The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has issued a stark warning: the planet must achieve zero emissions by 2050 to avoid dire climatic consequences. Climate urgency requires substantial demand-side mitigation actions and behavioral changes, especially in major industries like food and agriculture, major global CO2 emitters. Policymakers often rely on Integrated Assessment Models (IAMs) to evaluate climate stabilization pathways and make informed decisions. However, these models have traditionally focused on supply-side measures. At the same time, less attention has been given to the demand side and representation of food systems due to their complexity and actor diversity.

The newly launched Horizon Europe project CHOICE aspires to mainstream Integrated Assessment Models (IAMs) by embedding behavioral change and actor heterogeneity and increasing their outreach to citizens, communities as well as industrial actors in the food chain. By leveraging various disciplines, technological advances, and large-scale awareness campaigns, CHOICE strives to accelerate climate action and contribute to the global target of limiting temperature rise to 1.5°C.

To achieve its objectives, CHOICE begins with a bottom-up analysis of individual consumers and actors, understanding their behavior and potential for change. The project harnesses these insights to consistently enhance a new generation of IAM models that accurately reflect the underlying heterogeneity, accounting for multiple representative consumers and actors.

This approach is supported by the widespread adoption of CHOICE's digital immersive tools, data storytelling, and online games designed to elicit emotional appeals as well as social incentives. CHOICE will use these enablers to orchestrate impactful engagement and 'green marketing' campaigns across five pilot sites in Spain, Greece, Italy, Colombia and South Africa while continuously informing global IAM models focusing on Europe.

Furthermore, CHOICE will employ established methods from behavioral science and marketing, such as Randomised Controlled Trials (RCTs), to promote specific mitigation actions, ranging from embracing plant-based diets to reducing food waste and adopting sustainable farming practices aiming to spearhead sustainable food choices starting at a pilot level and scaling up globally. The project will consistently evaluate the reactions of diverse socio-economic profiles and stakeholder groups to these incentives.

This process is further facilitated through the intuitive and insightful interfaces designed for the CHOICE IAM models and their complementary accounting tools. These enhancements strengthen the models' scenario-building capacity, improve result transparency and ultimately enable broader integration into decision-making processes.

CHOICE embarked on its journey in November 2023, while the consortium officially inaugurated the project's activities during a two-day physical meeting in Athens, Greece, on January 29 and 30, 2024. This significant assembly, hosted by the Institute of Communication and Computer Systems project coordinator, brought together 40 partner representatives, setting the cornerstone for a three-year collaboration committed to advancing sustainability and climate action within the food system.

Our Chief Product and Technology Officer, Vlada Olivia Wester, represented us in Athens. As we embark on this promising journey, we are keen to engage more partners in inoqo’s use case, particularly grocery retailers interested in exploring product impact communication.

Here's a glimpse into the innovative opportunities we can pursue together.

🌿 Initiate pre-purchase marketing efforts to create awareness about your products' impact using labels and QR codes, visible on product detail pages or in-store posters.

🌿 Ensure a seamless shopping experience, both online and in-store, guiding customers towards climate-friendly products and providing transparency through impact assessment insights.

🌿 Commend your customers, whether they shop online or in-store, for making climate-friendly purchases. Showcase their most environmentally friendly product choices and suggest similar options for future purchases.

🌿 Provide personalized shopping behavior analytics, encompassing CO2 footprint reduction, comparisons with local shoppers, information on your most climate-friendly products, and details on impactful purchases.

🌿 Incentivize sustainable purchasing with either loyalty points or exclusive discounts.

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Other hard facts about the project:

Duration: 36 months | Starting from 1 November 2023 

EU funding: €5 million | Grand Agreement no: 101081617

Coordinator: Institute of Communication and Computer Systems

CHOICE Consortium: 

Institute of Communication and Computer Systems (ICCS) | Athina-Erevnitiko Kentro Kainotomias stis Technologies tis Pliroforias, ton Epikoinonion kai tis Gnosis (ATHENA) | Internationales Institut fuer Angewandte Systemanalyse (IIASA) | SDSN Association Paris (SDSN) | Stichting Radboud Universiteit (RU) | LIBRA AI Technologies (LIBRA) | InoSens Doo Novi Sad (INO) | Bioazul, SL (BIO) | Ethniko Asteroskopeio Athinon (NOA) | Environmental Reliability and Risk Analysis (ERRA) | Cooperativas Agro-alimentarias de Andalucía (CAAND) | inoqo GmbH (inoqo) | SUPRACAFÉ Colombia S.A (SUP) | Corporacion Parque Tecnologico de Innovacion del Cafe y Su Caficultura (TECNI) | University of Pretoria (UP) | e-Fresh.gr Private Company (e-Fresh).

Every choice made by individuals in the food chain, whether big or small, has an impact on the climate. These collective choices contribute to achieving zero emissions in the agriculture, food, and land use sectors. At inoqo, we conduct product impact assessments for grocery retailers, F&B brands and other food companies, calculating the climate, biodiversity, and social impact of all your food and beverage products. Reach out to us at hello@inoqo.com to explore how we can guide your business towards a low-impact future.