BEACON: Encouraging Sustainable Behaviors for a Circular Food System

The entire food system is crucial for building resilience and delivering on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). However, one third of global green house gas emissions caused by human activity come from the food system, with agricultural expansion posing equally significant risks to natural habitats and biodiversity. If unabated, the environmental footprint of global food production will worsen dramatically as diets shift and populations continue to grow. It is therefore essential to assess ways in which the growing global population can be fed while minimising impacts on the natural world.

The Behavioural Insights for a Circular Society (BEACON) project answers this call by exploring and testing behavioural changes towards more sustainable lifestyles, thus supporting the development of a circular society. While the research focuses on urban food systems and experiments in the real-world setting of Copenhagen, it is expected that the findings will also apply to other areas of consumption and systems of provision.