We can create a food system that is better for nature, and climate.
The current food industry is one of the biggest drivers of biodiversity loss and accounts for a third of global greenhouse gas emissions.
Our research suggested that a circular economycircular economyA systems solution framework that tackles global challenges like climate change, biodiversity loss, waste, and pollution. It is based on three principles, driven by design: eliminate waste and pollution, circulate products and materials (at their highest value), and regenerate nature. for food could help address the climate crisis and improve the biodiversity of the landscape it came from, but we wanted to see if it could be done for real. The Big Food Redesign Challenge has proved it can.
By rethinking the ingredients they use and how they’re produced, food brands and supermarkets have the power to design food that is better for people, nature, and climate.
What is the Big Food Redesign Challenge?
In 2023, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, in partnership with the Sustainable Food Trust, launched the Big Food Redesign Challenge to catalyse and inspire the food industry to build a better food system that regenerates nature, based on the principles of a circular economy.
The Challenge brings together ambitious producers, retailers, start-ups, and suppliers to design new food products – or redesign existing ones – to regenerate nature.
Almost 60 ambitious producers, start-ups, suppliers, and retailers from around the world have stepped up — successfully submitting 141 products designed to regenerate nature. Compared with the food industry average, these products are better for the climate, biodiversity and soil health.
Through their participation in the Big Food Redesign Challenge, companies are making progress by designing with nature in mind and highlighting barriers that still need to be overcome. Explore the timeline.
Explore the stories of participants who have developed these products
In the Foundation’s new video series, we go behind the scenes and watch as participants navigate the complexities of designing food for nature to thrive, push the boundaries of food design and turn obstacles into opportunities for growth and innovation.
Our Big Food Redesign report shows that applying the principles of the circular economy across all dimensions of food design – from product concept, through ingredient selection and sourcing, to packaging – unlocks substantial environmental, economic, and yield benefits. This is circular design for food:
Circular Design for Food Framework
The circular design for food framework incorporates four ingredient selection and sourcing opportunities and includes a packaging element.
A product that enters the Production Phase of the Challenge, has been assessed based on alignment with the Circular Design for Food Framework and is able to demonstrate that:
The majority of constituent ingredients are sourced from production systems that are indicative of regenerative outcomes for nature
Products fulfil at least one of the other three design opportunities identified in the circular design for food framework (use of lower impact, diverse, and upcycled ingredients)
Packaging is free from materials that are problematic and meets as many circular economy goals as possible.
Most commonly identified* problematic materials include PVC, PVDC, PS, XPS, EPS**, multi-material multilayer packaging, and undetectable carbon black.
*Most commonly identified by Global Commitment signatory businesses, based on the criteria found here. **It excludes EPS packaging used for insulation (e.g. fish boxes) for which we have not assessed the recyclabilityrecyclabilityThe ease with which a material can be recycled in practice and at scale. as these represent less than 0.1% of our signatories’ portfolios.
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