{"id":15953,"date":"2026-10-05T13:08:36","date_gmt":"2026-10-05T11:08:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cscp.org\/?p=15953"},"modified":"2026-10-05T13:08:36","modified_gmt":"2026-10-05T11:08:36","slug":"nora-brueggemann-interview-on-food-waste-and-bioeconomy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cscp.org\/de\/nora-brueggemann-interview-on-food-waste-and-bioeconomy\/","title":{"rendered":"How Food Waste Prevention Connects to Circular Bioeconomy: An Interview with Nora Br\u00fcggemann"},"content":{"rendered":"

While Circular Week 2026<\/a> brings together many perspectives on circular transformation, one important resource system deserves particular attention: our food system<\/strong>. Food connects Kreislaufwirtschaft<\/strong> und bioeconomy<\/strong> in a very practical way: from preventing waste in the first place to finding the most valuable use for unavoidable side streams.<\/p>\n

We spoke with Nora Br\u00fcggemann, Senior Project Manager at the CSCP<\/strong>, about why food waste prevention remains a key sustainability challenge, what circular bioeconomy can learn from the food waste debate, and why the next step is not necessarily simply more solutions.<\/p>\n

You have been working on food waste prevention and reduction for over ten years. Why is this topic still so relevant, and even gaining traction?<\/strong><\/p>\n

It remains relevant for two reasons. On the one hand, it connects many sustainability challenges: resource efficiency, climate change, food security and sustainable consumption. On the other, we still have not managed to significantly reduce the amount of food loss and waste generated as EU-wide monitoring data shows.<\/p>\n

Through CSCP\u2019s work in European and national projects \u2013 from consumer-focused interventions (ECFWF<\/a>, BREADCRUMB<\/a>, CHORIZO<\/a>) to stakeholder dialogues with businesses, policymakers and civil society organisations (handelsforumRLV<\/a>, REFRESH<\/a>) or policy analysis (ETC CE<\/a>), I have seen both the progress that has been made and the remaining gaps in translating knowledge into practice.<\/p>\n

So, my impression is that we don\u2019t lack ideas or examples. What we lack are better mechanisms to learn systematically from what already works, to connect experiences and to understand under which conditions approaches can be transferred to other contexts.<\/p>\n

Food waste prevention is still a major challenge. At the same time, circular solutions and the bioeconomy are gaining more and more attention. How can we make sure that these perspectives complement each other?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Naturally, the first question should always be: Can we prevent food loss in the first place? If this is not possible, we need to carefully consider which alternative use retains the highest possible value.<\/p>\n

A very helpful framework for this discussion is the food use and waste hierarchy<\/a>. It illustrates the specific characteristics of food compared to other resources. An apple, for example, has a very different life cycle than a smartphone. Once consumed, it is gone, and if it is not used for its primary purpose, namely human nutrition, we need to carefully consider which alternative use retains the highest possible value.<\/p>\n

This means that when prevention is no longer possible, circular economy and bioeconomy perspectives become important. They ask a different question: how can we retain as much value as possible from the remaining biological resources?<\/p>\n

Can you explain this further?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Today, technological developments create many opportunities to use biological resources differently: as new food ingredients, animal feed, materials, chemicals or other bio-based products.<\/p>\n

But when it comes to food, the key question should not simply be: Can we create something new from this resource? The more important question is: What is the most valuable and sustainable use of this resource in this specific context?<\/p>\n

The answer depends on many factors: the quantity and quality of the food surplus, logistics, processing requirements, market demand, economic viability and environmental impacts due to additional processing, transport or energy.<\/p>\n

A circular bioeconomy is therefore not only about finding more uses. It is about making better choices \u2013 guided by the food use hierarchy, but also considering the specific characteristics of each individual case.<\/p>\n

Does this mean that upcycling and valorisation are not always the best solution?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Exactly. Upcycling is an important opportunity, but it should always be considered within a broader system perspective.<\/p>\n

If a food product can still be consumed safely, direct human consumption should remain the priority. If this is not possible, other options need to be assessed carefully.<\/p>\n

A highly processed solution is not automatically more sustainable simply because it creates a new product. We need to understand what resources are required, what value is retained and what additional impacts are created.<\/p>\n

This is where food waste prevention, circular economy and bioeconomy come together. They are not separate agendas; they are different perspectives on the fundamental question how we can use biological resources responsibly.<\/p>\n

Your work often focuses on behaviour change and practical implementation. What have you learned about creating impact?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A key lesson is that awareness alone is rarely enough. Many consumers and organisations already understand that food waste is a problem and want to reduce it. The challenge is translating this intention into everyday action.<\/p>\n

This means focusing on enabling behaviour: making sustainable choices easier, more visible and more convenient.<\/p>\n

The same applies beyond households. Whether we work with companies, public authorities or civil society organisations, successful solutions need to consider real-world conditions. This is also why collaboration matters so much: no single actor can solve food waste alone.<\/p>\n

So, then what is exactly needed to accelerate this transition?<\/strong><\/p>\n

First, we need stronger connections between the communities working on these topics.<\/p>\n

Food waste experts bring important knowledge about prevention, behaviour change, and food systems. Circular economy experts contribute approaches for maintaining value and redesigning systems. Bioeconomy experts bring new technologies and opportunities for using biological resources.<\/p>\n

Bringing these perspectives together can help us make better decisions.<\/p>\n

Second, we need to focus more strongly on learning and replication. Across Europe, many projects, strategies and initiatives already exist. The question is increasingly not whether we have ideas, but which approaches work, under which conditions, and how successful examples can be adapted and transferred.<\/p>\n

Looking at Germany, I see many interesting individual initiatives and innovative solutions emerging. What is still missing is a shared overview and a more coordinated approach: Where are the relevant side streams? Who can work with them? Which solutions have the potential to scale?<\/p>\n

Looking ahead: what is the key message you would like to share?<\/strong><\/p>\n

My main message would be: Do not start from zero. Build on what already exists \u2013 but keep improving it.<\/p>\n

For food waste, circular economy and bioeconomy alike, the future challenge is not simply to create more projects. It is to create better connections between people, knowledge and solutions.<\/p>\n

Because ultimately, transformation does not happen through isolated projects alone. It happens when we connect existing knowledge, learn from each other and create the conditions for actors to move forward together.<\/p>\n

Nora Br\u00fcggemann<\/strong> ist ein Senior Project Manager at CSCP<\/strong>, working on sustainable consumption, food waste prevention, and circular economy. She coordinates and contributes to national and European projects connecting research, policy and practice, with a focus on stakeholder engagement, behaviour change, impact evaluation and the development of practical solutions.<\/p>\n

Connect with Nora<\/a> to collaborate with us on food waste prevention and its connection to bioeconomy and circular economy.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

While Circular Week 2026 brings together many perspectives on circular transformation, one important resource system deserves particular attention: our food system. Food connects circular economy and bioeconomy in a very practical way: from preventing waste in the first place to finding the most valuable use for unavoidable side streams. We spoke with Nora Br\u00fcggemann, Senior […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":15954,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"class_list":["post-15953","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cscp.org\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15953","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cscp.org\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cscp.org\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cscp.org\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cscp.org\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15953"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.cscp.org\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15953\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15959,"href":"https:\/\/www.cscp.org\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15953\/revisions\/15959"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cscp.org\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15954"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cscp.org\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15953"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cscp.org\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15953"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}