Building the pathways to a net zero food system in Europe

The only thing we should be heating up is the oven, not the planet. Europe's transition to a net zero economy will be won or lost in its most complex systems. Few are more important, or more challenging, than food. 

Across Europe, the pressure to reduce emissions is growing. For food companies, that challenge is particularly complex: most emissions sit beyond their direct control, embedded in supply chains, farming practices and consumption patterns.  

Because the system is so complex, no single solution will deliver net zero. What matters is how quickly we can connect and scale what works. This is where EIT Food plays a unique role. 

We have made a net‑zero food system one of our core missions. As Europe’s largest food innovation ecosystem, we connect startups, industry, research organisations, policymakers, and investors to accelerate solutions that can drive systemic change and contribute to food system decarbonisation.  

We bring together the full ecosystem needed to bridge the gap between innovation and adoption while aligning with Europe’s broader policy landscape. The European Green Deal, the EU Climate Law, and new consumer protection rules on environmental claims tackling greenwashing (1) are raising expectations for transparency and greater environmental claims. Organisations need reliable data, trusted partners, and practical solutions to navigate this complexity. 

Turning ambition into action ultimately means delivering sustainable solutions that people choose every day.

Rather than focusing on a single pathway, EIT Food contributes to net zero through a portfolio of interconnected activities which improve agricultural resilience, reduce emissions, prevent food waste, diversify protein sources and strengthen environmental measurement. 

Each of them provide opportunities for innovation, collaboration, and investment, and are already developing real pathways to net zero. 

  1. Advancing resilient agriculture 

The journey to net zero begins in the soil. Agriculture is central to emissions reduction and long‑term resilience.  

Across Europe, EIT Food supports the transition to resilient and regenerative farming systems that improve soil health, enhance biodiversity and store carbon, while remaining economically viable for farmers, and equipping the next generation with the right skills. 

Landscape-scale initiatives. Through our regenerative agriculture landscapes across Europe, farmers, businesses, researchers and local communities come together to address shared environmental challenges. The goal is to improve individual practices, and to create the conditions for long-term resilience across entire regions. 

What works in one region may not work in another. Evidence from EIT Food’s impact report on scaling regenerative agriculture in Europe,(2) analysing 900 advisory reports across 215 farms in nine countries, confirms that regenerative agriculture must be tailored to local ecological, economic and social realities. Moreover, true success requires pairing training with continuous, long-term advisory support. 

Living labs for soil health. As a partner in LILAS4SOILS, we support carbon‑farming practices across Europe's most climate-vulnerable agricultural regions through living labs focused on improving soil organic carbon and climate adaptation under Mission Soil. EIT Food-funded projects such as Tech4RegenAg accelerate regenerative agriculture by combining digital tools, farmer engagement, innovation pilots and knowledge exchange.  

Closing the skills gap. The agrifood sector currently faces the highest rate of skills misalignment in the economy. (2) To counter this, the EIT Food Resilient Agriculture Skills Academy will train 100,000 learners over seven years. Initiatives such as Future Harvest (a collaboration with the PepsiCo Foundation) are already equipping the next generation of farmers with vital regenerative, digital, and entrepreneurial skills. 

Removing systemic barriers. Creating lasting change also requires addressing the barriers that prevent innovation from scaling. Through the EIT Food Resilient Agriculture Think & Do Tank, EIT Food brings together strategic partners from across Europe to tackle the social, financial, technical and policy challenges that influence the transition to resilient agriculture. 

By connecting regional innovation ecosystems, farmer‑centred support, large‑scale skills development and strategic scaling through the Think & Do Tank we can help accelerate Europe’s transition to resilient, low‑carbon agriculture. 

But resilience is also a question of public understanding and trust. Recent consumer research conducted through the EIT Food Consumer Observatory suggests that people increasingly recognise the importance of resilient agriculture but for these approaches to succeed, benefits must be communicated in ways that are tangible and personally relevant, not just technical or systemic. (3)

2. Reducing emissions across the food system 

Decarbonising the food system requires action across the entire value chain. 

In France, for example, thousands of farms are already changing how they operate. Through MyEasyFarm’s platform, data from 8,000 farms covering 150,000 hectares is being used to improve practices, monitor emissions and unlock new income streams through carbon schemes. 

