The Change(K)now! project helps municipalities reduce single-use food packaging in food delivery and catering systems, and build social acceptance among companies and people for circular reuse of food packaging.

Project summary

Change(K)now! is concerned with promoting a mind-set change in food delivery systems from single-use to multiple-use crockery and packaging at different use types. The project is focused on municipalities and municipal entities, food delivery businesses operating within, and, crucially, its residents. These players can drive the circularity of urban food delivery systems by adopting sustainable solutions and changing routines & behaviors. The problem is that such options are dispersed, their applicability is not tested beyond a particular case, and are not tailored nor mainstreamed widely enough to create acceptance by businesses and consumers. Change(K)now! will overcome this barrier by a) prototyping solutions, b) testing in pilot cases context and c) innovating existing circular solutions for food delivery so they are easier to adopt at four levels: municipal strategic management, institutional catering at public entities, catering at public events and in entrepreneurial activities on local food markets and gastronomy on public space. A training program on the set of solutions will transfer project outcomes via local multipliers. Easier access and training on circular solutions will enable municipalities to work as sustainability hubs by better mainstreaming circularity in their activities and territories, nudging businesses to reduce the environmental footprints of their operations, and shaping residents' behavior to change conducive to circular food delivery systems.