Circular food system in Gottsunda Center – From food waste to sustainable profitability

The project "Circular Food System in Gottsunda Centre – From Food Waste to Sustainable Profitability" aims to address one of today’s pressing global challenges: food waste. According to the UN's Agenda 2030, food waste must be halved globally, and this project contributes to that goal by creating a fully circular food system in Gottsunda Centre. Today, up to 30% of all produced food is wasted, leading not only to massive resource loss but also significant negative impacts on the climate. Gottsunda Centre is tackling this challenge with an innovative approach, aiming to create a system where all food is either consumed or converted into nutrient rich soil used to grow new food.

This project will turn Gottsunda Centre into a hub for sustainable food innovation, where retailers, restaurants, and schools collaborate within shared business models to reduce food waste and improve profitability through better resource efficiency. By introducing a digital system, food items with short expiration dates can be redistributed to actors who can use them, enhancing their profit margins instead of letting the food go to waste.

Any inedible food will be composted and reused in the urban farming system, which will be established as part of this project. This farming initiative will produce fruits and vegetables that can be sold back to local businesses, creating a closed-loop system.

A unique aspect of the project is its focus on boosting the local economy and creating new job opportunities, particularly for women and youth. By educating local residents in urban farming and sustainable food production, jobs are created that not only contribute to economic stability but also strengthen social ties and community cohesion in Gottsunda.
The project is expected to have several significant outcomes.

It aims to reduce food waste in Gottsunda Centre by up to 50 % by 2026 while also cutting CO2 emissions through reduced transportation needs and increased local food production. For restaurants and retailers, this will result in improved profitability, with up to 15 % better margins for restaurants and at least 3 % for retailers, due to more efficient resource use and lower waste disposal costs.

Moreover, the project will position Gottsunda Centre as a destination for sustainability and innovation, with the aim of becoming aleader in sustainable gastronomi, potentially attracting more visitors and providing further economic benefits to local businesses. By creating a circular food system model, Gottsunda Centre can serve as a leading example for other centres and municipalities in Sweden that wish to adopt circular economy principles and sustainable business models.

A key part of the project is empowering women in Gottsunda. The project collaborates with local associations, such as the Rooh cultural association, to create entrepreneurial opportunities and jobs for women within urban farming and sustainable food production. This contributes to gender equality and increases women's participation in the labor market, which is an important social goal of the project.

In summary, the project builds a circular food system that not only addresses the urgent issue of food waste but also promotes sustainability, economic growth, and social justice. By creating a closed-loop system for food resources and integrating local actors into a shared business model, Gottsunda Centre is shaping a model for the sustainable cities of the future.