The SusPack project has assumed that the development of sustainable systems requires efforts in every field, including consumer education and awareness, in order to adopt changes in their daily habits. Based on these assumptions, the concrete objectives of the project were: (i) to improve consumers' knowledge of sustainable fresh food and takeaway packaging, enabling their green consumption habits on a daily basis. (ii) to develop consumers' positive attitude toward sustainable fresh food and takeaway packaging, combating remaining misconceptions about sustainability. In terms of results/outcomes: the improved consumers' knowledge and acceptance of sustainable fresh food and takeaway packaging; the enhanced capacity of the consumers in the implementation of green consumption habits; Improved exchange of ideas and knowledge transfer among participating organizations; Enhanced capacity of organizations to engage in transnational cooperation at European level; Strengthened affirmation of the European dimension at the local level.
The overall background of the project was defined both by the Eu policy context (A) and by the profile of the participating organizations (B): A) the project was in line with the European Green Deal growth strategy (COM/2019/640), which is transforming the European Union into a modern, resource-efficient and competitive economy, which will be climate-neutral by 2050. The importance of the EGD requires efforts in every field, even in the Education of adults. B) The transnational cooperation between ADOC, PTR and MARTHA integrated different but totally complementary profiles, reflecting the the experiences and the willingness of the 3 partners to work in the field of adult education to boost effective change in the daily habits of consumers. The main needs were identified as follows: (i) the necessity to enhance consumer knowledge and acceptance of sustainable packaging, which is relevant in order to boost consumer commitment to reducing plastic waste; (ii) the importance of addressing some still remaining misconceptions on sustainability in general and on sustainable food packaging; (iii) the necessity to deal with the enhanced request for take-away and food delivery, which increased during the pandemic.