The Food Sustainability Tool is a decision-support platform that helps users understand how food choices – from menu planning and food transport and logistics to the prevention of food waste – impact climate, nutrition and food costs. By comparing current food habits with alternative scenarios, it supports targeted strategies towards a more sustainable food system.
The tool integrates three complementary dimensions:
Environmental: estimates greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from food consumption habits, and assesses the potential of targeted measures to reduce climate-altering emissions.
Nutritional: evaluates the nutritional profile of the diet before and after changes in food habits. It quantifies daily intakes of carbohydrates, protein, total fat and dietary fibre (g), total energy intake (kcal) and the share of energy provided by each source, and compares nutrient intakes with dietary reference values.
Economic: estimates the cost of food consumed and of food wasted. This dimension is currently available only for those countries for which retail price datasets were available (Germany, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain).
The tool has been developed by the CMCC Foundation researchers in the framework of the FOODCLIC Horizon Europe project funded by the European Commission.
It has been built in collaboration with, and tailored for, eight city-regions across the European Union (Aarhus, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Berlin, Brasov, Budapest, Lisbon, Lucca). However, it can be explored and applied in the context of all European Union countries.
Anchored in robust data and emission factors from scientific literature, the tool offers two user modes:
Designed for quick and simplified assessments. It uses pre-compiled data and requires minimal time and effort, making it ideal for everybody seeking rapid evaluations to support sustainable food choices.
Designed for in-depth analysis, this version allows users to customise and compare multiple dietary patterns and scenarios for improved food choices. It delivers case-specific insights with enhanced flexibility, including the ability to specify exact quantities (in grams per day per capita) for each food category. This level of detail delivers highly accurate, personalised assessments of eating habits and potential improvements.
