Towards Zero Pollution in the Mediterranean Agri-Food Sector

The Interreg MED Green Growth Community (GGC) has organised a partner event in the framework of the EU Green Week to present best practices to move towards zero pollution in the agri-food sector with the focus on the Mediterranean region. The webinar will be held on the 1^st of June at 10 am CET, and it aims to showcase how to make the agri-food value chain more sustainable by applying circular economy approaches.

In the first half of the session, GGC projects PEFMED, REINWASTE and RE-LIVE WASTE will highlight how the innovative solutions they developed can support the transition towards a more sustainable agri-food sector. The three project representatives will share their on-the-ground experiences of how to reduce pollution and the environmental footprint of agri-food value chains, from production to consumption. The second half of the session will be an interactive journey for attendees to learn more and explore food products’ journey through the agri-food value chain, and how to make the process more sustainable.

The three GGC projects will cover different steps of the value chain to show the innovative results achieved during their pilot projects. Fotini Salta – Federation of Hellenic Food Industries – will represent PEFMED explaining how their results can help ensuring a low product environmental footprint with the PEF method. Maria Antonia Cobacho – Andalusian Agency for Agriculture and Fisheries Development – will highlight the REINWASTE project’s outcomes for a sustainable food manufacturing and packaging for zero inorganic waste. Focusing on the last step of the value chain, Maria G. Antoniou – Cyprus University of Technology – will explain the best practices of RE-LIVE WASTE project to turn livestock waste into a valuable product.

This year’s edition of the EU Green Week will delve into ‘Zero pollution for healthier people and the planet’, following the European Commission zero pollution action plan that will be adopted in 2021. The European agri-food sector makes a major contribution to air, soil and water pollution and GHG emissions across the continent. The Farm to Fork Strategy has paved the way for more sustainable and environment-friendly food systems, but the solutions to achieve zero pollution in the agri-food sector need to be developed and implemented locally.

The GGC works throughout all its four focus areas to boost the transition towards circular economy for a more sustainable Euro-Mediterranean region. The agri-food sector is one of the key sectors to achieve that goal, and is therefore one of the Community’s main focuses. Food systems is a cornerstone of the European Green Deal, and the GGC works to create sustainable food environments that improve lifestyles and the environment by boosting the efficient use of resources and by building food chains that works for consumers, producers, climate and the environment.