Research and innovation for food waste prevention and reduction at household level through measurement, monitoring and new technologies

The grant opportunity HORIZON-CL6-2025-02-FARM2FORK-04-two-stage focuses on addressing the issue of household food waste through innovative research and technological strategies. This call is part of Horizon Europe's Cluster 6, emphasizing food systems, circular economy, and waste management. It aims to develop and validate new tools for measuring and estimating food waste, thereby supporting the EU's environmental sustainability goals.

Eligible applicant types include research institutes, universities, small and medium-sized enterprises, non-governmental organizations, and public-private partnerships, all expected to adopt a multi-actor approach in their proposals. The funding type is a grant under the HORIZON Lump Sum Grant mechanism, with a total budget of 8 million EUR allocated for this specific topic and an indicative grant amount of around 4 million EUR per project.

The application process is two-stage. The first stage requires submitting a proposal outline, due on September 4, 2025, following the opening submission date of May 6, 2025. Selected applicants must then submit a full proposal by the second stage deadline of February 18, 2026.

A consortium is required to apply, reflecting the multi-actor approach that encourages collaboration among diverse stakeholders. The geographic eligibility covers EU member states, associated countries, and countries with specific arrangements for participation. Projects should ideally be in stages of research and development, particularly focusing on technological innovations for measuring food waste and understanding behavioral factors contributing to it.

The nature of support provided is monetary in the form of a lump sum grant. While co-funding requirements are not explicitly mentioned, national rules may apply depending on the applicant's location. Success rates for similar grants generally vary, but two-stage calls are typically competitive.

The grant focuses on equipping proposals with the capability of developing and validating best practices in food waste measurement and reduction. It encourages the integration of social sciences and citizen engagement in the research methodologies to address food waste effectively, thus contributing to broader EU climate targets and sustainability efforts. The call highlights the significant economic and environmental impacts of food waste, aiming for innovative solutions that can enhance measuring reliability while promoting behavioral changes among consumers.

In summary, this Horizon Europe call aims to reduce household food waste through comprehensive research and technological innovations that engage multiple stakeholders while ensuring compliance with EU policies and objectives related to sustainability and resource efficiency.

This is a Horizon Europe call, specifically HORIZON-CL6-2025-02-FARM2FORK-04-two-stage, focusing on research and innovation for food waste prevention and reduction at the household level through measurement, monitoring, and new technologies. It falls under Cluster 6 and is a two-stage call. The type of action is HORIZON-RIA, which stands for HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions. The Model Grant Agreement type is HORIZON Lump Sum Grant [HORIZON-AG-LS].

The call opened for submission on May 6, 2025. The deadline for the first stage is September 4, 2025, at 17:00:00 Brussels time. The deadline for the second stage is February 18, 2026, at 17:00:00 Brussels time.

The expected outcomes of successful proposals are aligned with the European Green Deal priorities, the revised Waste Framework Directive, and the EU’s climate targets for 2030 and 2050. They also align with the challenges highlighted in the updated Food 2030 pathways for action report on food waste and resource-efficient food systems.

The project results are expected to contribute to: Successful implementation of the harmonisation of food waste measurement across Europe, supported by the development of new tools, and testing of existing ones, producing reliable and comparable data on food and waste at household level. Alleviating the burden of reporting of household food waste data for Member States, by making use of technological innovations. Understanding the underlying causes of food waste at household level to help policymakers and stakeholders develop more efficient interventions. Contributing to Members States’ reporting on their national food waste levels, in line with targets set by the Waste Framework Directive revision, with positive impacts on the reduction of food waste at household level, thereby reducing greenhouse gas emissions and pressure on natural resources.

The scope of the call addresses the significant issue of food waste in the EU, where over 59 million tonnes are generated annually, with an associated market value of 132 billion euros. Households contribute more than half of the total food waste (54%). The call emphasizes that wasting food is not only an ethical and economic issue but also an environmental one, contributing to greenhouse gas emissions and depleting natural resources.

