Networking

Ploutos has developed synergies with the following projects under topics RUR-06-2020 and RUR-07-2020, to ensure maximum visibility of the project results for the different stakeholders that comprise its' ecosystem across Europe:

FAIRCHAIN

There’s a pressing need to transform existing food systems to address economic, social, environmental and health-related issues. Dominant agri-food systems are based on long supply chains, which present certain advantages such as resource efficiency, economies of scale, mass production and lower prices.On the other end of the spectrum, short food value chains offer geographical proximity, a fairer price for farmers and the development of local economies.

To address the shortcomings of long and short food value chains while capitalising on their advantages, FAIRCHAIN will focus on the development of intermediate food value chains.

LOWINFOOD

The loss and waste of food at all stages of the food value chains, including consumption, hinders the sustainability of food systems by touching several of these issues. Food loss and waste are estimated to amount to 88 million tonnes per year in Europe, corresponding to about 20 % of the total food produced.

LOWINFOOD will deploy and implement innovative solutions to the food waste problem, by demonstrating their effectiveness and market potential. A portfolio of 14 innovations has been selected among promising solutions that have already been developed and tested by some partners, and includes technological tools and devices as well as organizational and managerial solutions.

CO-FRESH

The CO-FRESH project aims to provide techniques, tools and insights on how to make agri-food value chains more environmentally sustainable, socio-economically balanced and economically competitive. The project will implement technological and non-technological innovations in several pilots of agri-food value chains (Pilot Cases included in the CO-FRESH consortium), to test how the combination of technological and non-technological (i.e. organisational) innovations at several levels and steps (from farmer to the food-processing to consumer) can improve environmental and socio-economic benefits impact in terms of sustainability.

FOODRUS

FOODRUS, is working to tackle the food waste and losses by creating resilient food systems across nine European regions. To achieve this, the project will test 23 circular solutions through diverse forms of collaborative innovation, including: technological (blockchain solutions to manage food losses and waste), social (educational materials and citizen science activities to promote sustainable consumption habits), organisational (last mile networks to foster local consumption and donation), and fiscal (new ‘Pay As You Throw’ schemes).

These innovative solutions will empower and engage all actors in local food systems, from farmers to end-consumers and everyone in between, to build a multi-actor alliance to tackle the challenge of food loss and waste.