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A master thesis from Aalborg University

Designing a CO2e Emissions Estimation and Visualisation System for Municipal Food Procurement: A Case Study from Aalborg Municipality

Author(s)

Term

4. term

Education

Publication year

2025

Submitted on

2025-06-12

Pages

27 pages

Abstract

The food sector is a major contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions. This paper presents the design, development, and evaluation of a CO2e emissions estimation and visualisation system tailored for Aalborg Municipality’s food procurement practices. Grounded in user-centred design and informed by Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) principles, the system addresses key shortcomings of the municipality’s current estimation system. The solution leverages invoice data, semantic mapping via an LLM, and structured categorisation to provide accurate emissions estimation data across kitchens in the municipality. It includes features for visualising emissions by food category, normalising emissions per person served or per DKK spent, and generating anonymised, kitchen-specific CO2e reports. Through iterative prototyping and stakeholder feedback, the system was refined to support strategic decision-making and provide insight into intervention areas. The resulting tool significantly improves the efficiency and relevance of emissions reporting, offering a scalable model for public sector sustainability initiatives.

Keywords

Documents


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