ZeroW Innovations on Food Loss and Waste

Innovation

9 living labs for zero food and waste

9 innovative Living Labs

Systemic Innovations Towards a Zero Food Waste Supply Chain

The global food system is a major contributor to climate change as it accounts for more than 30% of the global greenhouse gas emissions.

Approximately one third of the food produced is never consumed but either lost or wasted somewhere in the value chain.

This is a major problem that urgently calls for systemic innovation and the ZeroW project is working on developing just that through 9 living labs:

Factors affecting FLW

Research has identified a variety of factors affecting food loss and waste (FLW), including poor forecasting, demand-supply mismatch; inadequate harvesting, processing and logistics practices, low tolerance for “ugly” foods in retail, and problematic consumer buying habits.

Underpinning these factors, one can identify some of the main structural and behavioural lock-in effects of the current food system, including:

Missing/fragmented FLW data (arduous/inaccurate data collection, largely based on subjective assessments and varied FLW definitions, not supporting effective reduction strategies);
Limited food actor capabilities to reduce FLW especially in cases of diverse, seasonal & disruption-generated food surpluses or sub-standard products;
Inability to steer consumer buying behaviour towards reducing FLW at the critical point that the purchase occurs;
Understanding of packaging as an unavoidable secondary waste stream rather than a FLW-reducing opportunity;
Unbalanced (unjust) allocation of FLW innovation cost/benefits among food chain actors.

Multitude of solutions to make a real impact to FLW

Food waste cannot be contributed only to excessive consumer behaviour as has often been the dominant perception in the past.

The problems listed above show that the problem occurs throughout the entire value chain and a multitude of solutions must be developed and implemented to make a real impact.

Data for FLW reduction

One aspect that ZeroW will attempt to tackle is how to utilise data for FLW reduction.

To get a clear view of the amounts of waste along the food chain, we will outline a conceptual framework for measuring FLW and determining the economic effects.

Furthermore, we will work towards creating semantic interoperability which is the ability of computer systems to exchange data with unambiguous, shared meaning.

This will be done through a managed European 0FLW Data Space for the digital support needed for reducing FLW

9 Living Labs

ZeroW creates impact through the demonstration of innovative FLW reduction solutions in nine Living Labs along the real-life food chains to effectively address the multidimensional issue of FLW.

Systemic Innovation Living Labs

The methodology that ZeroW uses to coordinate our multi-organizational innovation process is the Living Lab approach.

It is focused on a systemic co-creation methodology that involves the full scope of food chain actors and beyond: introducing social and governance dimensions to industrial partners in a real-life setting.

ZeroW has built up 9 real-life Living Labs embedding systemic innovations with the potential to lead to fundamental changes in both social dimensions (values, regulations, attitudes) and technical dimensions (infrastructure, technology, tools, processes) and, most importantly, in the relations between them.

#1 FLW MONITORING AND ASSESSMENT >

#2 SUSTAINABLE AND SMART PACKAGING >

#3 WASTELESS GREENHOUSE SOLUTIONS >

#4 MOBILE FOOD VALORISATION AS A SERVICE >

#5 UGLY FOOD IDENTIFICATION >

#6 DATA DRIVEN PRODUCTION PROCESS CONTROL >

#7 EFFICIENT FOOD BANK NETWORKS >

#8 FLW VALORISATION THROUGH ALGAE PRODUCTION >

#9 INFORMING AND NUDGING CONSUMERS >

What will come out of the 9 Living Labs?

End products/services

#1 FLW monitoring & assessment

Open, data-driven IT platform for FLW monitoring & assessment.

#2 Innovative sustainable and smart packaging

Barrier and compostable packaging suitable for food contact; (b) Functional packaging based on a compartmentalised compostable tray retaining exudates liquids from fish and increasing quality; (c) App and freshness indicators for extending packaged fish shelf life and improving stock management at retail level.

#3 Wasteless greenhouse solutions

(a) Technology for greenhouse fruit & vegetable growth monitoring, ripeness assessment and yield forecasting (initially focused on tomatoes), based on novel ‘deep vision’ and data science techniques; (b) Technical solution for automated produce quality evaluation according to ‘cosmetic standards’ at the pre-harvest and harvest stages; (c) Software service for optimal harvest scheduling, yield planning and data integration throughout the food supply chain.

#4 Mobile food valorisation as a service

(a) Mobile processing unit as a service; (b) Healthy, tasteful products derived from saved food and vegetable waste biomass; (c) Deteriorating food auctioning service.

#5 Ugly food identification

(a) Multi-sensor platform with capacity of analysing and processing around 300,000 fruit/hour and with the possibility of classification in three different outputs based on quality and shelf-life parameters; (b) Data service platform to control input produce.

#6 Data driven production process control

Control and optimisation software platform for food production lines, to be offered through a Service Level Agreement or as a SaaS model.

