‍Oscar Jonasson is the Executive Chef at Restaurant Björken, the Sodexo-managed employee canteen at pharmaceutical company Cytiva in Uppsala, Sweden. He serves around 800 hungry guests daily and has taken on the challenge to serve delicious food within the planetary boundaries.

‍Restaurant Björken was the first Sodexo restaurant to start using Klimato when we first initiated our partnership in 2019. They have since had a fantastic sustainability journey, spearheaded by Oscar. The secret sauce to the success is simple - combining the creativity and curiosity of a chef, with a determination to constantly reduce the climate footprint of the food served at Björken.

“Klimato has helped me become aware of how much you can actually influence and reduce the climate impact of a meal by making simple choices”

- Oscar Jonasson, Head Chef, Restaurant Björken

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The results so far are staggering! Restaurant Björken's average carbon footprint per serving has decreased by 59% from 1.5 kg CO2e to 0.6 kg CO2e (October 2019 - March 2023). In 2022 alone, they reduced their emissions by 15%. These are impressive results that Oscar and his team can be extremely proud of, as it reflects their commitment to serve as climate-friendly food as possible.

In addition to measuring the average carbon footprint per dish, they also track the proportion of climate-friendly meals served. Klimato defines a climate-friendly meal as one with a carbon footprint of 0.5 kg CO2e or less, which follows the WWF's One Planet Plate initiative on how to eat in order to reach the climate goals in the Paris Agreement. Over the course of the year 2022, only 2% of their dishes were high (37% low, 61% medium respectively).

One reason is that they use Klimato’s menu creator for creating climate labelled menus to inspire and encourage restaurant guests to choose the more climate-friendly options. But first and foremost, the increase in climate-friendly meals sold is because Oscar and his team use Klimato's tool to educate themselves, plan climate-smart recipes and experiment with different ingredients to constantly reduce the carbon footprint of the meals served. Every year, the restaurant hosts a ‘Climate week’ (Klimatvecka) where all of the dishes served are 0.5 kg CO2e or lower, including one day where all the dishes are also vegan.

"The collaboration with Klimato has made me more aware of the types of ingredients that have a high carbon footprint. It has enabled me to cook sustainable food without compromising on taste or experience.”

- Oscar Jonasson, Head Chef, Restaurant Björken

Oscar and his team have a clear goal - to be a source of inspiration to other restaurants that want to start their own sustainability journey. They work with ambitious climate targets and aim to only serve dishes with a low carbon footprint in the near future. To achieve this goal, Oscar generates monthly reports in Klimato’s tool to track the progress and ensure they are on the right track. If one month they are off-target (however, this rarely happens!), they review the dishes that contributed to the highest climate impact and experiment in the tool to adjust the recipe and ingredients to reduce the carbon footprint. 

The amazing progress seen at Björken is the result of a dedicated and curious chef, and we at Klimato love to highlight the chefs as climate heroes as they are the ones determining what’s being served in the restaurant. Oscar is one example of a climate hero that has taken this to his heart and he believes that it is his responsibility to contribute with his knowledge and creativity to make something good for the planet.

“The insights on the climate impact of food that Klimato provides is becoming more important by the day, and the food I can cook with their help will be dominant in the future.  Sodexo as a large company can influence many people to eat better, and we must take these steps together to contribute to a better future"

- Oscar Jonasson, Head Chef, Restaurant Björken

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Watch our interview with Oscar, where he shares his thoughts on climate-friendly cooking: