This study examines whether young consumers translate environmental awareness into climate-friendly dietary behavior by combining individual-level dietary carbon-footprint calculations with survey-based measures of sustainability awareness. Primary data were collected from 400 undergraduate students at Bursa Uludağ University, Türkiye, during April-June 2025. Dietary carbon footprints were estimated by matching self-reported consumption frequencies for selected food groups with emission coefficients drawn from the literature (Poore and Nemecek, 2018; FAO, 2013; Ritchie and Roser, 2021). The empirical strategy integrates descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, ANOVA and post-hoc tests, multivariate analysis, and exploratory factor analysis to identify the behavioral and awareness dimensions of responsible consumption. The average daily dietary carbon footprint was calculated as 5.15 kg CO2-eq per capita. The results show that animal-based foods, particularly red meat and poultry, are the dominant contributors to dietary emissions. Male students exhibit significantly higher carbon footprints than female students, mainly because of greater consumption of animal-based and convenience foods. Age-related differences are more limited, although fish-related emissions differ significantly between the 18-24 and 25-34 age groups. The factor analysis indicates that environmental awareness is multidimensional, with general sustainability attitudes, knowledge-oriented awareness, behavioral awareness, and personal food-waste practices emerging as distinct components. Despite relatively high awareness of local consumption and food-waste prevention, the findings reveal a persistent awareness-behavior gap: students’ stated concern for sustainability does not consistently translate into low-carbon dietary choices. By providing micro-level evidence from Türkiye, the study contributes to the literature on cleaner and responsible consumption, sustainable lifestyles, and climate-change mitigation through food choices. The findings suggest that universities can play a central role in reducing dietary carbon footprints by combining sustainability education with affordable plant-based options, food-waste prevention initiatives, eco-labeling, and gender-sensitive behavioral interventions.