EIT Food supports innovations like these which help organisations address emissions where they matter most, using data and technology to tackle Scope 3 challenges, improve efficiency and enable lower-impact products and supply chains. 

3. Turning food waste into opportunity 

In a net zero food system, waste becomes a resource.  

Through ambitious initiatives such as Waste2Plate set to deliver over 1 million healthy and nutritious servings annually, all sourced from valorized side streams, and the Horizon Europe project PRECiOUS, EIT Food is supporting circular solutions that turn waste streams into new value and help prevent losses across the system. 

A collective look at EIT Food-backed innovations reveals how a portfolio of circular solutions addresses resource use at every stage: 

• Reducing food waste: UK-based startup Mimica has developed Bump, a freshness indicator that helps consumers reduce avoidable food waste by showing when products are truly no longer safe to eat. It is estimated that Mimica's solution could annually help prevent up to 29 million tonnes of food waste and 125 million tonnes of CO2-equivalent emissions. (4) 
   
• Valorising waste streams: In Bulgaria, food waste is no longer just waste. One of Europe’s leading insect biotechnology companies, Nasekomo is transforming it into high-value inputs using insect biotechnology, cutting emissions while creating new economic opportunities. Their solution reduces organic waste volumes by 50–80%. Explore the impact
   
• Enabling circular solutions:  Developed by a group of Cypriot entrepreneurs and backed up by the New European Bauhaus initiative of the EIT Community,  Pit-to-Table transforms agricultural waste-olive pits-into sustainable materials, an initiative praised by Ursula Von der Leyen (President of the European Commission) as “an amazing success story” demonstrating how circular thinking can generate both environmental and economic value.
• Reinventing packaging: British startup Notpla has already prevented 21+ million single-use plastic items in Europe with their innovative seaweed packaging solutions awarded the prestigious £1 million Earthshot Prize. Each unit that replaces conventional plastic requires up to 70% less carbon dioxide-equivalent (CO2-eq). Explore the impact

4. Changing what is on our plates 

Transforming how we grow food must go hand-in-hand with shifting what we eat and the technologies that make both possible.  

Alongside resilient agriculture, protein diversification and agrifood biotechnology are two other priority areas where Europe can make meaningful progress toward net zero.  

Protein diversification offers a pathway to lower-emission diets, expanding consumer choice while reducing environmental impact. At the same time, advances in agrifood biotechnology, from precision fermentation to crop innovation, are opening new possibilities for climate-smart production. 

Through the Protein Diversification Think & Do Tank and the EU Agrifood Biotech Alliance, EIT Food connects partners working on solutions that can scale across the food system. 

5. Credible measurement and transparency 

Delivering a net zero food system requires credible ways to measure impact. 

EIT Food is working to strengthen how environmental impact is tracked and assessed, including through its Life Cycle Assessment methodology which provides more consistent and transparent ways of evaluating the footprint of food products.  

The methodology reflects a broader challenge facing the food system transition: creating harmonised frameworks that provide a level-playing field for industry, enabling evidence-based decision making while reducing the complexity that often slows adoption.  

This is critical in a context where organisations must increasingly demonstrate real, evidence-based progress. Reliable measurement helps organisations understand where emissions occur, compare different interventions and make better decisions about investment and scale.  

Achieving a net zero food system cannot be achieved in isolation. At its core, EIT Food provides the space where organisations across the entire food value chain work together towards a shared goal. 

For companies, investors, and innovators, compliance or risk mitigation are just one side of the coin in the transition toward a net zero food system. For real progress, we need to unlock new pathways for innovation, build resilient supply chains, and respond to evolving consumer expectations for sustainable, high-quality food. 

The transition to net zero is our opportunity to build a food system that is more competitive and better equipped to meet the needs of future generations. But ultimately, their future will depend on the choices we make today. If we get this right, the only thing we will be heating up is an oven.

1. European Commission: Q&A: Directive on Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition
2. EIT Food: Scaling Regenerative Agriculture in Europe - Achievements and Impact (2020-2025)
3. EIT Food: Making Agriculture Matter: Toward consumer-centric positioning of resilient and regenerative agriculture – Consumer Observatory Report
4. OECD: Labour and skills shortages in the agro‑food sector