Proposals should contribute to the following aspects: Development and validation of new tools and methods, and/or further testing of existing methods (including those developed by previous EU-funded projects), to measure and estimate food waste at household level, including the food waste discarded as or with wastewaters and that would help distinguish between amounts of avoidable (edible) fraction of food waste and non-avoidable (inedible) food waste. The potential of AI and other technologies (including ones that are currently available) to simplify the collection of data and the reporting (by being integrated in advanced monitoring solutions) should be considered. Interoperable metadata standards accompanying indicators coming from these new tools and methods should be provided. The metadata standards for edible and inedible food waste indicators should allow data to be federated through the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) infrastructure. These new tools and methods should be applied across a large enough sample of diverse type of products and target groups (in terms of gender, age, socio-economic status, ethnic and/or cultural origins, etc.), allowing for a more precise assessment of food waste fractions (edible and inedible), across several years and in a significant number of Member States, and potentially in Associated Countries. This should generate robust measurement/estimation of food waste at household level for different target groups, at national level. The potential for extensive uptake of the proposed solution should be clearly highlighted. In addition to measurement, the direct and indirect drivers and root causes of food waste at household level should be thoroughly investigated. Particular attention should be paid to the identification of consumer behaviours (food consumption and disposal patterns) and other factors that influence food waste at household level, to assess the potential for a reduction strategy based on change in consumer behaviours. In addition, proposals could explore eco-friendly, low-input and efficient technological solutions to prevent edible food from being discarded in households, e.g. by preventing product degradation.

The call requires a multi-actor approach, involving a wide diversity of food system actors, with special attention paid to consumers and civil society organisations. Proposals are encouraged to build on past or ongoing EU-funded research (in particular, the EU-funded CHORIZO and WASTELESS projects, expected to be finalised in 2025) and on the work carried out by the European Consumer Food Waste Forum, and create synergies with relevant initiatives including the EU Platform on Food Losses and Food Waste. The call also emphasizes the effective contribution of SSH (Social Sciences and Humanities) disciplines and encourages citizen science at all stages of the research activities, integrated into the research methodology. Proposals should take into account and address inequalities (e.g. by addressing the risk of AI bias in terms of gender, disability, ethnicity, etc.).

Regarding the general conditions, applicants submitting a proposal under the blind evaluation pilot must not disclose their organisation names, acronyms, logos, nor names of personnel in the proposal abstract and Part B of their first-stage application. The proposal page limits and layout are described in Part B of the Application Form available in the Submission System. Eligible countries are described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes. The proposals must apply the multi-actor approach. Financial and operational capacity and exclusion are described in Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes. The evaluation and award criteria are described in Annex D of the Work Programme General Annexes. The submission and evaluation processes are described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes and the Online Manual. The indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement is described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes. Eligible costs will take the form of a lump sum as defined in the Decision of 7 July 2021. The legal and financial set-up of the grants is described in Annex G of the Work Programme General Annexes. Specific conditions are described in the specific topic of the Work Programme.

Application and evaluation forms and model grant agreement (MGA) information is available in the Submission System. This includes the standard application form (HE RIA, IA), the standard application form (HE RIA IA Stage 1), the standard evaluation form (HE RIA, IA), and the standard evaluation form (HE RIA, IA and CSA Stage 1). Guidance is provided in the HE Programme Guide. The Model Grant Agreements (MGA) include the Lump Sum MGA. Call-specific instructions include a detailed budget table (HE LS) and guidance: "Lump sums - what do I need to know?".

Additional documents include: HE Main Work Programme 2025 – 1. General Introduction, HE Main Work Programme 2025 – 9. Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment, HE Main Work Programme 2025 – 14. General Annexes, HE Programme Guide, HE Framework Programme 2021/695, HE Specific Programme Decision 2021/764, EU Financial Regulation 2024/2509, Rules for Legal Entity Validation, LEAR Appointment and Financial Capacity Assessment, EU Grants AGA — Annotated Model Grant Agreement, Funding & Tenders Portal Online Manual, Funding & Tenders Portal Terms and Conditions, and Funding & Tenders Portal Privacy Statement.

The total budget for the HORIZON-CL6-2025-02 call is divided among several topics, with HORIZON-CL6-2025-02-FARM2FORK-04-two-stage having a budget of 8,000,000 EUR and an indicative number of 2 grants. The opening date is May 6, 2025, and the deadlines are September 4, 2025, and February 18, 2026.

