IGD’s innovative role in a circular economy project
THE IDEA
Every year around 88 million tons of food are wasted in Europe, the related costs for which amount to approximately €143 billion. Based on FAO’s estimates, about one third of the food produced worldwide for human consumption is wasted – about 1.3 billion tons per year. The food waste is not only an ethical and economic issue, but also impacts environmental protection and the use of our planet’s already limited natural resources. The food chain players (from retail distribution to restaurants) play a key role in the reduction and recycling of food waste.
IGD’S ROLE
While the concept of circular economics is gaining ground in Europe thanks to different initiatives focusing on environmental sustainability, we decided to apply the concept to our business and launch an innovative project for shopping centers: provide a new way of using the waste produced in centers by putting it back into circulation as part of productive and regenerated life cycles.
IGD has always promoted the disposal and recycling of waste in our shopping centers by way of well-organized and differentiated waste collection management. The realization that the waste generated by the food consumed in our centers is growing constantly, however, drove use to look for ways to lessen the impact by giving new life to food scraps like, for example, coffee grounds and orange peels.
THE PROJECT
The project is responding to the challenge by creating an innovative circular economy model focused on reusing the food waste produced in shopping centers by converting it into “second products” to be introduced in each center under the form of products or services.
The project will take shape in a pilot center, Centronova in Bologna, which is easy to monitor thanks to its location, where all three partners are present – IGD, Coop and CAMST.
THE PARTNERS
With Impronta Etica as coordinator, IGD, along with Coop Alleanza 3.0, CAMST – La Ristorazione Italiana and the municipality of Castenaso, is promoting the initiative, Future Food Institute is responsible for the launch of the initial phase, while the collection of food scraps, their transfer to the necessary compost bin and the maintenance of the garden is entrusted to La Fraternità Cooperativa Sociale.
An association of companies focused on promoting sustainability in Italy and Europe by encouraging its members to use their propensity for innovation to drive sustainable competitive leadership.
A cooperative born in Bologna in 1945, leader in collective catering and the biggest with solely Italian shareholders. Gruppo Camst – which comprises 10 companies in Italy – has sales of €600 million, approximately 13 thousand employees and produces some 15 thousand meals a year.
The biggest consumers’ cooperative in Italy. Coop Alleanza 3.0 was formed on 1 January 2016, following the merger of Coop Adriatica, Coop Consumatori Nordest and Coop Estense, in order to provide members with quality products and services at the best price possible, while combining the entrepreneurial with ethical and social purpose.
The project leader is the Municipality of Castenaso: Castenaso is an Italian municipality of 15,686 inhabitants in the metropolitan city of Bologna in Emilia-Romagna. The Centronova Shopping Center is located in the territory of this municipality.
La Fraternità is a social cooperative founded in 1992 which offers quality services mainly in two sectors, education and work. They are operational in four Italian regions – Emilia-Romagna, Veneto, Marche and Umbria – with 12 centers for socio-educational activities for people with disabilities and 4 realities that employ people living in fragile contexts with the aim of removing the causes that generate social injustice.
THE PATH
STEP 1 – STUDENTS HACKATHON
June-July 2017
The project began with the organization of two hackathons, two creative marathons which lasted 48 and 24 hours, respectively. The roughly 80 participants at the 2 events included students chosen from secondary schools and the faculties of economics, agriculture and food science – along with international graduate students – who discussed food waste. In this backdrop, the desire to experiment with developing an innovative circular economic model emerged through the gathering and prototyping of ideas capable of giving new value to food waste, which is no longer considered waste, but a resource.
The shareholders of Coop Alleanza 3.0’s and Camst’s worked together on developing ideas. The participants tried, as teams, to develop an idea capable of meeting the hackathon challenge thanks also to the support of operators and mentors that work in the food waste sector every day.
STEP 3 – LAUNCH AT CENTRONOVA
28 October 2017
The visitors at Centro Nova on 28 October were also involved in the search for innovative ideas. The initiative “Waste2Value quiz game” represented an opportunity for discussion, to exchange ideas and have a lot of fun.
