Back to search

TEKNOKONVERGENS-Teknologikonvergens - grensesprengende forskning og radikal innovasjon

Building REsponsibility And Developing Innovative Strategies For Tackling Food Waste

Alternative title: Bygge ansvarlighet og utvikle innovative strategier for å takle matsvinn

Awarded: NOK 10.0 mill.

The alarming scale of food waste puts this issue among the most pressing global problems. It has been estimated that at least 1/3 of the food grown worldwide is lost before or wasted while reaching the consumer. Reducing the levels of food waste is one of the most tangible Sustainable Development Goals with the Target 12.3 calling for halving per capita global food waste by 2030. While this goal is widely accepted, the tools require wider research and reflection. The aim of the BREAD project was to analyze food waste reduction as an important issue for responsible research and innovation (RRI). The research looked at three levels: - governance frameworks designed to reduce food waste, - individual companies and food industry joint practices to target food waste, - and finally at the business/consumer interface. BREAD provided an in-depth analysis of the emergence and evolution of Norway’s food waste reduction governance. It further took a comparative perspective to explore national innovative governance approaches such as those taken by Italy, France, and the UK. The study of company-level innovation focused on Norwegian companies through the industry association Matvett. It promoted Responsible Research and Innovation practices focused on food waste reductions by conducting surveys, direct company interviews and specific company workshops. Together with the leading food industries, NORSUS and Matvett on behalf of the BREAD project elaborated the 10 principles - An industry Roadmap for reducing food waste launched at Arendalsuka 2022. In addition, the project looked at solutions involving citizens and the societal responsibility of the consumers by looking at digital technology innovations, food banks’ redistribution work, food blogs and food waste narrative in the CSR reports. Here it collaborated mainly with the REMARC Responsible Management Research Centre/University of Pisa and with the Norwegian NGO Matsentralen. Citizen Forums on food waste have been organized in all partner locations: Oslo, Fredrikstad and Pisa. The project generated both scientific and wider audience contributions and facilitated learning and dialogue for more food waste reductions. BREAD leaves many deliverables that will be further used and built upon in more ambitious food waste reduction work.

The BREAD project has generated new research on food waste and created new platforms of dialogue related to more ambitious food waste reductions. It helped identify the policy context of food waste and looked at food waste governance issues from a comparative perspective. It further helped to bridge the scholarly perspective of Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) and actual food companies’ practices. It studied companies’ CSR reports to trace the food waste discourse and explain the likelihood of food waste reduction work and reporting. It also looked at the consumer perspective, analyzing consumer responsibility for food waste reduction among students, studying the pandemic’s effect on food redistribution, digital technologies on food waste and food blogs. The project team’s collaboration with food companies and food banks brought together various professional environments, promoting dialogue and cooperation around more ambitious food waste reduction measures. The outcomes of the project are relevant for reaching the SDG 12.3 target on halving food waste. Its findings are also directly relevant for Norwegian authorities and public debate, to which the researchers contributed by co-production process involving food industry companies and eventually by bringing stakeholders together and initiating the ‘10 principles - an industry roadmap for reducing food waste together’ at Norway’s most important policy meeting - Arendalsuka 2022. It further created important research-based impact by organizing workshops for the companies, university students and the general public.

Avoiding food waste – which is an economic, social, political and most importantly moral problem – is at the heart of food sector’s societal responsibility. While the goal of reducing and avoiding the wasting of food is broadly accepted, the questions how best to do it, with what tools, at what costs, and who is responsible for conducting and overseeing responsible innovation in the food sector – require reflection. This project seeks to gather the necessary knowledge about effective and efficient solutions that the Norwegian food sector can implement, adopting a broad governance perspective to the grand societal challenge of food waste. For this, we propose to work across scales and look at responsible innovation on the level of policies (providing the context in which RRI occurs), at the level of companies, and finally, at the business/consumer interface. The total amount of food waste in Norway for the entire value chain was 68.7 kg per inhabitant in 2015, worth 20 billion NOK and equalling 978 000 tonnes of CO2e. What can be done to accelerate the industry’s and national actions targeting food waste? The BREAD project is interested in diagnosing the obstacles for responsible innovation in the food sector and identifying innovation potential that can be unlocked. Our study will be conducted at 3 levels: of policies, firms and on the meeting point of individual consumers and food industry actors. This is reflected in the organization of the project, with 3 Work Packages covering these levels and the fourth aimed at a learning process at Integration. They ask 4 questions: 1. How can European regulatory experiences enhance responsible innovation in Norway’s food sector? 2. How can best CSR practices & RRI experiences be scaled-up? 3. How can consumer perceptions of (co)responsibility in the food sector inform companies responsible innovation? 4. How to integrate all RRI dimensions to unlock multidirectional learning and food waste reduction innovation?

Publications from Cristin

No publications found

Funding scheme:

TEKNOKONVERGENS-Teknologikonvergens - grensesprengende forskning og radikal innovasjon

Funding Sources

Thematic Areas and Topics

Delportefølje KvalitetDelportefølje InternasjonaliseringLTP3 Høy kvalitet og tilgjengelighetInternasjonaliseringInternasjonaliseringInternasjonalt prosjektsamarbeidUtviklingsarbeidAnvendt forskningDelportefølje Forskning og innovasjon (forskning på)GrunnforskningBransjer og næringerBransjer og næringerFiskeri og havbrukFNs BærekraftsmålLTP3 Fagmiljøer og talenterBransjer og næringerNæringsmiddelindustriBransjer og næringerLandbrukKlimarelevant forskningPortefølje Banebrytende forskningFNs BærekraftsmålMål 12 Ansvarlig forbruk og produksjonForskning og innovasjonLTP3 Samfunnssikkerhet og beredskapPolitikk- og forvaltningsområderJustis og rettsvesenFNs BærekraftsmålMål 2 Utrydde sultLTP3 Samfunnsikkerhet, sårbarhet og konfliktMatGlobal matsikkerhetBioøkonomiFornyelse og innovasjon i offentlig sektorMatMatTrygg verdikjedeBioøkonomiØvrig bioøkonomiLTP3 Et kunnskapsintensivt næringsliv i hele landetPolitikk- og forvaltningsområderSkog, landbruk og matBransjer og næringerMiljø - NæringsområdeLTP3 Innovasjon i stat og kommuneResponsible Research & InnovationRRI Utviklings- og prosessorienteringDelportefølje Et velfungerende forskningssystemLTP3 Klima, miljø og energiLTP3 Bioøkonomi og forvaltningPolitikk- og forvaltningsområderForskningLTP3 Styrket konkurransekraft og innovasjonsevnePolitikk- og forvaltningsområderMiljø, klima og naturforvaltningPolitikk- og forvaltningsområderPortefølje ForskningssystemetPolitikk- og forvaltningsområderNæring og handelPortefølje InnovasjonPortefølje Mat og bioressurserResponsible Research & InnovationResponsible Research & InnovationRRI Medvirkning