Project description
Preparing food systems for sustainability
Food systems worldwide face significant challenges due to oversupply and overproduction, putting them at risk of collapse, an issue made clear by the 2019-21 COVID pandemic. To avoid such a crisis, businesses must rethink their models and reduce wasteful practices, but change is difficult when profit margins are tight. Supported by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the FOODRED project explores how corporate boards and executives can influence the adoption of more sustainable practices, focusing on waste reduction and circular economy principles. The project also looks at the role of women in leadership and how better economic and social governance can drive long-term growth and responsibility, offering insights for policy-making and corporate transformation.
Objective
FOODRED examines whether food systems can be rethought and activities that lead to oversupply and overproduction reduced or refused. This would require boards of major food companies to direct their businesses to make substantial changes, which is difficult when profit margins are very narrow in many food businesses. This would require leadership from Boards and Executive Officers, and so there is a need to understand how Boards and Executives might influence the adoption of more radical 'reduce' and 'refuse' principles in their corporations, and which persons in those roles have the greater influence to drive change. Unless businesses are prepared to consider changing the prevailing business models, the food systems will be vulnerable to collapse in supply even more damaging than that seen in Europe during the 2019-21 Covid pandemic. We ask what it would take for corporations to explore the potential for increased profits through savings and for enhanced corporate responsibility through reducing wasteful activities, and which members of the Board are likely to drive that change. There is also the question of whether better Economic and Social Governance (ESG) would enhance the reputation and therefore drive customer growth, if these more difficult steps were taken. Furthermore, FOODRED would examine the role of women board members and executives in the drive for CE principles within firms, investigating whether there are links between SDG12 and SDG5.5.2. This also tests whether the OECD findings on the roles of women in achieving a CE are evident at the highest levels in corporations. There are very few studies that currently address these questions and as well as contributing to academic knowledge, our work has high potential for making a contribution to policy making in corporations, government and supra-international level for those looking for how to persuade corporations to do business for purpose rather than profit.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- social sciences sociology governance
- medical and health sciences health sciences public health epidemiology pandemics
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2024-PF-01
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
PO1 2EG PORTSMOUTH
United Kingdom
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.