CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (CBS19 NEWS) -- Students at the University of Virginia can now opt for climate-friendly foods.

UVA Dine is launching the Cool Food Meals this month as part of an ongoing commitment to environmental sustainability.

The World Resources Institute announced in October that the Cool Food Meals badge will appear on Aramark menus as part of a 10-university pilot program starting this spring semester.

The release says this badge identifies dishes with a lower carbon footprint and will appear on more than 350 menu items.

“The University of Virginia is committed to reducing its carbon footprint and has established an institutional goal to be carbon neutral by 2030. Aramark’s adoption of the Cool Food Meals program and its plan to launch the program at UVA this spring aligns with the university’s sustainability goals,” said Rich Kovatch, Associate Vice President for Business Operations for UVA. “The expectation is that students, faculty and staff will continue to be enthusiastic about UVA Dine’s sustainability initiatives including the new Cool Food Menu.”

WRI says it measured the carbon footprint of hundreds of Aramark recipes to identify those that meet the criteria for the program, based on the ingredients and the land used to produce the meal.

Cool Food Meals will be available at the Dish at Observatory Hill and Fresh Food Company at Newcomb Hall.

“We are excited to partner with WRI to bring the Cool Food Program to UVA,” said Caroline Baloga, Sustainability Coordinator for UVA Dine. “We believe this program will make climate-friendly eating more fun and encourage students to think about how their food choices can benefit the climate.”

UVA Dine also hopes to drive purchasing of minimally processed plant-based food and increase awareness about the environmental impact of food choices.