Paradise City: Cutting Carbon and Inspiring Change, One Dish at a Time
Paradise City is not your average music festival. Held annually in a 15th-century castle estate just outside Brussels, it’s globally recognized for putting sustainability first. Voted the “most sustainable festival in the world” by A Greener Future and winner of the 2024 Greener Catering Award, Paradise City has made it its mission to radically reduce its environmental impact—right down to the carbon footprint of every dish served.
CLIENT
Paradise City
Location
Belgium
Industry
Event/Catering
Uses Klimato for
Carbon calculation, labeling, and menu development
The Challenge
Paradise City previously relied on a carbon calculator to measure food emissions. It was slow, imprecise, and difficult for vendors to use.
With dozens of food vendors operating on-site including food trucks, backstage catering, and staff meals, they needed a solution that could deliver:
• Ease of use at scale
• Accurate, real-time data
• Actionable insights that drive better food choices
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THE SOLUTION
TURNING Carbon Data Into Climate Action
From the first demo, the team at Paradise City saw Klimato’s potential.
“We were looking for an easy tool our caterers could use themselves. Klimato is more accurate and detailed than anything else we’ve tried.” — Petra Daniëls, Food Curator at Paradise City
Today, Paradise City uses Klimato across all food operations at the festival to calculate, compare, and cut carbon emissions. The visual CO2e labels make it easy for caterers to see where small ingredient swaps—sometimes as small as one single egg—can lead to big CO2 savings. And for Paradise City’s team, it’s a powerful tool to engage food vendors in conversations that lead to real menu changes.
• Real-time CO₂e data for every dish
• Visual carbon labels that simplify decisions
• Easy-to-use interface designed for chefs, not analysts
• Practical insights that encourage low-impact recipe development
Empowering Caterers with Smarter Menus
One of the features Paradise City finds most valuable is Klimato’s real-time CO2e feedback. As caterers build their menus in the platform, they can instantly see how changing a single ingredient impacts the total emissions of a dish.
This has been a game-changer for influencing decisions on the ground. “It helped us raise awareness amongst the caterers that it’s not that difficult to, for instance, skip dairy,” Petra notes. “There are so many good alternatives widely available.”
Even more importantly, these insights help chefs, who may not specialize in plant-based food, develop new low-impact recipes with confidence.
“We tried other tools, but none of them matched the accuracy and ease of use of Klimato. For us, the big win is having fast, reliable CO2 data. Sustainability is in our DNA, and Klimato helps us prove it.”
— Petra Daniëls, Food Curator at Paradise City
THE RESULT
By using Klimato to guide menu creation and educate caterers, Paradise City has been able to continue pushing the boundaries of sustainable festival food:
• 100% vegetarian since 2023, with 85% plant-based in 2024 and on track for 100% plant-based.
• Average CO2e per dish dropped below 0.5 kg since 2023, thanks to data-driven tweaks and better ingredient choices.
• Improved dialogue with food vendors, even those unfamiliar with plant-based cuisine.
• Helped secure top-level awards for sustainability, including Greener Catering Award 2023 and Most Sustainable Festival in the World.
And while Paradise City doesn’t market itself as a “vegan festival,” Klimato’s carbon labels help them communicate the impact of each dish transparently—focusing on climate impact over ideology.
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KLIMATO MAKES IT EASY TO CUT FOOD EMISSIONS, ENGAGE VENDORS, AND LEAD WITH IMPACT
Paradise City continues to raise the bar for sustainable festivals, with Klimato as a key partner in their journey to becoming fully plant-based, fully transparent, and fully climate-conscious. By combining powerful carbon labeling software with a community of committed caterers, they’re proving that greener choices don’t have to be complicated—they just have to be informed.
CALCULATE FOR THE FUTURE. CREATE DATA-LED RESULTS TODAY.
