CUES at the FOOD2030 Networks Conference 2025 in Copenhagen

From 2–4 December 2025, the CUES project participated in the FOOD2030 Networks Conference 2025 – Food2030, held at the University of Copenhagen and organized by the CLEVERFOOD project. The three-day event brought together leading researchers, innovators and policymakers from across Europe to accelerate collaboration and strengthen impact within the wider FOOD2030 community. The conference was organized under the Danish Presidency of the Council of the EU.

CUES Insights Presented on Day One

On the opening day of the conference, CUES partners from KU Leuven and the Fairtrade Advocacy Office (FTAO) shared insights from the project during a poster session that attracted considerable attention from conference participants. KU Leuven presented findings from our consumer research, highlighting the individual, economic and cultural barriers and drivers that shape consumers’ willingness and ability to adopt more sustainable eating practices. FTAO introduced their project work on a forthcoming series of policy dialogues, bringing together consumers, food value chain actors and policymakers to better understand how EU policy frameworks act as enablers or hinder sustainable food consumption. These presentations prompted meaningful exchanges with fellow researchers and innovators, many of whom recognized the relevance of CUES’ work to their own initiatives.

On the second day, our partner Paola Plaku from the FTAO spoke at the Danish Presidency of the Council of the EU 2025 Conference on transformative governance for food systems and biodiversity, and stressed why EU policies must consider their global impact and why participatory design is essential for fair and sustainable food systems.

Strong CUES Presence

CUES was well represented at the conference, with partners from KU Leuven, Fairtrade Advocacy Office (FTAO), Heidelberg University, OpenDot and ICLEI Europe joining discussions, networking sessions and collaboration activities throughout the event.