The EU project FOODRUS was presented at the stand of ACR+ at the Circular Economy Hotspot 2023 in Dublin. FOODRUS seeks to create resilient food systems in Europe through circular solutions that prevent food losses and waste. The project is spanned across eight European regions and it will test 23 circular solutions through diverse forms of collaborative innovation.
The Circular Economy Hotspot 2023 took place between 30 May and 1 June 2023 in Dublin, Ireland. The Hotspot featured 5 thematic Deep Dive Workshops. The activities of FOODRUS were highly relevant especially for three of these thematic areas, namely:
Food Systems
- Three FOODRUS pilots focus on food value chains.
- 8 FOODRUS webinars organized by the University of Copenhagen on Sustainable Food Systems
- FOODRUS is in the process of identifying legal and economic barriers to food loss and waste (FLW) prevention in the EU. A policy brief will be produced on the findings. FOODRUS identifies capacity building strategies for circular food.
- FOODRUS designs 8 modules of E-learning on FLW prevention and reduction.
Social Enterprises
- FOODRUS showcases social enterprises that are promoting the redistribution of food surplus to avoid food waste.
- FOODRUS is working on a policy briefing looking at taxation schemes that apply to food surplus redistribution and food waste generation avoidance via the PAYT system.
- Identification of good practices for sustainable food systems in a circular economy perspective
Design and Manufacturing
- FOODRUS identifies business innovations to reduce food waste and increase food surplus redistribution.
- FOODRUS develops a multi-criteria sustainability assessment model to quantify the environmental footprint of food supply chains.
Several Hotspot participants showed interest in the project and received further information from the ACR+ team.