PROJECT DESCRIPTION
BACKGROUND
The food system is still having a huge impact on the environment, both in terms of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (in particular, CO2) and its environmental footprint. As stated by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), during the 2007-2016 period, the food system was responsible for 21-37% of total GHG emissions (originating from human activity), becoming a major driver of climate change. This estimate includes:
- emissions of 10–12% from crop and livestock activities on the farm
- 8-10% from land use and land-use change, including deforestation and peatland degradation
- 5-10% from supply chain activities, including GHG emissions from food loss and waste.
If current dietary patterns and food systems remain the same, this will cause increases in GHG emissions and other environmental impacts (loss of biodiversity, soil degradation, pollution and water use, impacts on public health).
Although there have been many initiatives to raise awareness to reduce food sector environmental impacts, the transition towards a zero-emissions food system still has a long way to go. There is a need for government actions to influence consumer and private sector knowledge, attitudes and behaviours.
The FAO has recognised the role of chefs as agents of change, due to their growing influence on consumer choices and on shaping food culture, in part thanks to their presence on popular television programmes and social media channels. This important role of chefs is also one of the key lessons coming from the Italian Su-Eatable LIFE and LIFE Foster projects: the empowerment of chefs, placed between the cultivation-transformation phases, on food and consumers is key in starting a behavioural change in the food system and the transition to a zero-emission economy by 2050.
OBJECTIVES
The LIFE CLIMATE SMART CHEFS aimed to enable chefs to better promote a climate-smart, sustainable and healthy food system in the EU. This would be achieved by mobilising the capacities of different stakeholders and incorporating new strategies of awareness raising, communication and education, with the aim of ensuring more sustainable and nutritious diets in the EU.
The project’s specific objectives were:
- awareness raising on climate and environmental matters by involving EU chefs and enhancing their role in promoting climate-smart, nutritious and affordable diets, to contribute to improving public health and tackling food waste and its costs, and as communicators towards customers, staff and stakeholders to change behaviour and reduce climate and water impacts
- fostering the dissemination at EU level of information on the role of food in climate change and environmental challenges
With reference to EU policy areas, the project aimed to incentivise behavioural change and help mainstream GHG emission reductions and resource efficiency actions in the food sector. The project results were expected to feed into the policy debate on Climate and Food (F2F Strategy), with the LIFE Climate Smart Chefs Vision2030 aimed at policy-makers.
RESULTS
The project LIFE CLIMATE SMART CHEFS successfully enabled chefs to better promote a climate-smart, sustainable and healthy food system in the EU. This has been achieved on 3 main levels:
- on a concrete level, by implementing a combination of online and in-person high-level training courses (HLC) for chefs, by developing digital tools to design climate smart menus and recipes, and by establishing a LIFE CSC Award for chefs and local initiatives
- on the level of governance and awareness raising, by mobilising the capacities of different stakeholders and incorporating new strategies of communication and education, with the aim of ensuring more sustainable, affordable and nutritious diets in the EU
- on the level of future sustainability, by creating a LIFE CSC EU-wide network, made up of 15 chefs' associations, across all 27 EU Member States that declared their intent to actively drive change and disseminate the project vision also beyond the project’s duration
With reference to EU policy areas, the project incentivised behavioural change and helped mainstream GHG emission reductions and resource efficiency actions in the food sector. The project results fed into the policy debate on Climate and Food (F2F Strategy), with the LIFE Climate Smart Chefs Vision2030 aimed at policy makers.
The project’s specific results were:
- application of a sound methodology to monitor the short term environmental/climate benefits as well as of a robust scientific assessment of results and of potential long-term benefits, showing that the chefs involved in the courses reduced the carbon and water footprint of their recipes by a mean of 27% and 25%, respectively
- achievement of significant values of environmental/climate impact, quantified as a reduction of >1.6k tonnes of CO2equivalent/year and over 2 million m3/year in water resource consumption for food production, with a potential increase up to 623 000 tonnes of CO2 eq/year and 840 million m3 water/year in the long-term
- several thousand chefs informed on the project aims and activities
- 164 chefs trained on all issues involved in a healthy and sustainable diet, that takes into account CO2 emissions, water use, reduction of food waste, nutritional value and the cost of diets
- 132 chefs took part in the LIFE Climate Smart Chefs Award for applying the low-emissions and healthy diets in their restaurants
- 2 112 chefs using the online LIFE Climate Smart Chefs Tool to account for the environmental impacts of their menus, besides nutritional values and costs
- 18 local initiatives led by chefs involved in the LIFE Climate Smart Chefs Award for successful initiatives on the issues involved (food, climate, water resources, nutrition, food waste)
- more than 100 stakeholders and policy makers involved in the creation of the LIFE Climate Smart Chefs Vision2030
- 1 035 stakeholders in the food sector informed about LIFE Climate Smart Chefs
- more than 500 000 people reached by information, dissemination and awareness raising on the project activities
