Adoption of innovation and innovative sustainability initiatives by private operators in the EU food chain

Gloria Solano Hermosilla, Federico Antonioli (), Pavel Ciaian, Julia Pinedo Gil and Laura Fernández Casal
Additional contact information
Gloria Solano Hermosilla: European Commission - JRC, https://joint-research-centre.ec.europa.eu/index_en
Federico Antonioli: European Commission - JRC, https://joint-research-centre.ec.europa.eu/index_en

No JRC129894, JRC Research Reports from Joint Research Centre

Abstract: The European Green Deal and its farm-to-fork (F2F) strategy have made sustainability in the food system an EU policy priority. It aims to help the EU’s current food system transition towards a fairer, healthier and environmentally friendlier one while maintaining its economic viability. This report seeks to provide a comparative empirical assessment of sustainability-enhancing initiatives adopted by private operators in the EU food chain. The assessment is based on data collected through semi-structured interviews with 37 representatives from food chain operators, associations, and related organizations. In total, 314 sustainability initiatives were identified, highlighting operators' efforts to promote more sustainable food production and consumption processes. These initiatives primarily emphasize the economic dimension, followed by the environmental aspect, while the social/health dimension receives comparatively less attention. The results also indicate that market demand and supply requirements are the primary drivers for adopting sustainability initiatives. Conversely, the main barriers to adoption include the lack of recognition of sustainability efforts by consumers, insufficient public support, and unclear policies regarding sustainability. To foster the adoption of sustainability initiatives, respondents identified the need for increased incentives, funding for enhanced sustainable solutions, and government technical support as crucial catalysts.

Date: 2023-12
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-agr, nep-eec, nep-env and nep-eur
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC129894 (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ipt:iptwpa:jrc129894

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in JRC Research Reports from Joint Research Centre Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Publication Officer ().