Summary

Although Munich’s food system is far from circular, many organizations based in Munich are actively working to change that. Circular Munich realized these organizations could benefit from working more closely with each other, and in the fall of 2021, Circular Munich created a networking organization called “Good Food Circle”. Through workshops and community events, members come together to share challenges, ideas and collectively accelerate Munich’s transition to a circular food system.

Problem

The food system has a major impact on the environment - it is estimated that 20% of Munich’s carbon footprint is due to the food system. Many dedicated entrepreneurs, volunteers, and activists want to transform the traditional food system to a more sustainable, circular system. However, such initiatives are still a niche in Munich, and there was little network of support to connect these various initiatives to benefit from mutual learnings and collaboration.

Solution

Circular Munich, an organization founded in 2021 to promote circularity in the city and beyond, connected various circular food system initiatives by creating the “Good Food Circle”. The goal of the group is to provide a forum for participants to share common challenges, best practices, and to expand networks with peer and symbiotic organizations to promote circularity in the food system in Munich. It is one of a larger initiatives by Circular Munich to create industry-focused networking communities to promote circularity by industry.

Outcome

Having only just begun a half year ago, the initiative has already created valuable connections among members. With participants from more than 15 organizations, ranging from solutions to reduce food packaging waste, an NGO promoting sustainable farming techniques, and a café promoting veganism, the synergies created are quite unique. As one participant wrote regarding a recent networking event, “It was an amazing and inspiring session! Thank you for the organization and that I can be a part of it. Looking forward to the next session. =)“ - Daniel Nagy. The initiative shows the power of networking and facilitating collaboration towards a common goal.

Challenges

The linear economy, in many ways, disincentivizes circular business models, presenting numerous challenges to organizations seeking to disrupt the status-quo. Business questions abound, forcing trade-offs, such as determining a pricing strategy for a ‘premium’ product in a price-sensitive market. External forces, for example, a lack of financial incentives for companies to reduce their perishable food waste, adds to the burden. And on top of all this, how does a circular business determine a profitable long-term strategy given that their core mission is to become obsolete once the worldwide economic transition to circularity is complete. We present below a few major challenges members of the Good Food Circle are facing:

Lack of public awareness

Consumers must “get in touch with their food” by understanding the connection between food source (i.e., farm) and their table (i.e., bananas do not ‘come from’ the supermarket!). Armed with this understanding, consumers can then take into consideration additional factors beyond price, such as locally sourced products, organically grown, carbon neutrally produced, etc.

Lack of infrastructure:

• Improved access to “commercial kitchens“ to support food start-ups and especially circular food start-ups in Munich would greatly accelerate their growth and cross-pollination, similar to the concept of “maker-spaces”.
• A general lack of reverse logistics solutions to ‘close the loop’ and minimize waste and energy used to collect empty reusable packaging places a challenging burden on circular food business models. A clear need exists to expand the Pfand system beyond drinks and dairy product containers to drive packaging returns.

“100%” sustainable sourcing doesn’t exist (yet!)

Trade-offs (pricing, availability, reliability) need to be carefully considered when selecting suppliers, and the market isn’t mature enough to enforce sustainability requirements on all suppliers. Greater demand for circular/sustainable products distributed via circular/sustainable means will improve sustainable sourcing opportunities.

Lack of regulation

Regulation is needed to address negative externalities and increase incentives of circularity principles in businesses. The EU’s Circular economy action plan is a promising step forward, but broader regulation is required to accelerate the circular transition of a global food system.