Informative initiatives as a useful tool to raise awareness of food waste. An application to higher education

ABSTRACT

Purpose Because food waste is a serious problem today, society is currently aiming for more responsible consumption to minimize it, as defined in the 12th goal of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. This study aims to examine whether an informative initiative can help to raise university students' awareness of food waste consequences. Design/methodology/approach The initiative consisted of explaining the problem of food waste to students of two marketing subject modules within economics and business administration degrees and asking them to participate in an activity in which they analyzed their own behavior. To assess its impact, two questionnaires about the students' food waste behaviors were administered, before and after the initiative, adopting an experimental design. Findings The results show that the information and awareness activities were successful, because, after the initiative, the students were more aware about the food waste problem and its consequences and were more critical of their behavior regarding the management of leftovers at home. Research limitations/implications Despite some circumstances under which the study was conducted (the COVID-19 pandemic and the lockdown), the practical and social implications are relevant. Practical implications This study offers some interesting practical implications for educational institutions that want to inform and train students in more responsible consumption behavior. It shows that an initiative in which students are involved, like collecting data about food waste, in their homes with a diary, and informative sessions can be useful to increase students' awareness of food waste to behave in a more sustainable way. Social implications These findings may be of interest to academics for designing initiatives that try to train and educate young people in making more responsible personal and professional decisions. Originality/value This study analyzes the impact of an awareness-raising initiative about food waste in higher education, which is a relatively neglected topic in the literature.