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 based on the principles of a circular economy.
57 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 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.
Circular Design for Food Framework
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:
Challenge products have been designed in alignment with the Circular Design for Food Framework. This means that they include ingredients that are upcycled, diverse or lower impact, and shared information indicates that the ingredients are being sourced in a way that keeps nature in mind. Any packaging is also designed to be kept in the economy and out of the environment.
It’s important that circular design for food principles are ‘baked in’ from the outset, not ‘sprinkled on’ afterwards. The circular economy is not about making small, incremental changes to our current system — it’s about completely transforming the way the entire system works.
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