SciTransfer
FoodSHIFT2030 · Project

Practical Tools to Help Cities and Food Companies Shift to Sustainable Procurement

foodPilotedTRL 6
foodshift2030.eu

Imagine you run a city cafeteria or a catering company and you know you should be buying more sustainable food — but you have no idea how to measure what's actually "sustainable" or how to get citizens on board. This project set up 9 real-world labs across European cities where they built and tested practical tools: a scoring system that rates food suppliers on sustainability, a toolkit for transitioning procurement, and a platform for creating new green food jobs. Think of it as a GPS for cities and food businesses navigating the shift from meat-heavy, high-carbon menus to plant-forward, locally sourced ones — tested in 5 city-regions with real procurement data.

By the numbers
9
Accelerator Labs operated across European city-regions
27
Enabler Labs established for replication and scale-up
5
City-regions where kitchen procurement tools were tested
34
Consortium partners across the project
13
Countries represented in the consortium
11
SMEs involved in the project
4
Minimum knowledge exchange webinars held
The business problem

What needed solving

Cities and food service companies are under growing pressure to make their food procurement more sustainable and climate-friendly, but they lack practical, tested tools to measure what "sustainable" actually means across their supply chains. Without a scoring system or transition roadmap, well-intentioned sustainability pledges remain vague and unverifiable — leaving both public institutions and private caterers exposed to greenwashing accusations and regulatory risk.

The solution

What was built

The project delivered a Transition Toolkit for food system change, a Sustainability Scoring System for benchmarking procurement, a Citizen Empowerment Scheme, a Job Creation Platform, and kitchen procurement analysis tools — all tested across 9 Accelerator Labs in 5 city-regions. It also established 27 Enabler Labs designed as replication blueprints for new regions.

Audience

Who needs this

Municipal food procurement managers responsible for school, hospital, and public canteen sourcingContract catering companies needing to prove sustainability metrics to institutional clientsRegional food hubs and cooperatives building urban-rural supply chainsFood retail chains with public sustainability commitments needing measurement toolsCity governments designing food strategy or climate action plans
Business applications

Who can put this to work

Municipal food services
enterprise
Target: City governments and public catering operators managing school, hospital, or office meal programs

If you are a municipal food service operator struggling to meet climate targets in your procurement — this project developed a Sustainability Scoring System that benchmarks your suppliers across multiple metrics, tested in 5 city-regions. It also produced a Transition Toolkit with step-by-step guidance for shifting menus toward lower-carbon options without disrupting operations.

Contract catering and food service
mid-size
Target: Mid-size catering companies serving corporate or institutional clients

If you are a catering company facing growing client demand for measurable sustainability in your menus — this project built kitchen procurement analysis tools that score meals across a range of sustainability metrics. Tested across 9 Accelerator Labs in 13 countries, these tools let you quantify and communicate the environmental impact of menu changes to your clients.

Urban and regional food distribution
SME
Target: Food hubs and cooperatives connecting local producers with urban buyers

If you are a regional food hub trying to strengthen urban-rural supply chains — this project mapped food system scenarios and created an Accelerator Lab model that connects citizen demand with local producers. With 27 Enabler Labs designed for replication, the model offers a tested blueprint for scaling local food networks in new regions.

Frequently asked

Quick answers

What would it cost to implement these tools in our city or company?

The project does not publish per-unit licensing or implementation costs. The tools were developed under an EU Innovation Action with 34 partners, so the development was publicly funded. Contact the coordinator at University of Copenhagen to discuss access terms and potential adaptation costs for your context.

Can these tools work at scale beyond the pilot cities?

The project was specifically designed for scale-up: 9 Accelerator Labs tested the core tools, and 27 Enabler Labs were established to replicate the model across additional European city-regions. The toolkit and scoring system were built to be transferable, not city-specific.

Who owns the IP and how can we license these tools?

As an EU-funded Innovation Action, results are typically owned by the consortium partners who developed them. The coordinator is University of Copenhagen (Denmark). Licensing terms would need to be negotiated directly — SciTransfer can facilitate that introduction.

Does the Sustainability Scoring System meet current EU food regulations?

The project aligns with the EU Food 2030 policy and the Paris Agreement commitments. The scoring system was designed to measure sustainability metrics relevant to EU policy goals, but specific regulatory certification details are not provided in the available data.

How long would it take to deploy these tools in a new city-region?

The project ran from 2020 to 2023, with 9 Accelerator Labs and 27 Enabler Labs becoming operational during that period. Based on the Enabler Lab model, a new city-region could likely adapt and deploy the toolkit within months rather than years, since the groundwork and templates already exist.

Can the procurement analysis tools integrate with our existing ERP or supply chain systems?

The kitchen procurement analysis tools were tested in 5 city-regions with real procurement data. Based on available project data, specific technical integration details with commercial ERP systems are not documented — direct consultation with the development team would clarify compatibility.

Consortium

Who built it

The FoodSHIFT2030 consortium brings together 34 partners from 13 countries, with a healthy mix of 9 industry players, 5 universities, 6 research organizations, and 14 other entities (likely NGOs, city governments, and food networks). With 11 SMEs making up about a third of the consortium, there is real entrepreneurial drive alongside academic rigor. The 26% industry ratio signals that while this is not purely commercial, it has meaningful private-sector involvement. The coordinator, University of Copenhagen, brings strong food systems research credibility. For a business looking to adopt these tools, the broad geographic spread across Western, Northern, and Southern Europe means the solutions have been stress-tested across very different food cultures and procurement systems.

How to reach the team

University of Copenhagen (KOBENHAVNS UNIVERSITET), Denmark — reach out through their food systems or sustainability department

Order a report on this consortiumSee KOBENHAVNS UNIVERSITET profile →
Next steps

Talk to the team behind this work.

Want to implement these food sustainability tools in your city or company? SciTransfer can connect you directly with the development team and help negotiate access terms.

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