You can relive it by clicking on this link:
Oggi è la Giornata nazionale di prevenzione dello spreco alimentare.Con Future Food siamo quotidianamente impegnati in questa lotta. Ne é un esempio il progetto #waste2value che abbiamo inaugurato con un Hackathon a giugno ad #AgrogenerationBologna e che abbiamo poi presentato anche ad #AgrogenerationBergamo durante il #G7AgriWaste 2 Value mira alla creazione di un innovativo modello di economia circolare per il recupero degli scarti e rifiuti alimentari all’interno del Centro Commerciale CentroNova attraverso la loro conversione in “second products” da reintrodurre nel Centro stesso sotto forma di prodotti o servizi. In questo percorso con noi ci sono Impronta Etica, Camst – La Ristorazione Italiana, Coop Alleanza 3.0 e IGD SIIQ SPA.Vi proponiamo un video di uno degli eventi fatti insieme "Waste to value quiz game" in cui, attraverso la dimensione del gioco, abbiamo riflettuto insieme sui temi dello spreco alimentare!
Once the brainstorming phase was over, the staff of the member companies – who possessed the technical and operational skills needed – was involved in an analysis of the feasibility of the projects chosen in order to render the ideas more feasible and practical. The staff selected one of the projects presented: REPOD, namely the creation of fertilizer using orange peels and coffee grounds. The staff of Future Food is working on the prototype.
STEP 5: PROTOTYPING AND TESTING OF REPOD
January – December 2019
RePOD, let’s protect your plants, focused on reusing coffee grounds and orange peels taken from inside the shopping centers to make 100% biodegradable, mini-capsules to be used as fertilizer for the plants found in the bars and restaurants where the waste was gathered.
The best ideas, in terms of innovation, feasibility and social impact, will be brought to life with the help of FabLab, a network of digital makers and artisans. The talents in the companies promoting the project will also be involved in the project. Subsequently, the prototypes developed and tested found to be the most valid will be mass produced and put on the market.
STEP 6 – CONTRIBUTION FROM ATERSIR
8 September 2020
The Waste2Value: Giving Value to Waste project received €23,240 (which covered 80% of the total costs) from the region of Emilia-Romagna’s Water and Waste Management Division (ATERSIR). The municipality of Castenaso is responsible for disbursement of the funds and is the project coordinator.
STEP 7 – IMPLEMENTATION OF THE COMPOSTER
2021 – 2022
The actions necessary for the implementation of the project were carried out: the compost bin was installed and maintenance of the greenery in the garden at the entrance to the CentroNova shopping center began.
STEP 8 – PROJECT’S OPENING AT CENTRONOVA
23 March 2023
The inauguration of the compostertook place in two phases: first two classes of elementary school students from the town of Castenaso, along with the volunteers that take care of the community vegetable gardens, went through the whole cycle of transforming waste to fertilizer beginning with the Camst and Coop Alleanza 3.0 snack bars. Then time was dedicated to the institutions involved in the project.
For more information you can visit the website of the project www.wastetovalue.it
MAIN RESULTS ACHIEVED ONE YEAR AFTER THE START OF THE PROJECT
6 tons
of recovered waste
600 litres
of soil improver produced
2
people with frailties employed
1,000
children involved in dedicated activities
AWARDS
December 2022: 2022 Best Performer for Circular Economy Competition
The Waste2Value project won the 2022 “Best Performer for circular economy” competition for the “Large Service Company” category conceived by Confindustria with the support of 4.Manager and the collaboration of Enel X and Eni, for the identification and promotion of best sustainability practices. The competition saw the participation of 500 companies.
Waste 2 Value is an innovative and participatory circular economy project on the food theme, aimed at reintroducing food waste into the Shopping Center, giving it a new life and avoiding waste. Promoted by IGD together with Coop Alleanza 3.0 and Camst, coordinated by Impronta Etica and managed by Future Food Institute, it was presented as part of SMAU-R2B which was held in Bologna on 8 and 9 June 2017 as an innovation project in agrifood sector. In this context, “Waste 2 Value” received the “SMAU R2B innovation award”, with which SMAU enhances the innovative excellence of our country.
For more information you can visit the smau website
