Each year, a substantial amount of food loss (FL) is generated at the primary production stage; FL have negative impacts on the society, contributing to food insecurity, depleting the environment, generating avoidable GHG emissions and creating pressure on land and water. Currently, key challenges hampering the reduction of FL are: regulatory challenges (e.g., exclusion of FL in the EU Commission Decision 2019/1597), technical challenges (e.g., lack of common measurement methodology, lack of cost-effective measurement tools), scientific challenges (e.g., lack of understanding of drivers) and social challenges (e.g., lack of skills of the different stakeholders involved). FOLOU is willing to contribute in overcoming these challenges, being the main objective of the project to set up the necessary mechanisms to: (i) measure and estimate (robust and harmonized methodology), (ii) monitor and report (national and EU FL registries), and (iii) assess the magnitude and impact of FL. Additionally, FOLOU will also work to assure the appropriate knowledge transfer and adoption of the project outcomes by the key targeted stakeholders: primary producers, retailers, consumers, policy makers and researchers. FOLOU will structure its activities in a comprehensive action plan revolving around four levers of change: 1#Understanding by working on collecting and curing FL available data, by working on understanding the drivers behind food losses and by assessing the impact of these losses; 2#Measuring by developing new cost-effective tools for the measurement/estimation of FL and a robust and harmonized methodology; 3#Training by providing tailored trainings to different stakeholders; 4#Adopting by preparing recommendations and creating a twinning programme. With a duration of 4 years, FOLOU gathers 16 multidisciplinary partners from 10 countries joining forces around a common challenge: Preventing and reducing the amount of food intended for human consumption that is eventually lost.

Aligned with the priorities of the European Green Deal, and the Farm-to- Fork strategy, combating food waste stands as a cornerstone for fostering a fair, healthy and environmentally friendly food system. WASTEWISE has been conceived to design realistic pathways of food waste prevention and reduction to deliver co-benefits for climate change mitigation , biodiversity and circularity WASTEWISE employs a holistic, multi-actor approach across the food supply chain, to measure environmental impact of food waste prevention and reduction propose evident-based measures and drive systemic shifts for sustainable food consumption, poverty alleviation, and environmental sustainability in prioritized supply chains. The ambition of WASTEWISE is to deepen the existing knowledge concerning the real extent of environmental impacts that can be achieved through food waste prevention and reduction efforts, and how they can accelerate the progress towards EU’s climate targets. In doing so, WASTEWISE will analyse food waste data, develop reliable methods to assess environmental impacts, and conduct policy analysis, to inform evidence-based and realistic scenarios for food waste prevention and reduction. By these evidence-based insights and pragmatic scenarios, WASTEWISE equips policy makers with key information and recommendation and the instruments to accelerate progress towards climate targets. The WASTEWISE consortium comprises all relevant scientific and technical expertise spanning FW quantification, environmental impact assessment, innovation and policy advice. Supported by stakeholders through Multi-Actors Platforms (ministries, companies, associations, NGOs), it ensures inclusive engagement and dissemination of results, fostering broad uptake across cultural and socio-economic contexts.

CULTIVATE uses a multi-actor approach to build sustainability and resilience in urban and peri-urban areas through a ground-breaking online social innovation support platform – The Food Sharing Compass. Built with and for five key stakeholder groups – food sharing initiatives, policy makers, food supply actors, researchers and citizens – the platform will make it possible to navigate diverse food sharing landscapes and cultures, in order to understand, develop, replicate, expand and strengthen sustainable food sharing in Europe, supporting the European Green Deal’s Action Plan, Food 2030, the Farm to Fork Strategy and the EU’s climate change ambitions. The open access Food Sharing Compass will comprise five innovative tools: The SHARECITY200 Database, an interactive automated mapping, tracking and monitoring database of food sharing initiatives that will add more than 100 new locations to the SHARECITY100 Database [https://sharecity.ie/research/sharecity100-database/]; The Food Sharing Calculator, which enables comprehensive and holistic assessment of the costs, benefits and impacts of food sharing for all stakeholders; The Menu of Good Governance, which provides options for developing policy making which facilitates sustainable food sharing; The Library of Citizen Engagement, which supports establishing, expanding and maintaining inclusive participation in sustainable food sharing; The sustainable food sharing Community of Practice, which will be established through a bespoke Amplification Programme to optimise the potential for mutual learning and exploitation of the Food Sharing Compass well beyond the project. In essence, CULTIVATE will establish the EU as the global frontrunner in the development of resilient and inclusive food sharing economies, identifying drivers and implementation gaps and challenging existing theories and practices which currently constrain sustainable food sharing.