5. Service Provider Contacts
6. Further inspiration from the industry
Other events and festivals also focus on the topic of food and drink:
The Swedish Way Out West Festival (capacity 35,000) has been offering exclusive vegetarian and vegan dishes since 2012. Way Out West publicizes the carbon footprints of all dishes and beverages and provides them with their own CO₂ label. Today the proportion of vegan dishes is at 70% – without resistance or opposition; instead, the event receives extensive media coverage and positive associations with the event’s brand, including increased food and drink sales. 29
All food sold at the Tollwood Festival (capacity 1.5 million) has been certified organic in accordance with the EU Eco Regulation since 2003. Products such as tea, coffee, rice, wine, bananas, cocoa, sugar or chocolate products produced in the Global South are Fairtrade certified in addition to the organic seal. At the same time, the festival makes sure that organic dishes on offer are no more expensive than conventional dishes at other major events. 30
The Northside Festival from Denmark (capacity 35,000) offers exclusively vegetarian dishes and collaborates with Plantebaseret Videnscenter, a research- and knowledge platform for the transition to plant-based foods. In 2022, the festival limited food vendors’ menus to no more than 20% animal components such as cheese, mayo, eggs, consistent with the planetary boundaries. For some Northside caterers, the shift to vegan or vegetarian offerings has been a real catalyst, bringing about tremendous growth for their businesses. The higher the organic content of a food vendor’s dishes, the lower the booth fee, which is why organic is very well implemented. The Northside Festival has asked the Tuborg brewery for organic beer, which began production specifically for the festival and resulting in a product with 50% fewer emissions. 31
The Breminale is a five-day free outdoor cultural festival with approximately 220,000 visitors each year. To minimize pollution of the adjacent Weser River, since 2022, all drinks and food have been served in reusable containers. This avoids around 2.6 tons of waste. 32
