Conference Agenda

The transition to circular bioeconomy requires innovation, but social dynamics within a sector’s network may affect innovation potential. To understand how network dynamics relate to perceptions and adoption of bioeconomy innovation, we examine a case study from the food processing sector. Our case study of the German coffee value chain is technologically advanced with a strong sustainability focus and notable potential for residue valorization, which represents an important component of a sustainable bioeconomy. We identify three distinct views related to residue valorization, map linkages between actors using social network analysis, and highlight barriers to innovation. We collected data through an online survey and semi-structured interviews with key actors in the coffee roasting sector. Within the social network analysis, we find that public waste managers are closely linked to the most influential actors (highest degree and eigenvector centrality), state actors such as the customs and tax offices can quickly interact with others in the network and promote the spread of information (highest closeness centrality) and specific roasters play an important role as intermediaries for efficient communication (highest betweenness centrality). Finally, we identify four main barriers to innovations for residue valorization related to the structure of the network, inconsistencies in federal waste regulations, achieving economies of scale, and competing visions of sustainability. To support a sustainable bioeconomy, we recommend that policy makers revise the primary regulatory frameworks for waste (e.g., German Recycling Act) to clarify how to classify food residues, their disposal structures and broaden their use streams.

Information provision is often put forward as a simple way to facilitate sustainable consumption, building upon the idea that consumers would adjust their choices if they were sufficiently informed about product attributes. While previous information interventions have shown small positive effects of providing information, technological progress offers new and promising ways to provide information to consumers in a more targeted fashion. In this paper, we evaluate the effectiveness of a targeted information intervention via an App based on a field experiment with a large supermarket chain. First, we explore to what extent consumers access targeted information about product sustainability and whether consumers who have bought unsustainable products are more likely to avoid new information. Second, we evaluate the impact of providing such targeted information on consumption choices. Our results show that about 60% of treated consumers access information about product sustainability, independent of whether they have bought sustainable or unsustainable products in the past. Yet, providing targeted information has no notable impact on consumption choices. Our sample size allows us to exclude small effect sizes of 0.11 standard deviations. Exploratory analyses suggest that the lack of effectiveness is neither explained by inattention nor price differentials, but rather by a reluctance to act upon the new information. These findings question information provision policies as isolated tools to steer transformative behavioral change, even in light of the new ways in which this information can be delivered to consumers.

In Flanders in 2020, 883 742 tonnes of food were lost or wasted this corresponds with 14% of the produced food. This is not an isolated case, all over the world food is going lost or wasted. While at the same time over 800 million people are suffering from hunger. Furthermore, food loss and food waste have an enormous environmental impact. Although the problem is well known, and in addition there is a desire to do a lot about food loss and waste, on a societal, political, and academic level, tangible actions are still lacking. Since all actors in the food supply chain must lower their food loss and waste, it is very important to have insight into the actions they perceive as the most powerful. In this research, a Q-study is conducted by stakeholders throughout the whole food supply chain. To answer the research question “What actions to reduce food loss and food waste along the food supply chain, will have the greatest potential according to stakeholders?” The participants ranked 63 statements about possible actions to lower food loss and waste, collected via literature review and interviews. These statements were cross classified in seven stages of the food supply chain, by three types of measures.

The findings show 3 different factors or viewpoints. These points of view will prefer other combinations of actions, it is for example clear that one perspective prefers technical measures, whereas the other perspectives see more potential in societal action, combined with institutional and technological ones. It also become clear which stakeholders have the greatest burden to take actions, the first perspective puts the greatest burden on the consumers and the distribution and logistics. According to the second perspective, most effort must be demanded from the households and the food service. While the last perspective thinks that the full food supply chain has to change. Due to interviews conducted at the same time as the Q-sorts, the found perspectives are interpretable.

The paper analyses the results of a field experiment run at the university canteens of the University of Urbino Carlo Bo (Italy) during the academic year 2022/2023. We provided an information nudge about the negative environmental consequences of food waste to induce canteen users to change their consumption habits, by choosing a reduced meal instead of a full portion. The information was provided first by email and then at the canteen level. Results based on very rich administrative longitudinal microdata on the universe of students’ meal choices (about 130k in a semester) suggest a strong and large effect of the on-site information provision.