Project
Presentation of the project
We plan to set up 6 demonstrators in Spain (Carcaixent), , France (MIN Montpellier and LivraZou), Italy (Senigallia), Greece (Heraklion) and Bulgaria (Dolni Chiflik) to support the trials. Powered by renewable energy or biofuels, these demonstrators will be used to assess the feasibility of low-carbon mobility solutions.
Beyond technical trials, a long-term approach is essential to drive the energy transition forward. This is why we will address the economic, organisational and technological issues linked to the need for an energy transition in food logistics will be addressed through local and regional consultations in a Living Lab-type approach, bringing together local authorities, professionals, researchers and the general public. Ultimately, the goal is to formulate policy recommendations to help transform cities by rethinking urban planning and infrastructure to meet future energy challenges.
See the 6 pilote sites
The project consortium comprises 10 partners and 9 associated partners, both public and private, with expertise in logistics in regional food systems, the design of low-carbon logistics solutions and support for the development of public policies on energy transition.
Consult partner organisations
Context and issues
Our GARDEN project is concerned with decarbonising the logistics of short, local food circuits. This is a complex subject for study, requiring specific organisations to be put in place because of the fragmentation of flows (small volumes, multiple players and points of sale), the diversity of goods transported (ultra-fresh, fresh, dry, meat, vegetable, raw, processed products), farmers' lack of expertise in logistics and their low capacity for investment or processing, the diversity of goods transported (Raton et al, 2020).
According to Eurostat, of the 3,380 Mt of GHG eq. CO2 emitted, goods and passenger transport is the biggest contributor in the EU-27 (26%), almost as much as the energy industries (24%). Road transport (cars, vans, lorries, buses) generates more than 70% of the sector's total emissions. While emissions from most sectors have fallen since 1990, transport emissions have increased (+33% = 241 Mt), which is a major obstacle to achieving the EU's climate protection objectives (EEA, 2020), with reference to the Paris Agreement. In addition, transport is a source of air pollution (fine particles, nitrogen oxides), which is seriously harmful to human health and the environment, as well as noise and landscape pollution.
In response to these challenges, GARDEN aims to accelerate the search for solutions to decarbonise transport, tailored to the realities of local food industry players, in order to co-construct concrete avenues for collective action, given that this is a major challenge in terms of securing supply chains and the resilience of local food supply. As logistics initiatives for food supply chains are generally concentrated in and around major urban centres because of the concentration of demand and the potential for massification, our transnational trial sites will all be located in or near a city with more than 100,000 inhabitants, including 2 cities with more than 500,000 inhabitants (Marseille and Valencia).
According to Eurostat, of the 3,380 Mt of GHG eq. CO2 emitted, goods and passenger transport is the biggest contributor in the EU-27 (26%), almost as much as the energy industries (24%). Road transport (cars, vans, lorries, buses) generates more than 70% of the sector's total emissions. While emissions from most sectors have fallen since 1990, transport emissions have increased (+33% = 241 Mt), which is a major obstacle to achieving the EU's climate protection objectives (EEA, 2020), with reference to the Paris Agreement. In addition, transport is a source of air pollution (fine particles, nitrogen oxides), which is seriously harmful to human health and the environment, as well as noise and landscape pollution.
In response to these challenges, GARDEN aims to accelerate the search for solutions to decarbonise transport, tailored to the realities of local food industry players, in order to co-construct concrete avenues for collective action, given that this is a major challenge in terms of securing supply chains and the resilience of local food supply. As logistics initiatives for food supply chains are generally concentrated in and around major urban centres because of the concentration of demand and the potential for massification, our transnational trial sites will all be located in or near a city with more than 100,000 inhabitants, including 2 cities with more than 500,000 inhabitants (Marseille and Valencia).
With GARDEN, we are laying the foundations for a sustainable and low-carbon food logistics system, serving local communities and territories.