THE STORY OF BRUGES CASE STUDY # 11 After assessing that 750 000 kg of food were wasted every year, the of Bruges lauched an ambitious Zero Food Waste strategy. Becoming a European forerunner with 43% of Food Waste prevented in the Healthcare sector.

1 When you mention Bruges, the HOW IT ALL STARTED Apart from reducing CO2 emissions, first things people think of are: a Mieke finds more motivations ‘Food picturesque tourist hotspot with In 2015, Bruges decided to start Waste is an easy and fun topic to many small channels, the movie ‘In working on a sustainable food work on. People appreciate the fact Bruges’ and chocolate. Few people strategy. Food Waste became one that our city makes Food Waste know that the city has a burning of the four main topics, which reduction a priority. They ask us ambition to become a Zero Food would lead to the creation of the what the city is doing about it. Waste City! Bruges Food Lab. Indeed, the Citizens sometimes even contact Bruges Food Lab and Mieke Hoste, me because they have too many Let’s get to know the various parts alderman of environment in the courgettes and want to make sure of the food landscape. The city of city of Bruges, were the visionary they get eaten. This would have Bruges is located in the West of drivers of the Food Waste actions. never happened 6 years ago. Today, , with its 117.000 citizens, it Mieke Hoste explains the reason we link those citizens to relevant is one of the biggest in Belgium. for their transition towards Zero organisations in the Bruges Food It is characterised by a historic city Food Waste: ‘For our department, Lab.’ centre and a high concentration it’s a really important topic because of restaurants and hotels. Its reducing Food Waste is an excellent DIAGNOSING FOOD WASTE: A WAKE subminicipality, , is a big way to reduce CO2 emissions. It UP CALL port and harbours a fish auction. plays a significant role in attaining As a provincial capital, the city has our climate goals”. Indeed, as As part of the European project a relatively high amount of schools stated in the comprehensive study ‘Food Smart Cities For Development’, (among which two cooking schools) Drawdown [1], reducing Food Waste Bruges received funding to co- and healthcare institutions on its is ranked as the third most effective create an urban food strategy. Mieke territory. It hosts relatively little solution to reduce greenhouse gas Hoste explains ‘At the beginning of agriculture and food processing emissions, even before solar farms the process we hadn’t thought of industries because of the the soil and plant-rich diets. including Food Waste. characteristics.

2 When we heard the numbers and supermarkets. She found that no CO-CREATING A FOOD WASTE facts in a meeting with Tristram less than 750.000 kg of edible STRATEGY Stuart, (the author, changemaker food per year (15.000 kg per week) and pioneer who put Food Waste were wasted by retailers in Bruges. Since its kick-off, the Food Waste on the international agenda) we Reducing this amount of Food Waste strategy co-creation process decided to do something about it.’ by 20% would save as much CO2 was supported by civil society Global estimates show that one as 2.540 sun boilers altogether! organisations, particularly by third of all food is wasted. That’s not Financially, it’s more or less the FoodWIN and Coduco. With their only the food itself that gets wasted, same whether we’d invested in solar support, the city of Bruges co- but also the farmers’ work, the panels or in reducing Food Waste.” created its strategy with local fertilizers, pesticides and gasoline A recent study [3] confirms the stakeholders. Mieke Hoste “The used to grow the food, the energy to financial benefits. In fact, reducing participatory approach made all transport it and, finally, the impacts Food Waste has a huge return on the difference. We don’t work top of disposing the food. The FAO investment for cities. For every euro down anymore. We want the input calculated [2] that no less than 8% invested in Food Waste reduction, a of the citizens. This creates more of global greenhouse gas emissions city saves 8 euros. awareness. Their voice is important are attributable to food waste. to us. They want change, we want Thanks to the FoodWIN Food change. Together we go for it.” During its Food Waste reduction Waste Calculator, the city of journey, the realisation of how Bruges managed to have a The city, together with the local much food gets wasted with what precise estimation for the Food stakeholders, created the Bruges impact, was crucial for the city of Waste generated. It revealed that Food Lab: a local stakeholder Bruges. Before drafting its urban restaurants, citizens, retail and council on sustainable food. Mieke food strategy, Bruges did a SWOT- healthcare waste most of the food Hoste emphasises the importance of analysis to get a good overview of in Bruges. Mieke continues ‘The these stakeholders ‘There are quite the biggest food challenges. Food numbers are huge! After seeing a few important organisations in Waste seemed to be one of the them, reducing Food Waste became Bruges which work on Food Waste: main challenges to achieve a more even more important. We had to do Kaba [4] is a social grocery that sustainable food chain. However, something about it!’ redistributes food surplus; Soepcafe only recently, real numbers [5] is an organisation that cooks with revealed how big Bruges’ Food food surplus to raise awareness and Waste challenge really was. Mieke Sobo [6] is a restaurant employing Hoste explains: “Vannessa Aneca, people in need using food surplus. a student from Bruges, conducted Without them, there would be less a research on Food Waste in action on Food Waste.’

