[ Project Overview ]
A harmonised indicator framework for Europe's food services.
Despite the ambitions of the European Green Deal and the Circular Economy Action Plan, the food service sector still lacks sector- specific indicators to measure and govern its circular performance. CIRCULARIS closes that gap by co-developing harmonised, digitally-enabled CE indicators tailored to restaurants, hotels, retailers, takeaways and food producers — and by validating them in three real-world Mediterranean pilots.
– Duration
48 Months
May 2026 – April 2030
– Grant Agreement
№ 101292246
HORIZON-CL6-2025-01
– Consortium
10 partners
6 European countries
– Pilots
3 Mediterranean sites
GR · IT · CY
– Challenge
Why food services, and why now.
Food services generate a disproportionate share of packaging waste, food loss and single-use materials — yet current CE indicators are built for manufacturing and mass retail, not for kitchens, hotels and takeaway networks.
Regulation is arriving fast: the ESPR, PPWR and the EU Digital Product Passport all require verifiable, machine-readable data that most food service SMEs cannot yet produce.
CIRCULARIS treats this gap as a systems problem — combining LCA, Material Flow Analysis and behavioural science so that indicators reflect what actually happens across the value chain.
The result is a toolkit that is at once scientifically robust, digitally native and light enough for a small independent operator to adopt.
– Objectives
Seven specific objectives.
SO.01
Develop a harmonised, service-specific taxonomy of circular economy indicators.
SO.02
Operationalise indicators into measurable KPIs aligned with ESPR and the EU Digital Product Passport.
SO.03
Pilot and validate indicators across diverse Mediterranean food service contexts.
SO.04
Deploy AI-enabled monitoring and DPP prototypes to reduce administrative burden for SMEs.
SO.05
Integrate behavioural and consumer-facing indicators into CE governance.
SO.06
Co-design engagement mechanisms and awareness campaigns with stakeholders.
SO.07
Feed results into EU policy, standards and eco-certification pathways.
– Scope
A closed loop, from producer to plate to passport.
CIRCULARIS models the food service value chain as a continuous loop: primary producers, wholesalers and packagers on the supply side; restaurants, hotels, canteens and takeaways at the point of service; recovery, reuse and organics streams on the return path.
Each node emits data — invoices, weighings, IoT signals, POS records — that the CIRCULARIS toolkit standardises into CE indicators and channels into a Digital Product Passport. Consumers see the same data through simple, honest signals at the point of choice.
– Methodology
Three interlocking pillars.
- Theoretical framework combining systems science with social practice theory, aligned to Eurostat, UNECE, ESPR and DPP.
- Indicator mapping via PRISMA 2020, LCA (ISO 14040/44) and Material Flow Analysis, operationalised into digitally-ready KPIs.
- Pilots and validation using IoT monitoring, POS data, DiD analysis and COM-B / Behaviour Change Wheel for consumer behaviour.
– Expected Outcomes
Measurable European impact.
- 40% targeted reduction in food waste at pilot sites
- 35% improvement in packaging circularity
- ≥30 CE certificates tailored to food service SMEs
- 3 Local Circular Economy Action Plans co-developed with municipalities
- Open-access publications, datasets and policy briefs deposited via OpenAIRE / Zenodo
– Timeline
48 months, two reporting periods.
The project runs from May 2026 to April 2030, structured around four operational phases that map onto the 13 work packages.
Phase 01 · M1 — M12
Framework & baselines
Theoretical framework, CE indicator taxonomy, stakeholder mapping and baseline audits at pilot sites.
Phase 02 · M12 — M24
KPI operationalisation
Translation into KPIs, first DPP prototypes and initial rollout of the CE toolkit in the Mediterranean pilots.
Phase 03 · M24 — M36
Validation & behavioural change
Translation into KPIs, first DPP prototypes and initial rollout of the CE toolkit in the Mediterranean pilots.
Phase 04 · M36 — M48
Certification & uptake
Certification schemes, policy uptake, replication pathways and long-term exploitation of the toolkit.
– Governance
Coordinated by UPRC, governed by the consortium.
The University of Piraeus Research Center coordinates the project, supported by a General Assembly of all beneficiaries, a Steering Committee and dedicated bodies for data ethics, exploitation and stakeholder engagement.
General Assembly
One vote per beneficiary. Strategic decisions, budget shifts and consortium changes.
Steering Committee
WP leaders + coordinator. Operational execution, risk mitigation and cross-WP integration.
Ethics & Data Board
Oversees GDPR compliance, AI ethics and open science / FAIR data commitments.
Exploitation Board
Manages IPR, business model development and the pathway to certification and market uptake.
– Continue