Introducing a social science approach to identify, discuss, and transform on-campus food waste behaviour.
This project proposes a social science approach to create a generic process model designed for students residing in university campuses, accommodation managers, recycling companies, and other key stakeholders to identify, discuss, and transform on-campus food waste behaviour that:
- Reduces waste;
- Improves recycling rates; and
- Raises awareness about the environmental impacts around food production and food waste.
Using Royal Holloway as a case study, the main aim is to identify key drivers including institutional issues that influence students’ behaviour surrounding food waste and to investigate the use of ‘Nudge Theory’ as well as ‘Lean Systems Thinking’ in conjunction with process modelling techniques to shift behaviour through positive reinforcement.
Discover the project so far:
The Team
List of researchers and institutional affiliations so far.
External advisors:
- Mark Walker, University of Hull
- Kourosh Behzadian, University of West London
- Rokiah Yaman, Leap Micro AD (https://www.madleap.co.uk/)
- Toni Burrowes-Cromwell, Food Sustainability Consultant
- Alberto Paucar-Caceres, Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU)
Internal project team:
- Vicky Reeves, Accommodation Services, Royal Holloway, University of London
- Ronak Shah, School of Business and Management, Royal Holloway, University of London (research assistant, 2022-2023)
- Jose-Rodrigo Córdoba-Pachón, School of Business and Management, Royal Holloway, University of London, (Principal Investigator or PI)
- Students of Royal Holloway University of London
- Other stakeholders
The Pilot
In March 2021 we welcomed Rokia (Leap Micro AD) to one of our undergraduate management courses (MN2515) to talk to students. Their enthusiasm led us to organise two (2) summer internships in 2021 which were jointly supervised. At the same time, we structured a working group with other universities better understand food and waste recycling processes across campuses. The two interns involved (Ioana Beldiman and Gabriel Quenta Luna) produced valuable dissertation insights which were presented at the Cop26 conference in Royal Holloway.
Using a student survey, and the concepts of lean thinking and techno-economic modelling, we identified several factors that were inhibiting food and waste recycling as well as the potential adoption of Anaerobic Digestion or AD (a technology that helps recycle food and convert it into compost, fertiliser or energy).
A fishbone diagram identifying issues that inhibit better food waste recycling (from Ioana Beldiman’s dissertation, April 2022).
The above insights were validated with undergraduate management students and as a result, four key suggestions were proposed:
- Having more food specific bins;
- Proper and clearer recycling signs;
- Social Media Campaigns;
- Event days or workshops.
EBNet Involvement
In June 2022 the working group was awarded a grant by EBNET (Environmental Biotechnology Network, https://ebnet.ac.uk/ ) to continue with the work. The project was structured and named “Somebody’s food”. An internal project team and an external advisory group were formed.
Funding was obtained until 2023 to generate an initial diagnostic of the campus under study (Royal Holloway) and suggest possibilities for improvement. Since then, members of the internal project team have continued engaging with new stakeholders and obtaining additional data to support emerging initiatives to reduce food waste (FW). Our project has mainly involved two (2) main and overlapping stages:
Appreciating. We have conducted a series of food audits and invited students to record their experiences with food in the form of food diaries. We have conversed with campus managers to learn more about their views about food, what they are doing or plan to do (engagements); in these conversations we have also provided insights from our data collection and literature research.
Coming together. We have recorded data from audits, conversations or diaries and elaborated a series of rich pictures: These are depictions of the current food situation on campus which show activities, decision making structures and perceptions from people involved in campus life. Rich pictures show issues that could illuminate further discussions about how to improve the current situation.
As part of coming together, we have also generated tentative future campus visions, where we propose ideas to use food waste in ways that contribute to improve the quality of life on campus for its different inhabitant groups.
These stages are overlapping. For instance, in conversations with new stakeholders (i.e. new campus managers, student groups) we often explain the rich picture or campus vision) and receive feedback to include new information or to support an emerging initiative to help students better manage their food or food waste habits. We could also conduct new food audits or record student diaries experiences, or rethink if not update possibilities for food waste management in the campus vision.
The journey so far
A rich picture
The picture below shows the main processes of food on campus. Food is a valuable resource for many campus inhabitants (including rodents!). It is a resource that supports the achievement of inhabitants’ goals. Our campus is driven by sustainability plans which also consider a need to increase the number of students. More students mean more academics and administrators on campus, hence more consumption of food. Campus managers need to make sure that food and its waste is properly managed throughout different venues (residences, eateries).