#7 Food bank network

(a) Demand prediction tool for European regions and food banks to assess the expected number of food bank customers; (b) supply prediction tool for food banks; (c) handbook of all possible food waste reduction strategies that foodbanks can adopt; (d) decision support tool for waste reduction initiatives at food banks; (e) donation tool for donors to advise on products that are ready for donation.

#8 FLW valorisation through algae production

(a) In-store/in-warehouse food waste pre-treatment process; (b) new hermetic container for FLW pre-treated transportation in reverse logistics; FLW logistics optimisation.

#9 Informing and nudging consumers

(a) a label for meals, recipes & meal packages to inform the consumer about the meal’s nutritional value as well as its impact on FLW and other environmental factors, and information on how to buy and store food responsibly to prevent FLW; (b) an app to allow consumers to obtain these scores for their own recipes or even for complete diets; (c) new recipes, fresh meal packages & semi-prepared packets of ingredients, such as pre-cut vegetables developed to have a low impact on FLW, low environmental impact and high nutri-score.

Get more information
about the ZeroW project

A European project about systemic innovations for zero food waste.

More about ZeroW

ZeroW project

Work Package Objectives

Modelling FLW economics from F2F

WP1

To outline a conceptual framework for measuring the economic effects of FWL along the food chain.
To develop a high-level economic model encompassing the food supply chain actors and validate it by the Living Labs.
To quantitatively assess various FLW interventions by running simulations with the FLW model.

Work Package Leader: Dusan Drabik

0FLW
Data Space

WP2

To establish semantic interoperability through a managed European 0FLW Data Space for the digital support needed for reducing FLW.
To establish collaborative business and governance models for data sharing in 0FLW.
To establish a federating catalogue to ensure interoperability between data sources.
To support the SILLs in establishing interoperability, business models & governance.
To develop an integrated kit to ‘onboard’ 0FLW initiatives, both from ZeroW and non-ZeroW partners, during and after the project.

Work Package Leader: Frank Berkers

Data-driven near-zero FLW Smart Applications

WP3

To provide a suite of Data-driven Intelligence Services (see figure) consisting of 4 key components:

Big Data Infrastructural Services.
0FLW Application Enhancement and Integration Services in support of the SILLs solutions.
AI Analytics and Visualization Services supporting key aspects of FLW management.
SILL Actors Incentives Assessment and Optimisation Services.

Work Package Leader: Deirdre Kilbane

Systemic Innovation management & demonstration

WP4

To provide an enabling Living Lab environment for FLW Systemic Innovations to flourish.
To manage the SILL communities and steer their activities from ideation to demonstration, through learning feedback cycles.
To ensure a strong interaction between the SILLs and the impact assessment, scaling up, commercialisation and policy support activities of the project.
To ensure an evolutionary process of the SILLs from a baseline to a higher level of systemic innovation readiness.

Work Package Leader: Jovana Vlaskalin

Systemic Innovation assessment

WP5

To deliver a methodology for assessing FLW systemic innovations.
To assess the SILL impacts, risks, sustainability trade-offs & level of 'just' allocation.
To provide cluster-, place-, context- actor-, & gender-based consolidation & interpretation of results.

Work Package Leader: Debolina Paul

Fostering systemic innovation & building capacity

WP6

To support the scaling up of the FLW systemic innovation solutions and approaches in EU regions with high potential.
To organise capacity building activities for food actors & consumers aiming for increased value (economic, environmental, social) from FLW innovations.
To build up regional specific upscaling strategies to stimulate investment in FLW reduction by private and public actors.

Work Package Leader: Isabeau Coopmans

Exploitation, sustainability & commercialisation of project outputs

WP7

To advance ZeroW’s innovative solutions commercially.
To protect the commercially sensitive and strategic IP through 3 formal Patent filings; (3) to formulate a business- and market-relevant exploitation strategy with the end goal of self-sustaining revenues and a sustainable commercial trajectory; (4) to anchor the exploitation, business models, licencing models and go-to-market strategy through robust market sector analyses and commercial solution alignment imperatives.

Work Package Leader: Kata Trifkovic

Policy recommendations for just transition to near-zero FLW

WP8

To provide alternative transition pathways towards near-zero FLW.
To define a 'just' transition pathway to near-zero FLW and intermediate targets.
To deliver short-, medium-term policy recommendations.

Work Package Leader: Antoine D’haese

Cooperation with EC services & other
projects and/or initiatives

WP9

To deliver an Action Plan for stakeholder & initiative engagement and cooperation with EC services.
To establish collaborative ecosystems with relevant stakeholders in different frameworks.
To engage with EU, National and global initiatives on a dialogue towards FLW policy, regulatory and commercialisation opportunities.

Work Package Leader: Angele Tasse

Visit ZeroW systemic innovation living labs