The second Sustainable Development Goal is to end hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture.
2023 progress report
Cranfield is a passionate and frequent contributor to the Food Waste-Food Security Debate. In 2022/23, the explored food production and security
Our actions in the last year supporting a Food Waste Week, waste food recycling, food banks and sustainable sourcing are outlined in the Annual Environmental Report.
Policy
We have introduced a new sustainable food policy. We aim to ensure that ingredients are sustainably sourced, using organic produce over conventional produce wherever possible.
In 2022/23 we achieved Green Kitchen standard
Food waste
Food waste from our Cranfield campus catering outlets, student accommodation and office kitchens is separated from general waste and taken to an anaerobic digestion plant off site. The plant produces organic fertiliser which is used on growing crops, and methane which is converted, via a generator, into electricity for the National Grid and to power the plant. Find out more here.
We are proud members of the ‘’ food waste movement. Too Good To go is an app that allows unsold food from selected venues on campus a second chance at being consumed rather than going to waste, allowing staff, students and the local community to purchase ‘surprise bags’ of food at low prices.
In January 2023, our Green Team celebrated Veganuary with a wide range of vegan dishes available at Reggie's (Mitchell Hall) and elsewhere on campus. We are also promoted the '' Instagram cooking competition which includes a vegan category. We also took part in Food Waste Action Week 6-12 March - Win, Don't Bin run by Love food hate waste
Food choices for sustainability
We are dedicated to nurturing the wellbeing of our community by providing health-conscious and affordable food choices. By adhering to a range of these principles, for example, increasing consumption of vegetables, leaner meat, use of cooking oils we create an environment that supports healthy living and empowers our community to make informed decisions about their dietary preferences.
Education
The Environment and Agrifood Theme combines research groups with 50+ years of experience in contributing to societal challenges such as sustainability, enhancing natural capital and future global food systems resilience.
Research
Examples of research contributing to this SDG included:
- Eco Ready – this European Funded project with 18 partners is a surveillance and early warning system aiming to provide real-time assessments for the food system.
- Environmental and social benefits of regenerative agriculture for tropical perennial agroecosystems: Researchers at Â鶹´«Ã½AV are co-developing a regenerative agriculture toolkit to support the development of sustainable farming practices in East Africa for tea and coffee smallholders
- The Digital Tools to help Agroforestry meet Climate, Biodiversity and Farming Sustainability Goals: Linking Field and Cloud (DigitAF) project is promoting agroforestry in Europe by developing digital decision-guidance tools so that trees are appropriately integrated on farms to achieve profitable food production, reduced net greenhouse gas emissions, and enhanced biodiversity.
- The AGROMIX project aims to drive a transition to more resilient and efficient land use in Europe. It will do this by using participatory approaches to capitalise on the synergies found in mixed farming (crop + livestock) and agroforestry (trees + crops and/or livestock) systems and the associated value chains.
- Â鶹´«Ã½AV contributes to research suggesting significant adjustment to frozen food temperature to increase supply chain sustainability
- The NutriNuts project aims to mitigate the occurrence of aflatoxins in Ethiopian peanuts used in therapeutic food products to reduce malnutrition in Africa.
- The PataFEST project is committed to addressing the challenges presented by emerging potato pests and the impact of soil-borne pathogens during potato postharvest storage, with the goal of reducing food waste within the potato supply chain.
- Co-Production of Healthy, Sustainable Food Systems - this project aims to provide citizens of socio-culturally adverse disadvantaged communities with choice over the food they consume.
Outreach
- is a new body of artworks around the theme of “Mysteries and Mycotoxins”. The project takes the form of an artistic exploration of mycotoxins and aims to raise awareness of their significant impact on human and animal health, as well as on the food industry.
- Sustainability Network Speaker Series: How is sustainability and net zero driving innovation in the food sector? (cranfield.ac.uk)
A group of three students from Â鶹´«Ã½AV reached the finals of the Sustainable Food Challenge 2023. The competition was part of the (funded by EU Horizon 2020), which aims to educate and empower people to change their behaviour towards the environment by fostering empathy for the planet. A key part of this is rethinking how food is produced, transported and consumed in Europe.Â鶹´«Ã½AV students reach finals of Sustainable Food Challenge 2023
2022 progress report
Cranfield is a passionate and frequent contributor to the . Our actions in the last year supporting a Food Waste Week, waste food recycling, food banks and sustainable sourcing are outlined in the Annual Environmental Report.
Policy
We have introduced a new sustainable food policy. We aim to ensure that ingredients are sustainably sourced, using organic produce over conventional produce wherever possible.
Food waste
Food waste from our Cranfield campus catering outlets, student accommodation and office kitchens is separated from general waste and taken to an anaerobic digestion plant off site. The plant produces organic fertiliser which is used on growing crops, and methane which is converted, via a generator, into electricity for the National Grid and to power the plant. Find out more on our waste and recycling page.
We are proud members of the ‘’ food waste movement. Too Good To go is an app that allows unsold food from selected venues on campus a second chance at being consumed rather than going to waste, allowing staff, students and the local community to purchase ‘surprise bags’ of food at low prices.
Food choices for sustainability
We are dedicated to nurturing the wellbeing of our community by providing health-conscious and affordable food choices. By adhering to a range of these principles, for example, increasing consumption of vegetables, leaner meat, use of cooking oils we create an environment that supports healthy living and empowers our community to make informed decisions about their dietary preferences.
Education
The Environment and Agrifood Theme combines research groups with 50+ years of experience in contributing to societal challenges such as sustainability, enhancing natural capital and future global food systems resilience.
Research
Examples of research contributing to this SDG included:
- Co-Production of Healthy, Sustainable Food Systems for Disadvantaged Communities
The project aims to provide citizens of socio-culturally adverse disadvantaged communities with choice over the food they consume. - Spray-on polymer to cut food waste and increase incomes for Kenyan smallholders
Spraying a safe and environmentally friendly polymer onto soil surfaces can reduce the ‘soiling’ of fine beans by almost 65 per cent. - NutriNuts
This project aims to mitigate the occurrence of aflatoxins in Ethiopian peanuts used in therapeutic food products to reduce malnutrition in Africa.
Outreach
– the Rurban Revolution team created a public engagement space at the popular Glastonbury festival designed to share knowledge about urban food growing through a range of interactive activities.
The aims to improve crop quantity and output whilst reducing food loss and waste. The Network is jointly led by Â鶹´«Ã½AV and the University of Reading.
2021 progress report
We have a range of courses related to food sustainability, listed on this page.
Cranfield is a passionate and frequent contributor to the .
Our actions supporting a Food Waste Week, waste food recycling, food banks and sustainable sourcing are outlined in our Annual Environmental Report.
Our African Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Cooling and Cold-Chain (ACES), based in Rwanda, is helping to get food to markets quickly and efficiently. It will support farmers and fisheries in Africa to reduce the amount of food produced for human consumption which is lost due to poor post-harvest practices and handling – tackling hunger, under-nutrition, and environmental impacts, while boosting profits and creating jobs.
Courses/modules relating to the goal
The following courses either address sustainability entirely or contain modules that are focused on sustainability-related topics.
Applied Bioinformatics MSc
Executive MBA
Food Systems and Management MSc
Future Food Sustainability MSc
Global Environmental Change MSc
Management and Corporate Sustainability MSc
Management and Human Resource Management MSc
Management and Leadership MSc
Management MSc
MBA
Sustainability MSc