Can we print CO2e on a vegan menu without inventing an LCA?
Quick answer
Only print a kg CO2e figure next to a dish if a dish-level LCA for that recipe, method, and year sits in the folder. If you lack that study, print vegan vs plant-based, allergen flags, and named ingredient facts. Do not paste a competitor burger number, a global average, or a plant-based meals save the planet line. Diet labels live in vegan vs plant-based labels. Festive eco-friendly cards live in seasonal menu claims. Checkout widgets live in climate contribution at checkout.
Vs other Intelligence guides
| Guide | Job |
|---|---|
| Vegan vs plant-based labels | Diet words and allergens on the dish. Not a kg CO2e. |
| Seasonal menu claims | Festive eco-friendly card freeze. Local and farm words. Not a dish LCA. |
| EmpCo hospitality copy | Site, menu, GBP, OTA crawl for vague green lines. This page is the kg cell. |
| Climate contribution at checkout | Optional product checkout add-on. Not a restaurant menu number. |
| Post-purchase impact email | SKU carbon in Klaviyo after a parcel. Not a plated dish. |
| EU green claims | Ads and PDP carbon-neutral to EU shoppers. This page is the card. |
| Greenwashing compliance | Classify vague adjectives across marketing. Not the dish ladder. |
| Kitchen policy page | Crawlable kitchen type. Point diners there. Do not hide a fake kg behind it. |
| This guide | When a vegan menu may print CO2e without inventing an LCA |
Composite operator guidance. Not legal advice on EmpCo, the EU Green Claims file, or UK trading standards. Named LCA tools and consultancies follow their own methods. Do not treat a worksheet cell as a typical dish footprint.
A kg on the card is an LCA
Diners read 0.8 kg CO2e as a measured fact about that plate tonight. If the folder cannot open a study for that recipe, method, and year, the number is fiction. A QR does not convert a guessed kg into a true one. A vegan tag is a diet fact. Climate-friendly bowl is an environmental claim. Keep them on separate tracks. File the row in the substantiation folder.
Staff line: "CO2e prints only when [lca_file] covers [dish_id] this card. Else print diet and allergens. No planet % from a reel."
Steal this proof ladder
One row per dish that would wear a kg. Owner plus chef plus whoever signs the printer PDF. Blank beats theater.
| Proof you have for this dish | Menu may print | Menu must freeze |
|---|---|---|
| No LCA. Food-cost sheet only | Vegan or plant-based, 14-allergen flags, named ingredients you can show | kg CO2e, climate-friendly bowl, planet-positive, carbon-neutral dining, plant-based meals save [percent] |
| Supplier slogan or a generic database row not mapped to this recipe | Named supplier if the invoice is true. Origin if true | That supplier's kg copied onto your plate. A global burger average |
| Invoice composite you can show (named farm, named mill, named oil) | Those names. No kg unless the LCA used those inputs | Inventing a kg from the invoice total |
| Dish-level LCA: this recipe, this method, this year, boundary named, file in the folder | The kg with unit, year, and a method URL. Same number on QR, GBP, Instagram | Rounding it prettier for the card. Extending it to a different garnish |
Do not invent a planet-saving percentage. The 80% less carbon than beef line is an anti-pattern unless that comparison is this recipe vs a named baseline in the same study. Score leftover adjectives in the green claims calculator.
Print vs banned
| Intent | Allowed line | Banned |
|---|---|---|
| Diet | Vegan, plant-based (defined), vegetarian. Label kit | Climate vegan. Eco burger as a diet synonym |
| Ingredients | Named farm, named mill, named oil, if the invoice is this dish | Local and seasonal as climate proof. See seasonal claims |
| kg CO2e | Only the study number, unit, year, method URL | A competitor kg. A global average. 0.4 kg because it looks small |
| Comparison | Only if the LCA names both plates | Plant-based meals save 80%. Better for the planet than steak |
| Offsets | Omit on the menu. Checkout widgets are a different product. Climate contribution | Carbon-neutral dining because you bought a credit |
EmpCo treats vague environmental praise as unfair for EU consumers from 27 September 2026, including menus and GBP. Climate-friendly bowl and planet-positive taco fail that test even when the kitchen is vegan. US copy still needs a reasonable basis under the FTC Green Guides. This page does not publish a typical dish kg or a typical cover lift from climate typesetting.
Invoice composite vs invented kg
You may name what the invoice names. You may not mint a kg from the invoice total. Numbers below are a labeled worksheet. Replace every cell from ops. Do not copy them onto a card.
| Line | What it is | Worked example | Your cell |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dish ID | The card name plus recipe version | House burger v3 example | [dish_id] |
| Invoice facts | Named inputs you can show | Oat drink, mill X, lot 1844 example | [invoice_facts] |
| LCA file | Study covering this recipe, method, year | Yes or NONE | [lca_file] |
| Boundary | Cradle to plate, kitchen energy in or out | Fill from the study, or NONE | [boundary] |
| kg on card | The study number, or blank | Do not copy 0.8 as a benchmark | [kg_co2e] |
| Method URL | Crawlable page that matches the card | Yes or none | [method_url] |
The 0.8 kg cell is a worksheet label, not a dining benchmark. If [lca_file] is NONE, [kg_co2e] is blank. Time leftover adjectives in the green claims calculator. Do not treat recipe software output as the study.
