Eco-Conscious Carbon Footprint Scores Are Coming to a Fast-Casual Menu Near You

There was a time—not terribly long ago—where calorie counts on menus were a novelty, not the norm. (In 2006, New York City became the first city to adopt calorie labeling on chain restaurant menus and menu boards and in 2018, the Food and Drug Administration required all chains to include it.) While we know now that that calorie counting is not a perfect measure of health or nutrition, the move still made it somewhat easier for people to make more health-conscious choices when eating out. Now, Panera Bread is hoping to make the same level of change, this time with the environment in mind.

In October, the restaurant chain (which has over 2000 locations in the U.S.) announced its new carbon footprint labeling program, featuring a “Cool Food Meals” seal indicating which menu items have a low carbon footprint. (Carbon footprint, FYI, refers to the total amount of greenhouse gases emitted to create a product at all stages of production.)

“About a year ago, we started having a conversation about what issues consumers were concerned about and climate change was a big one