WP3: Actor-Level Footprinting

Lead Partner: ULEI
Objectives: This WP aims to address SO1, SO2, and SO5. We do this by (i) identifying high-impact consumer and producer groups in EU food systems otherwise ignored by national-scale food system footprinting, (ii) assessing the trade-offs of sustainable EU food transition pathways from a multi-actor perspective, and (iii) quantifying environmental gains of scaling novel food solutions (WP4) within the EU.

Tasks

T3.1: Integrate actor-level food consumption and production data to FABIO Lead: ULEI (16PM). Effort by contributors: ETHZ (2PM), NILU (1PM), UOY (1PM). Timing: M1-9. To identify consumer groups, we will use micro expenditure data from the Household Budget Survey to distinguish consumption patterns of households by income group and NUTS-2 regions. Equivalent disaggregation of macroeconomic agricultural production accounts using agricultural census data will be undertaken to distinguish the contribution of farmers to national food production by farm type, revenue, size and NUTS-2 region.

T3.2: Benchmark actor-level environmental footprints in European food system Lead: ULEI (16PM). Effort by contributors: SEI (6PM), ETHZ (2PM), INTEC (2PM). Timing: M9-23. To harmonise impact and actor-level data, LCIs generated in WP1 and validated in WP2 will be aligned by concordance to sectors present within the chosen MRIO database(s). The contribution of food consumption and production groups to the environmental impacts of EU food systems (e.g. climate, pollution and biodiversity) will be benchmarked at regional (NUTS-2), national, EU and global scales. The nutritional quality and socio-economic impacts of diets will also be evaluated to assess synergies and trade-offs with environmental sustainability. Network analysis will complement ranking of groups’ (actors and regions) impacts to identify existing best practices and key targets for improvement actions. This task is linked to the following milestones: MS3.1 (M23).

T3.3: Consumer survey to develop EU food consumption futures for EU contries Lead: GLOBE (10PM). Effort by contributors: ULEI (15PM). Timing: M23-28. To understand consumer preference or opposition towards certain food solutions, a new quantitative consumer survey will be carried out to explore the likely uptake of various innovative food solutions and the trade-offs consumers would make. A representative sample of n=1,000 will be obtained in each EU member state with population >5m, stratified by sub-groups in EU food consumption microdata and national food intake surveys of non-EU countries, aligned with Task 3.1. Contributes to: D3.1 (M28).

T3.4: Producer survey to develop EU food production storylines of scalable mitigation Lead: UOXF (15PM). Effort by contributors: ULEI (15PM). Timing: M1-21. The HESTIA field trials will conduct baseline LCAs of ~1000 EU pig, dairy and/or arable farms, and questionnaires with farmers to understand their preferences and behaviours. Farmers will be given access to an advice engine, which will suggest actions likely to be most effective at reducing their impacts compiled from other farmers in the cohort and a meta-analysis. We will use this to assess farmer willingness to adopt a broad range of specific practices. We will conduct surveys with farmers to understand what incentives or support is needed for farmers to adopt high-impact practices with low adoption rates. The findings from the surveys and trials will be used to develop transition scenarios (Task 3.5). This farmer cohort will form the basis for the Randomised Control Trial (RCT), where we will quantify actual adoption and change in farm environmental outcomes (task 4.8). Contributes to: D3.2 (M20).

T3.5: Model EU food futures from a multi-actor perspective Lead: ULEI (15PM). Timing: M21-35. Distinct food system scenario storylines of consumers (Task 3.3) and producers (Task 3.4) will be used to parameterise the demand- and supply-side behaviours in relation to different improvement domains: e.g. i) food loss and waste, ii) dietary change, iii) sustainable and secure sourcing, and iv) agri-food innovation (including changes induced by provision of LCA data to farmers, task 3.4). Based on these storylines, we will highlight key opportunities for reducing environmental impacts and assess trade-offs and synergies between food system goals (e.g. food and nutrient security, diet affordability, and climate-compatibility) and different actor groups.

T3.6: Tallying the environmental gains of novel food solutions at scale Lead: ULEI (15PM). Effort by contributors: UOXF (5PM), ETHZ (4PM), ZHAW (3PM), NILU (2PM), UOY (1PM). Timing: M35-48. EU-wide assessment of promising food system solutions identified in WP4 case studies (e.g. seaweed, in vitro meat, and spices), using standardised product and sector-specific effect sizes (from Task 4.8), will be undertaken to assess their impact mitigation potential for different European country when adopted at scale. Consumer and producer data (Task 3.3, 3.4, and 4.7), alongside industry-level insights on novel food solutions (Task 5.5), will inform adoption rates for consumer- and farmer-specific solutions proposed. Contributes to: D3.3 (M44).

Milestones

Table 3.1d: List of Milestones

Number	Name	Work Package No.	Lead Beneficiary	Means of Verification	Due Date (in months)
MS3.1	Actor-level dataset about the environmental footprints of EU food producers and consumers	3	ULEI	Data from Tasks 3.1 and 3.2 delivered to lead of Task 3.3.	23

Deliverables

Number	Relative Number in WP	Name	Lead Beneficiary	Type	Dissemination Level	Due Date (in months)
D3.1	1	Consumer survey report	GLOBE	R	PU	28
D3.2	2	Producer survey data	UOXF	R	PU	20
D3.3	3	EU food system scenario analysis	ULEI	R	PU	44