The ADVANCE project had the following objectives: - To assess the current situation regarding food waste (FW) generation and management practices in selected municipalities and SMEs in the HORECA sector - To develop a concrete set of Circularity Benchmarking Indicators that will be used to describe both the current status and the future monitoring of FW management in municipalities and HORECA SMEs - To assess the gap between the baseline assessment and the requirements posed by EU and national regulations, setting realistic targets - To identify best practices in FW management - To develop two Gap Analysis tools for municipalities and HORECA SMEs aiming to assess (i) the knowledge of current and future personnel and (ii) the performance of the targeted entities - To develop two Roadmaps (for municipalities and HORECA SMEs) and a step-by-step Action Plan regarding FW measurement, management and monitoring - To create training/educational materials addressed to personnel of municipalities and HORECA SMEs - To develop an online platform which will include & host all the above, as well as further information (e.g. FW calculators).
In 2020, the EU generated nearly 59 million tonnes of food waste (FW), valued at €132 billion. Of this total, households contributed around 31 million tonnes of FW (53% of the total), while restaurants and food services accounted for approximately 5 million tonnes. The EU and its Member States are committed to meeting Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 12.3, adopted in September 2015, which targets to halve per capita food waste at the retail and consumer level by 2030, and reduce food losses along the food production and supply chains. To achieve this target, all key players from public and private sectors must work together to better identify, measure, understand and find viable solutions. The ADVANCE project addressed the following needs: - Identification of benefits, barriers and best practices in FW management for municipalities and HORECA SMEs. - Improvement of knowledge and skills of municipal and hospitality sectors in FW management. - Fostering of Circular Economy through better FW management practices. - Contribution to environmental sustainability, food security and hunger relief, cost reduction, compliance with regulations and community engagement. - Promotion of new technologies and solutions in FW reduction.