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The Food Lab and the City of Bruges REDUCING FOOD WASTE AT THE SUSTAINABLE FOOD MANUAL FOR organised a crowdsourcing day to BRUGES FISH AUCTION EVENTS shape the urban food strategy. Food Waste has a prominent place in this Bruges has a port and a fish auction. In 2016, the Bruges Food Lab co- food strategy with the following In 2015 179 tonnes of the traded fish created a sustainable food manual objectives: did not get sold and were processed [7] for events. The manual gives tips into animal food. These are usually and tricks on using local, seasonal, 1. To redistribute food surplus unknown and less popular species. fairtrade, vegetarian and organic by actors with large quantities of Maarten Dubois (representative of food at events in Bruges. The manual food surplus (fish auction, schools, the fish auction at the Bruges Food also covers how to prevent Food industrial kitchens, events). Lab) and his team took three actions. Waste and use food surplus. Events 2. To reduce Food Waste at public Firstly, the fish auction created tend to work with registrations in organisations. a webshop for consumers to buy order to estimate the amount of food fish online promoting less popular they have to make. Furthermore, To implement this strategy, the fish. Secondly, the auction started they can donate food surplus to local Food Lab crowdsourced 75 ideas a collaboration with cooking school charities who feed people in need. and a good amount of them got Ter Groene Poorte. The school now implemented throughout the years. only uses discarded fish to train In 2017 the Bruges College of FoodWIN co-facilitated the Food their students to fillet fish. And Mayor and Aldermen approved Lab from the start until the end of finally, it developed a fish burger the manual to be the applicable 2017. Joris Depouillon of FoodWIN called ‘Pretty Girl’, made with less guideline for any event organized explains: ‘The Bruges Food Lab has popular fish that would have gone by the city government. For the functioned as a Food Waste task to waste. The burger is served in Bruges Food Lab, this was a big force throughout the last years. hospitals, schools and other public achievement. Bruges is the first city Some of the Food Lab members institutions. in Belgium taking the commitment took the challenge to reduce Food to only use sustainable food at Waste in their own organisation. The Food Lab took the role of events. Guidelines have proved Other organisations have supported sounding board to support the fish to be very helpful as the rules are actions initiated by the Food Lab or auction in developing their projects. very concrete and the various city by the city government. Furthermore, the fish auction was services are obliged to follow them. supported twice by the Food Lab and In addition to the guidelines, the city the City of Bruges through a grant to has organised workshops for civil realise its projects. servants, so as to further spread their implementation.

4 FEEDING THE 5000 AND restaurant). This resulted in enough sustainable food and win fun prizes SUSTAINABLE FOOD food surplus for 5000 meals. In like organic seeds. addition to that, the city worked In May 2016, the City of Bruges and with a famous chef and chocolatier DARE TO (HEALTH)CARE the Bruges Food Lab organised the to create the recipes and cook the first edition of (H)eerlijk Brugge food. Cooking school Spermalie In 2017 Bruges started focusing its (Fair and Delicious Bruges in was indispensable for cutting the efforts on helping specific sectors English), a yearly sustainable food vegetables and cooling the food. And to reduce Food Waste. The first festival. The festival aims at raising finally, all organisations promoted target group was healthcare. The awareness of sustainable food and the event with their followers and involvement of the city was a key promoting the work of the Food members. Having leftovers was one factor for hospitals in order to put Lab organisations. In 2016 the of their biggest concerns, but all in place a Food Waste reduction plan focus was on Food Waste. To launch 5000 meals were eaten. ‘I will never and to get funding from OVAM (the Bruges’ sustainable food strategy forget how people were queuing waste agency) to support the city and the Food Lab organised to get their portion of food, added Bruges’ healthcare organizations ‘Feeding the 5000’: 5000 meals were Mieke Hoste.’ to reduce Food Waste. FoodWIN’s prepared entirely from food that involvement in the project was would have gone to waste. The yearly event has had its impact also fundamental for the project on Bruges. In 2018 the third edition successful implementation’. Although challenging for its big took place. Each year the number dimension, with the help of FoodWIN of visitors seems to increase. With The project supported two hospitals, and Coduco, the city managed to it, the interest in sustainable food a residential care centre for elderly organise the event working along also grows, even from outside of people and an industrial kitchen for as many Food Lab organisations Bruges, as noted by the City council. residential care centres. as possible, such as Kaba (social After all, it remains an interactive grocery), Soepcafe and SOBO (social family event where people can taste

