Rebecca Grekin: 30 Under 30 – Energy & Green Tech (2026) Innovator Turning Food Data into Climate Action
Rebecca Grekin was recognized on the Forbes 30 Under 30 for her work at the intersection of data science, climate research, and food systems. A Ph.D. student at Stanford, she focuses on a surprisingly underexplored source of emissions: the food institutions buy and serve every day.
Her research centers on building tools that use real-world purchasing data to measure and reduce CO₂ emissions from food systems. At Stanford, she studied university dining hall procurement data and developed software capable of tracking the emissions impact of more than 150,000 unique food items and ingredients. This kind of analysis is critical because food production and supply chains are major contributors to global greenhouse gas emissions, yet often lack precise, actionable measurement tools at scale.
A major outcome of her work is TASTE Food: The Automated Scope 3 Tool for Tracking Emissions, a software system designed to help institutions understand the climate footprint of their food purchasing decisions. The tool translates complex supply chain data into usable insights, allowing organizations to see how everyday choices—from ingredients to suppliers—affect emissions.
The impact of this work has extended well beyond academia. TASTE Food has been adopted by more than 50 universities, helping them evaluate and adjust purchasing strategies for lower-carbon outcomes. In total, these institutions collectively serve billions of meals annually, meaning even small improvements in decision-making can scale into significant emissions reductions.
Grekin’s inclusion in the Forbes 30 Under 30 reflects the real-world relevance of her research. Rather than staying confined to theoretical models, her work bridges data science and institutional decision-making, giving organizations practical tools to act on climate goals.
Her contribution highlights a growing shift in climate innovation: not only developing new technologies, but also using data to make existing systems—like food procurement—more transparent, measurable, and sustainable.
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