Surface freeze
A chalkboard kg that the PDF omits is two claims. Freeze every live surface to the same ladder this week.
| Surface | Freeze to | Kill |
|---|---|---|
| Printed card / QR menu | Diet plus allergens. kg only if [lca_file] covers [dish_id] | Climate-friendly as a header. A prettier kg than the study |
| Instagram / Reels on-screen text | The same line as the card | Plant-based meals save 80%. A kg from a creator brief |
| GBP description / Posts / photos captions | Hours, plates, kitchen policy URL. Same kg rule | Carbon-neutral vegan restaurant. See seasonal GBP |
| FOH / tickets | Escalate to chef when a diner asks for a number | Quoting a TikTok kg. Inventing a comparison to steak |
| Kitchen policy | Kitchen type. Point here. Policy page | Hiding a fake kg behind the policy URL |
Pull leftover climate-friendly stickers. Do not use them up. EmpCo crawl of leftover eco lines stays in the hospitality copy audit.
Go / no-go
| Call | When |
|---|---|
| No-go on kg print | No dish LCA, a competitor or global average, a planet %, carbon-neutral dining, climate-friendly as a header, invented cover lift |
| Go on diet and ingredient facts | Vegan vs plant-based matrix signed, allergens live, invoice names only if true, kg cell blank |
| Go on kg | [lca_file] covers [dish_id], [boundary] named, [method_url] live, printer / QR / Instagram / GBP match, FOH freeze signed |
| Partial go | Strip kg and climate-friendly from the card this week. Leave diet labels. Do not wait for a prettier study |
Score leftover kg lines, caption incidents, and diner questions FOH could not answer from the folder. Covers on a climate header are not proof the claim is allowed.
No study, no kg
A vegan kitchen is a kitchen fact. A number on the card is a climate claim. Print the plate you can prove. Leave the planet percent off the typesetter.
Template fields and 7-day run
| Field | Fill with | Do not invent |
|---|---|---|
[dish_id] | Card name plus recipe version | A line-wide climate bowl claim |
[lca_file] | Study filename covering this dish, or NONE | Food-cost software as the study |
[boundary] | What the study includes, or NONE | Cradle to grave theater |
[kg_co2e] | Study number, or blank | 0.8 because it looks small. A competitor kg |
[method_url] | Crawlable page, or none | A PDF nobody can open from the QR |
[invoice_facts] | Named inputs on this dish | A mill slogan as a kg |
[markets] | US / EU / UK / both | One climate header for every city |
Brief: "[dish_id]. LCA: [lca_file]. Boundary: [boundary]. kg: [kg_co2e]. Method: [method_url]. Invoice: [invoice_facts]. Markets: [markets]. If LCA is NONE, kg print is blank."
- Day 1: Export every kg, CO2e, climate-friendly, planet-positive, carbon-neutral, and save-the-planet line on card, QR, Instagram, GBP, and FOH scripts.
- Day 2: For each live dish, fill [lca_file]. If NONE, that dish is blank on kg print.
- Day 3: Freeze the banned column. Sign it. File it in the substantiation folder.
- Day 4: Rewrite the printer PDF and QR. Pull leftover climate stickers. Do not use them up. Diet labels stay in vegan vs plant-based.
- Day 5: Match Instagram and GBP to the card. Seasonal hours stay in the GBP refresh. EmpCo leftover eco lines stay in the hospitality audit.
- Day 6: FOH card: escalate kg questions. No steak comparison. No 80% line.
- Day 7: Score leftover kg lines in the green claims calculator. No-go if a dish still prints a kg with LCA NONE. Festive adjectives stay in seasonal menu claims.
Frequently asked questions
Can we print CO2e on a vegan menu without inventing an LCA?
Only if a dish-level LCA for that recipe, method, and year sits in the folder. If you lack that study, print vegan vs plant-based, allergen flags, and named ingredient facts. Do not paste a competitor kg, a global average, or a plant-based meals save the planet percent. A vegan kitchen is not a climate number.
Is this the same as vegan vs plant-based labels or seasonal menu claims?
No. Vegan vs plant-based is diet and allergens. Seasonal menu claims freeze festive eco-friendly language, local, and farm words. This guide is the kg CO2e cell: a proof ladder, print vs banned, and a surface freeze across card, QR, Instagram, and GBP.
Can we use a global burger average or a supplier slogan as the kg?
No. A generic database row that is not mapped to this recipe is invented. A supplier slogan is not your plate. Name the invoice facts if they are true. Leave the kg blank until the study covers this dish.
Can we say plant-based meals save 80% carbon?
Not as a menu line unless that comparison is this recipe versus a named baseline in the same LCA. 80% is an anti-pattern, not a target. Do not invent a planet percent for the chalkboard.
Does a kitchen policy URL let us skip the study?
No. The policy URL is kitchen type. A kg is a climate claim. Point diners to the policy for vegan vs mixed. Keep the kg off the card until [lca_file] exists.