Milan: Collaborating to change local food systems
Organisation or Company
Type of organisation or company
Country
Italy
City
Milan
Language for original content
Key Area
Scope
Submitted by
Technopolis
Description
The Municipality of Milan, with the Cariplo Foundation, has decided to commit to making its food system more equitable and sustainable by adopting its own Food Policy.
The strategy guided city policies relating to food from 2015 to 2020. It set out five priorities:
- Health: ensuring healthy and sustainable food is available for all parts of the city, especially for vulnerable citizens
- Sustainable agriculture: facilitating access to land, promoting urban agriculture/horticulture, and supporting innovation
- Education: teaching people about healthy, sustainable diets
- Reducing waste: by reducing surpluses, promoting recovery and redistribution, and closing cycles through the circular economy and bioeconomy
- Agri-food research: involving universities, research and training centres, and public, private and non-profit organisations.
The municipality provides support and promotes social, technological and organisational innovation in line with the principles set out in the Food Policy.
Main activity field
Main results
- In 2019, the city estimated that approximately 1 700 tonnes of food were redistributed, equivalent to over 900 tonnes of CO2 emissions avoided
- Milan claims to be the largest European city that has adopted a door-to-door waste collection system
- The organic fraction collected reached 15 000 tonnes in 2019, from which it is possible to produce 22 000 tonnes of agricultural compost and 8 million cubic metres of biomethane.