Practice Abstract 2 – Delphi Study (OEAW-ITA)
Recent petitions in Austria call for larger supermarkets to donate excess food to charities or animal feed and introduce food origin labels, reflecting public concern.
In the ToNoWaste project's early stages, we collected insights on food waste prevention and reduction solutions and their sustainability potential. To achieve this, we conducted a Delphi study from beginning of March to End of April 2023, with just under 80 food system experts from Austria, Spain, Greece, and Sweden.
We proposed solutions in eight key areas identified in a participatory workshop: regionality, regulations, food production, logistics, sales, consumption, gastronomy, and education. Participants saw education, consumption, and regulation as having the greatest transformation potential. These align with the JRC (Joint Research Centre) categories: redistribution, food valorization, behavior change, supply chain efficiency, and governance. We asked participants to select projects for feasible implementation in the next five years. The following five solutions were chosen by over 90% of the respondents.
1. Improve food redistribution from retail to social organizations.
2. Develop educational initiatives and training.
3. Establish regional platforms for information exchange and logistics.
4. Enhance access to use-best-before date information.
5. Reassess and support food waste recycling in the production sector.
Regionality, product labeling, and food donations, as in the Austrian public petitions, are highly relevant.
Vienna, Graz, Valencia, Hälsingland, and Halandri are currently developing specific actions as part of the ToNoWaste project, contributing to a new assessment framework and promoting sustainability in these cities.
TOWARDS A NEW ZERO FOOD WASTE MINDSET BASED ON HOLISTIC ASSESSMENT
Ongoing | 2022-2027
- Main funding source
- Horizon Europe (EU Research and Innovation Programme)
- Geographical location
- Spain, Austria, Netherlands, Sweden, Greece