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In summary, this Horizon Europe call aims to address the critical issue of household food waste in the EU by funding research and innovation actions that develop and validate new tools and methods for measuring and estimating food waste, understanding its drivers and root causes, and exploring technological solutions for prevention. The call emphasizes a multi-actor approach, citizen science, and the integration of SSH disciplines, with the goal of harmonizing food waste measurement across Europe, alleviating reporting burdens for Member States, and ultimately reducing food waste and its associated environmental impacts. The funding is provided as a lump sum, and the call follows a two-stage submission process.

Eligible Applicant Types: The eligible applicant types are not explicitly stated but can be inferred to include a wide diversity of food system actors, consumers, civil society organisations, research organizations, and entities capable of applying the multi-actor approach. The call is open to entities from EU member states, associated countries, and potentially non-EU/non-associated countries with specific funding provisions as detailed in the Horizon Europe Programme Guide.

Funding Type: The funding type is a grant, specifically a HORIZON Research and Innovation Action (HORIZON-RIA) with eligible costs taking the form of a lump sum. The Model Grant Agreement (MGA) used is the HORIZON Lump Sum Grant [HORIZON-AG-LS].

Consortium Requirement: The opportunity requires a multi-actor approach, implying that a consortium of multiple applicants is necessary. The multi-actor approach involves a wide diversity of food system actors, consumers, and civil society organizations.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): The geographic eligibility includes EU Member States and Associated Countries. A number of non-EU/non-Associated Countries that are not automatically eligible for funding have made specific provisions for making funding available for their participants in Horizon Europe projects, as detailed in the Horizon Europe Programme Guide.

Target Sector: The program targets the agriculture/food sector, specifically focusing on food waste prevention and reduction at the household level. It also addresses climate change, the bioeconomy, and environmental sustainability. The program also involves SSH (Social Sciences and Humanities) disciplines.

Mentioned Countries: The opportunity explicitly mentions the European Union (EU) and its Member States, as well as Associated Countries. It also refers to non-EU/non-Associated Countries that may have specific funding provisions.

Project Stage: The expected maturity of the project is research and innovation actions, implying projects in the research, development, and validation stages. The call aims to develop and validate new tools and methods for measuring and estimating food waste.

Funding Amount: The budget for the topic HORIZON-CL6-2025-02-FARM2FORK-04-two-stage is 8,000,000 EUR, with an indicative grant amount of around 4,000,000 EUR per project.

Application Type: The application type is a two-stage open call. The opening date for submissions is 06 May 2025, with a first-stage deadline of 04 September 2025 and a second-stage deadline of 18 February 2026.

Nature of Support: Beneficiaries will receive money in the form of a lump sum grant to cover eligible costs.

Application Stages: The application process is two-stage.

Success Rates: The success rates are not explicitly mentioned, but the indicative number of grants is 2 for the topic HORIZON-CL6-2025-02-FARM2FORK-04-two-stage.

Co-funding Requirement: The need for co-funding is not explicitly mentioned.

Summary: This Horizon Europe call, HORIZON-CL6-2025-02-FARM2FORK-04-two-stage, aims to fund research and innovation actions focused on preventing and reducing food waste at the household level. The call is part of the broader Farm to Fork strategy and aligns with the European Green Deal, the Waste Framework Directive, and EU climate targets. The primary goal is to develop and validate new tools and methods for measuring and estimating food waste in households, with an emphasis on leveraging AI and other technologies. Projects should contribute to harmonizing food waste measurement across Europe, alleviating the reporting burden for Member States, understanding the drivers of household food waste, and supporting the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. The call encourages a multi-actor approach, involving diverse food system actors, consumers, and civil society organizations. The funding is provided as a lump sum grant, and the application process involves a two-stage submission. The geographic scope includes EU Member States, Associated Countries, and potentially other countries with specific funding arrangements. The call also emphasizes the integration of SSH disciplines and citizen science in the research activities. The total budget for this specific topic is 8 million EUR, with an expected grant size of around 4 million EUR per project, and an indicative number of 2 grants to be awarded.