5 These organisations went through different services of an elderly home meals), which comes down to 1.017 the following stages: or hospital was crucial. For instance, tonnes of CO2 emissions. - Measuring how much food goes to in one organisation the nurses waste complained the steaks were too As a response, the participating - Creating an action plan cooked. The chefs were surprised organisations changed their - Testing the solutions on a small because they put so much effort in communication processes, reduced scale preparing the steaks ‘a point’. But the portion size and adapted the offer - Measuring the impact the nurses didn’t have time to serve to the demand. These actions were - Upscaling the solutions the food 20 min after the delivery. successful: one of the participating Together they developed a system to organisations reduced Food Waste For each organisation a multi- serve the food right away.’ by 43%! disciplinary task force of nurses, directors and kitchen staff managed Both hospitals and elderly homes After helping these four the project. Some patients were wasted between 25 and 40% of the organisations in reducing Food involved as well. food they bought. For hospitals this Waste, a manual was produced in amounted to an estimated 170.000 order to help the remaining Mieke Hoste reflects on the process. euro per year. For elderly homes healthcare organisations in Bruges. ‘We were really lucky to use this an estimated 25.000 euro per year. This project won the special participatory approach. It’s the If we extrapolate those figures to mention award on Food Waste at people in the field who have all the Bruges healthcare sector, this the Milan Urban Food Policy Pact the knowledge. We noticed that amounts to 318 tonnes of Food conference in 2017. communication between the Waste per year (just from hot

6 REDUCING FOOD WASTE IN RETAIL a logistical service would drive (or the key stakeholders from the food bike) around the city to recover food sector together in the Food Lab was Per year, no less than 750.000 kg of surplus from various supermarkets crucial. These organisations now food is wasted at the main and shops and supply it to social know each other and collaborate. supermarkets in Bruges. Mieke organisations. Ultimately, these Their influence and support were Hoste explains. ‘Supermarkets, organisations often don’t have the crucial to create our sustainable bakeries and neighbourhood shops capacity to pick it up themselves. food strategy and our sustainable are the next sectors we’re targeting. Mieke Hoste illustrates. ‘Currently food manual for events. Because We would like to help these shops in there are three organisations in of that, all the city government preventing Food Waste as much as the Food Lab that pick up and use departments work within a possible. After all, that helps our food surplus in Bruges. Together sustainable food framework.’ local economy. In this regard, we are they save about 10% of all food very pleased that Too Good To Go surplus. This is not enough. We The City of Bruges has now built recently was launched in Bruges, want to ensure that as much food as the foundation to become a Zero enabling shops and restaurants to possible is saved.’ Food Waste city. But there still is sell their leftovers at a discount work ahead. Mieke Hoste on what’s price at closing time.’ WHAT’S NEXT? next ‘Thanks to FoodWIN’s Food Waste estimation, we learned that Furthermore, the city is planning The last three years have been citizens and restaurants have the to launch a logistical platform to interesting and impactful for biggest impact on Food Waste in our redistribute food surplus to social Bruges. Mieke Hoste reflects on city. Those sectors will be our next organisations. With this platform, the success factors. ‘Bringing all focus.’

Sources [1] drawdown.org/solutions-summary-by-rank [2] fao.org/fileadmin/templates/nr/sustainability_pathways/docs/FWF_and_ climate_change.pdf [3] champions123.org/the-business-case-for-reducing-food-loss-and-waste/ [4] ocmw-brugge.be/sociale-kruidenier-de-kaba-3 [5] soepcafebrugge.blogspot.com/p/startpagina.html [6] sobo.be/ [7] brugge.be/20170213_pu_duurzamevoedingdefweb.pdf 7 For more information, please contact:

FoodWIN FoodWIN is the European Food Waste Innovation Network supporting European cities to reduce food waste. [email protected]

Mieke Hoste Alderman for the city of Bruges in charge of Environment, Sociocultural associations, Tourist organizations, Animal welfare and Culture Center and the Library. [email protected]

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Case study by Ferran Rosa & FoodWIN Visual design by Petra Jääskeläinen & Yianna Sigalou Zero Waste Europe 2018 Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International

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