Berlin, September 2, 2024

The key points at a glance:

• Full carbon footprint offsetting for all catering booked via heycater!
• AI-based calculation of greenhouse gas emissions and compensation through certified offsetting projects
• At no extra cost to all heycater! customers

heycater!, the leading online marketplace for catering and event services, is setting new standards in sustainable catering. Effective immediately, heycater! is offsetting 100 percent of the CO2 emissions from all catered events it facilitates by investing in targeted environmental protection projects.

Together for a sustainable future

In collaboration with its specialized partner Climate Extender, heycater! is helping companies make their events climate-friendly. From now on, heycater! customers will automatically offset the greenhouse gas emissions generated by the ingredients, preparation, and delivery of their chosen catering at no additional cost. heycater! tracks these emissions and offsets them through targeted investments in selected climate protection projects. heycater! is the only catering platform to offer this service free of charge to all its customers. "Commitment to sustainability is at the heart of everything we do. Given that up to 37 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions originate from the global food system, it is our ambition to offer our customers sustainable options for their events," explains Carla Zöllner, Team Lead Operations at heycater!. "We know how important sustainability is to our customers and their teams. Now, we are making it easy for them to contribute to environmental protection when choosing workplace catering."

Selected environmental projects for maximum impact

heycater! goes beyond simply offsetting the emissions of its partners and customers. For several years, the Hey Group GmbH has also been offsetting its own operational footprint through investments in climate protection projects. In cooperation with Climate Extender, over 25 tons of CO2 have been recorded in recent months according to the Greenhouse Gas Protocol and offset through projects certified to the Gold Standard. When selecting climate protection projects to compensate for both its own and customer-related emissions, heycater! focuses on projects with high and lasting environmental impact. Together with Climate Extender, the following projects have currently been selected:

• Installation of a 20 MW biomass power project in Godawari, Nepal: The use of this carbon-neutral biomass reduces greenhouse gas emissions by replacing fossil fuels. In this project, biomass is burned in a boiler to generate high-pressure steam, which drives a steam turbine to provide 20 MW of electricity.
• Installation of high-efficiency wood stoves in Malawi (Southeast Africa): The project aims to distribute 500,000 innovative cookstoves to burn wood more efficiently. This not only combats deforestation but also makes a positive contribution to human health by reducing indoor air pollution.
• Electricity generation via a run-of-river power plant in Las Pizarras, Peru: The planned run-of-river power plant in the Chancay river basin, with a capacity of 18 MW, is designed to generate 103.32 GWh of electricity annually, thereby avoiding over 68,000 tons of CO2 emissions per year.

"The partnership with heycater! marks an innovative step in the catering industry. We are proud to walk paths together that are not only environmentally and climate-friendly but also set a precedent for the entire industry," emphasizes Frank Huschka, Managing Director of Climate Extender. "With heycater!, we are setting new standards for sustainable event management."

Simple process for maximum impact - how the heycater! compensation works:

Implementing CO2 compensation is incredibly simple for heycater! customers: When booking catering or an event via heycater!, all resulting CO2 emissions are automatically offset by heycater!. By using advanced AI-based data analysis tools, heycater! is able to precisely record and analyze the carbon footprint of every catering event. The resulting amounts are then reported to Climate Extender on a quarterly basis, and the necessary investments are made in one of the climate protection projects described above. A transparent overview also shows customers which projects their contributions are supporting and the positive environmental impact being achieved. In the future, heycater! plans to integrate carbon accounting directly into the platform. This will allow customers to transparently view the CO2 emissions of every catering order directly in their customer account.

About heycater!

heycater! was founded in the fall of 2015 with a mission to revolutionize the B2B catering market. The idea was born when co-founder Therese Köhler tried to organize catering for a photo shoot—a task that proved to be incredibly difficult. She realized that ordering high-quality catering tailored to one's specific needs should be much easier.

Today, more than 2,500 active corporate clients and over 500 catering partners across Germany, Austria, and Switzerland work with heycater!. The company is dedicated to making the organization of business catering fast, digital, and completely hassle-free, ensuring that workplace dining is always taken care of.

heycater! is the leading online marketplace for catering and event services in Germany. With a broad network of partners, heycater! provides customized solutions for every type of event. Since its inception, heycater! has organized over 45,000 catering events, consistently prioritizing quality and customer satisfaction from day one.

About Climate Extender

Climate Extender is a company that provides high-quality carbon footprint assessments for businesses and products, while also developing recommendations for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The company strives for measurable, long-term benefits for its clients and adheres to the highest quality standards (Greenhouse Gas Protocol, ISO 14064-1, Gold Standard, Verified Carbon Standard, etc.). In recognition of this commitment, Climate Extender was named a Green Innovator in 2024.

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