How Food at UCL (University College London) and Reewild
Are Pioneering Low-Carbon Loyalty
UCL’s Centre for Behaviour Change, world-renowned for its research and innovation, partnered with Gather & Gather, UCL’s campus caterer, and Reewild to launch Planet Points, the eco-loyalty programme that rewards low-carbon consumption choices. UCL has been ranked 1st in the UK by the QS Sustainability Rankings and have worked with their campus caterer, Gather & Gather, to pioneer a low-carbon promoting food environment. Together they launched plant-based based hospitality in 2019, introduced carbon-labels on campus in 2020, and adopted Reewild’s carbon-tracking app in 2023, and now trialling PlanetPoints in association with Mastercard.
Together, we’ve created a blueprint for how sustainable behaviour can be incentivised across universities, foodservice partners, retailers, and beyond—turning low-carbon choices into everyday rewards.
Gather & Gather embedded PlanetPoints across all their food outlets at UCL, with support from Mastercard, integrating Reewild’s database directly with their EPOS provider Lolly to attach SKU-level carbon data to each transaction, enabling students to earn instant rewards based on the climate impact of their food choices.
To ensure the accuracy of carbon ratings, Reewild collaborated with leading lifecycle analysis and carbon accounting platforms Foodsteps and PlanetFWD. These tools were used to conduct carbon assessments and ensure the credibility of our sustainability insights.
Two MSc students from UCL’s Centre for Behaviour Change have joined the project to conduct academic research into the PlanetPoints system and its effectiveness in driving measurable behaviour change.
Real-Time Carbon Insights and Rewards
Using Reewild’s tech, students could now see the carbon impact of every product purchased on campus. Products rated A–C earned up to 3x their price in PlanetPoints, while D–E-rated items earned none.
Students began redeeming points with rewards partners like Uber, Forest, and UEFA, making sustainability feel immediate and actionable.
“The PlanetPoints trial has been a valuable piece of work to further our on-going commitment to promote sustainable food purchases. By rewarding lower-carbon choices in real time, we’ve seen promising early signs that we can shift purchasing habits towards very low, low & medium carbon rated products. Students and staff alike have engaged positively with the loyalty scheme—it’s a simple, engaging, and a tangible way to spend green”.
Cicely Abdy Collins, Sustainability Manager, Food at UCL
PlanetPoints triggered a +28.2% shift toward A–C rated products. If scaled to just 20% of UCL’s student body, this shift would avoid 60+ tonnes of CO₂e annually, increasing the demand for climate-friendly foods.
"We’ve loved working with Gather & Gather and such a prestigious institution as UCL. Their ambition to lead on sustainable dining has made them the perfect partner, and this success story is only just beginning. We're excited by the potential to scale PlanetPoints across other CH&CO sites and the wider Compass Group here in the UK."
Freddie Lintell, CEO & Founder, Reewild
UCL is just the beginning. The same model is now being rolled out to:
PlanetPoints drives deeper loyalty, measurable impact, and positive brand engagement by connecting what people eat to what they value.
Whether you’re a supermarket, food service operator, university, or climate-conscious brand, PlanetPoints offers a proven way to:
Contact us at info@reewild.com to find out how your business can join the PlanetPoints movement and help shape the future of conscious consumption.
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