The current food industry is one of the biggest drivers of biodiversity loss and accounts for a third of global greenhouse gas emissions. But it doesn’t have to be this way.
How to build a better food system
Our Big Food Redesign report shows that applying the principles of the circular economy across all dimensions of food design – from product concept, through ingredient selection and sourcing, to packaging – unlocks substantial environmental, economic, and yield benefits. This is circular design for food:
Circular Design for Food Framework
It’s important that circular design for food principles are ‘baked in’ from the outset, not ‘sprinkled on’ afterwards. The circular economycircular economyA systems solution framework that tackles global challenges like climate change, biodiversity loss, waste, and pollution. It is based on three principles, driven by design: eliminate waste and pollution, circulate products and materials (at their highest value), and regenerate nature. is not about making small, incremental changes to our current system — it’s about completely transforming the way the entire system works.
The Big Food Redesign Challenge
Our research suggested that applying circular design for food principles could help address the climate crisis and improve the biodiversity of landscapes but we wanted to see if it could be done for real. The Big Food Redesign Challenge proved it can.
The Challenge has been a catalyst for transformative ideas, demonstrating the compelling rationale for businesses to embrace circular design for food. From enhanced supply chain resilience to building market opportunities, it has shown that making considered decisions about ingredient selection and production methods enables food businesses to play a leading role in creating a food system that supports nature to thrive.
