Free Guide
A Closer Look: Catering
A Closer Look: Catering is a data report, drawn from thousands of catering entries in TRACE, across 789 events in 2025. It sets out what the data tells us about event catering, emissions and cost.
Who this is for
- In 2025, beef and lamb made up just 10% of the portions served at events measured in TRACE. They produced 45% of catering emissions.
- 51% of red meat emissions sit on buffets, and 73% of buffets are served at conferences.
- It takes roughly 12 vegetarian meals to match the emissions of one beef meal.
Download the free guide
DownloadInside the free guide
What you'll find inside
Catering and your carbon footprint
Where catering sits in an event’s overall footprint, and why a small share can still be one of the most valuable places to start.
What’s served vs what it emits
What the data shows about the dishes served at events, which ones drive the emissions, and why the number of meat-free options on a menu can be misleading.
The buffet: where emissions concentrate
Why one service style carries a bigger footprint than the rest, where it shows up most across the industry, and what a single change on the buffet table can achieve.
Cost and carbon go hand in hand
How plant-forward menus affect your budget as well as your emissions, and why red meat is getting harder to plan around.
Industry discussion: serveware
Why cups, plates and cutlery get more attention than their emissions deserve, and where the real carbon savings in catering sit.
Where to act, and what to do next
Practical starting points for changing what you serve and how you serve it, plus how TRACE can help you measure where you stand.
Webinar
Join our webinar on 11 November 2026, at 2pm GMT, for a deep dive into this report and its findings.