Cool Food Collective Greenhouse Gas Emissions Baseline and 2030 Reduction Target

The Cool Food initiative, comprising 30 members as of December 2019, aims to reduce food-related greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent by 2030 relative to a 2015 baseline. The baseline total food-related carbon costs are estimated at over 4,286,000 t CO2e, with animal-based foods—particularly ruminant meats—driving the vast majority of emissions. Achieving the target would reduce annual emissions by more than 1,071,000 t CO2e by 2030.

• Cool Food members have committed to a science-based target to reduce food-related greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 25 percent by 2030 compared to 2015 levels. Achieving this collective target would result in an annual reduction of more than 1,071,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (t CO2e) by 2030, which is equivalent to the annual tailpipe emissions of over 230,000 passenger vehicles.
• The baseline annual estimate for total food-related carbon costs for Cool Food members is over 4,286,000 t CO2e. This figure is composed of more than 810,000 t CO2e from agricultural supply chains and more than 3,475,000 t CO2e in carbon opportunity costs, which represents the carbon that could be stored if the land used for food production returned to native vegetation.
• Animal-based foods are the primary driver of the group's GHG emissions profile, accounting for 89 percent of the total. Within this category, ruminant meats such as beef and lamb account for 71 percent of total emissions, while other meats, dairy, seafood, and eggs account for 18 percent. Plant-based foods represent the remaining 11 percent.
• As of December 2019, the Cool Food initiative included 30 members serving approximately 852 million meals annually. These members reported purchasing more than 129,000 tonnes of food in the base year, with baseline data from 2015–18 covering 96 percent of total annual meals served.

APA

World Resources Institute (n.d.). Cool Food Collective Greenhouse Gas Emissions Baseline and 2030 Reduction Target. https://www.wri.org/research/cool-food-collective-greenhouse-gas-emissions-baseline-and-2030-reduction-target

Chicago

World Resources Institute. Cool Food Collective Greenhouse Gas Emissions Baseline and 2030 Reduction Target. n.d. https://www.wri.org/research/cool-food-collective-greenhouse-gas-emissions-baseline-and-2030-reduction-target.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Resources Institute |title=Cool Food Collective Greenhouse Gas Emissions Baseline and 2030 Reduction Target |url=https://www.wri.org/research/cool-food-collective-greenhouse-gas-emissions-baseline-and-2030-reduction-target |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldresourcesinstitutendcool, author = {{World Resources Institute}}, title = {{Cool Food Collective Greenhouse Gas Emissions Baseline and 2030 Reduction Target}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, url = {https://www.wri.org/research/cool-food-collective-greenhouse-gas-emissions-baseline-and-2030-reduction-target}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }