FoodE · Project

Digital Tools Helping Cities Build and Manage Sustainable Local Food Systems

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Imagine every city in Europe trying to figure out how to get fresher, more sustainable food to its residents — but each city is reinventing the wheel alone. FoodE brought together 27 organizations across 9 countries to build a shared toolkit: a decision-support tool that helps city planners and food businesses evaluate which local food strategies actually work, a sustainability self-assessment tool, and an app that connects everyone in the local food chain. Think of it as a GPS for cities navigating the complicated route from farm to fork.

By the numbers

consortium partners across Europe

countries where tools were developed and tested

industry partners validating real-world use

SMEs involved in development

total project deliverables produced

demo tools: decision support, self-assessment, and online app

The business problem

What needed solving

Cities across Europe are trying to build sustainable local food systems but lack the data and tools to evaluate which approaches actually deliver environmental, economic, and social benefits. Each city ends up starting from scratch, with no reliable way to compare food sourcing options, measure sustainability trade-offs, or connect the many players in their local food chain.

The solution

What was built

FoodE produced three key tools: a pilot decision support tool that helps evaluate food products, technical solutions, and investment options across multiple sustainability dimensions; a self-assessment tool built on extensive life cycle assessment data (environmental, economic, and social indicators) from real pilots; and an online app prototype designed to mobilize and connect food system users for easy interaction.

Audience

Who needs this

City and regional food policy officers designing local food strategiesFood distribution companies evaluating sustainable sourcing optionsAgriTech startups building local food marketplace platformsSupermarket chains with local sourcing sustainability commitmentsUrban farming enterprises scaling operations across multiple cities

Business applications

Who can put this to work

Urban food retail and distribution

mid-size

Target: Regional food distributors or urban grocery chains sourcing locally

If you are a regional food distributor struggling to evaluate which local suppliers and food products offer the best balance of cost, environmental impact, and social benefit — this project developed a pilot decision support tool that assesses different food products, technical solutions, and investment options across environmental, economic, and social conditions. It was tested across 9 European countries with 27 partner organizations.

Municipal food policy and planning

enterprise

Target: City councils or regional authorities with food strategy mandates

If you are a city authority trying to design a local food strategy but lack data on what actually works — this project built a self-assessment tool for evaluating the sustainability of city and regional food systems, integrating life cycle assessment with economic and social indicators. The tool was developed and piloted across multiple European cities with 8 industry partners validating real-world applicability.

AgriTech and food system startups

SME

Target: Food-tech startups building local food marketplace or logistics platforms

If you are a food-tech startup building a platform to connect local producers with urban consumers but need validated data on sustainability trade-offs — this project created an online app prototype that mobilizes and interconnects users across the food chain, plus a comprehensive life cycle costing dataset covering environmental, economic, and social indicators from pilots in 9 countries.

Frequently asked

Quick answers

What would it cost to license or adopt these tools?

The project was publicly funded under Horizon 2020 as an Innovation Action, so core tools and methodologies are likely available under open or favorable licensing terms. Specific commercial licensing arrangements would need to be discussed with the coordinator at Università di Bologna. The app prototype was made available online during the project.

Can these tools scale beyond the pilot cities?

Yes — the project objective explicitly includes upscaling outputs to other EU cities. The tools were designed and tested across 9 countries (Belgium, Germany, Spain, France, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Romania, Slovenia) with 27 partners, providing a broad validation base. The self-assessment tool and decision support tool are built to be context-adaptable.

Who owns the intellectual property?

IP is held by the consortium led by Università di Bologna under Horizon 2020 rules. With 8 industry partners and 7 SMEs in the consortium, there may be joint ownership on specific tools. Contact the coordinator for licensing terms on the decision support tool and app prototype.

Is this compliant with EU food and sustainability regulations?

The project aligns with EU Sustainable Development Goals and was funded under the CE-SFS-24-2019 topic focused on sustainable food systems. The life cycle assessment methodology integrates environmental, economic, and social indicators consistent with EU sustainability reporting requirements.

How long before we could deploy this in our city or company?

The project ran from 2020 to 2024 and produced 56 deliverables including working prototypes. The app prototype is available online and the decision support tool was piloted. Integration into an existing city food strategy or company operations could begin relatively quickly with coordinator support.

Does this integrate with existing city planning or food logistics systems?

The decision support tool was designed to assess different food products, technical and organizational solutions, and investment options — suggesting it can complement existing planning processes. The online app was built for easy accessibility and immediate interaction, indicating low integration barriers.

Consortium

Who built it

The FoodE consortium is large and diverse: 27 partners across 9 European countries, with a healthy mix of 6 universities, 4 research organizations, 8 industry players, and 9 other entities (likely NGOs, city authorities, and associations). The 30% industry ratio and 7 SMEs signal that this was not purely academic — real businesses shaped the tools. Led by Università di Bologna, one of Europe's oldest and most established universities, the project had strong coordination capacity. The geographic spread across Western, Southern, Northern, and Eastern Europe (Belgium, Germany, Spain, France, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Romania, Slovenia) means the tools were stress-tested in very different food system contexts, which is valuable for any company or city looking to adopt them.

ALMA MATER STUDIORUM - UNIVERSITA DI BOLOGNACoordinator · IT
COMUNE DI BOLOGNAparticipant · IT
ARCTUR RACUNALNISKI INZENIRING DOOparticipant · SI
ILS - INSTITUT FUR LANDES- UND STADTENTWICKLUNGSFORSCHUNG GGMBHparticipant · DE
UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DI NAPOLI FEDERICO IIparticipant · IT
STICHTING METABOLIC INSTITUTEparticipant · NL
AJUNTAMENT DE SABADELLparticipant · ES
INSTITUT NATIONAL DES SCIENCES ET INDUSTRIES DU VIVANT ET DE L'ENVIRONNEMENT - AGROPARISTECHparticipant · FR
UNIVERSIDAD DE LA LAGUNAparticipant · ES
NOLDE ERWINparticipant · DE
FACHHOCHSCHULE SUEDWESTFALENparticipant · DE
UNIVERSITAT AUTONOMA DE BARCELONAparticipant · ES
Comune di Napoliparticipant · IT
ASOCIATIA MAI BINEparticipant · RO
ILS RESEARCH GGMBHthirdparty · DE
INSTITUT NATIONAL DE RECHERCHE POUR L'AGRICULTURE, L'ALIMENTATION ET L'ENVIRONNEMENTthirdparty · FR
NABOLAGSHAGER ASparticipant · NO
HAGUE CORPORATE AFFAIRS BVparticipant · NL
STICHTING WAGENINGEN RESEARCHparticipant · NL

How to reach the team

Coordinator is Università di Bologna (Italy). Use SciTransfer's matchmaking service to get a direct introduction to the project lead.

Order a report on this consortium See ALMA MATER STUDIORUM - UNIVERSITA DI BOLOGNA profile →

Next steps

Talk to the team behind this work.

Want to explore how FoodE's city food system tools could work for your organization? SciTransfer can arrange a direct introduction to the research team and help you evaluate fit. Contact us for a one-page project brief.

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