Food Waste Challenge

The Food Waste Challenge is a yearly competition aimed at SDGs 12, 2, 11, 13, and 15.We’re sourcing ideas to solve challenges from all parts of the value chain – everything from household food waste to food waste on organizational and societal levels. Together with our advisory board, we will select the best ideas and innovations for validation and acceleration.

We are teaming up with investors, individuals, and organizations to raise money to fund the best food-waste idea through micro-grants that will allow the initiatives to validate their idea.

The food industry is one of the largest sources of CO2-emission. Despite that, a third of all food is discarded, which would make food waste the third largest CO2-contributor nation if it was a country. In response, the Global Shapers Stockholm Hub is involving local stakeholders from policy, the municipality and business to discuss possible ways to act. The Food Waste project is creating incentives to make restaurants and hotels to reduce their waste. For example, by partnering with existing startups in the local Stockholm startup ecosystem, aiming to reduce food waste. By establishing synergies among different actors the Hub is aiming to contribute to the reduction of large scale food waste. 

2020-2021:Food Waste Challenge received 30 applications and selected one winner who received the €5000 grant to continue developing their idea. In 2021 the initiative established one main partnership and two ecosystem partnerships, as well as recruited an expert panel consisting of four food experts covering research, venture capital, entrepreneurship, and technology.2021-2022Food Waste Challenge received 22 high-quality applications from innovators working on solutions that mitigate food waste. The top ideas were presented to an expert jury of food experts from the public sector, policy-making, venture capital, research, and entrepreneurship. The winner, selected by the jury, received €5000 in funding to further develop their idea. In 2022 the project established a long-term partnership with Invest Stockholm, the official investment promotion agency of Stockholm, as well as 13 ecosystem partnerships.