Mercedes-Benz contacts vegconomist to report that its German canteens are working to become aligned with the Planetary Health Diet, and will serve predominantly plant-based food by the end of 2025.
From April 23-26, some Mercedes-Benz canteens partnered with the Stuttgart vegan restaurant vhy! (co-founded by former footballer Timo Hildebrand) for a campaign to showcase the taste and diversity of plant-based foods. Four of the restaurant’s dishes were prepared at the canteens — Maultaschen (large dumplings) with a mushroom filling and potato salad, spinach dumplings with herb and spice crumbs, open falafel wraps with carrot hummus, and Zurich-style sliced plant-based meat. Hildebrand himself made an appearance at a canteen in the district of Untertürkheim.
“Nutrition has a major influence on our health, but also on our ecological footprint”
Mercedes-Benz has offered fully plant-based main dishes daily since 2021. Following the recent introduction of a new spring menu at the canteens, the plant-based main course has been made the cheapest to encourage more people to choose it.
Developed by scientists, the Planetary Health Diet takes into account the well-being of people and the planet and advocates for the consumption of mostly unprocessed plant foods. After rolling out at Mercedes-Benz’s 22 self-operated canteens across seven locations, the concept will then be introduced in the company’s 45 shops by 2027. Animal products will remain available, but will be significantly reduced.
“Diverse, healthy, and high-quality”
Since 2022, Mercedes-Benz canteens have also been reporting the climate footprint of the foods they offer in partnership with the Swiss Eaternity Institute. This has demonstrated the sustainability of the plant-based options on offer — for example, a falafel dish produces less than a tenth of the emissions of a pork fillet dish. Additionally, the canteens use a “traffic light” system to help with the identification of healthy foods.
To further improve sustainability, reusable systems have been introduced for takeaway food and drinks, and all remaining disposable packaging is made exclusively from renewable, biodegradable, or recycled raw materials.
Mercedes-Benz is also improving the sustainability of its vehicles, and has developed models with vegan interiors.
“Nutrition has a major influence on our health, but also on our ecological footprint,” said Sabine Kohleisen, Human Resources Director and Labor Director at Mercedes-Benz Group AG. “The responsibility of our canteens is correspondingly great. The Mercedes-Benz Gastronomy team has been doing a great job here for years and offers a diverse, healthy, and high-quality selection of food. From now on, the purely plant-based main dish is also particularly attractive in terms of price. With around five million lunches every year in 22 canteens plus catering in shops and bistros, the Mercedes-Benz catering industry turns a big wheel – for the care and health of our employees and for the environment.”
