INDUCE

The INDUCE project, financed through the European Horizon 2020 program, has been running for more than two years with the aim of improving the capacity of European food and beverage companies in energy management. During this period, the project has manged to pool the efforts of different organizations belonging to different countries of the European Union (such as France, Germany, Spain and The Netherlands) to implement a methodology that improves energy efficiency within companies in the food & beverage sector.

Food & beverage has been identified as the sector with the greatest potential for reducing energy intensity in the European Union until 2050.[1] Being more productive while using less energy has, thus, become the great imperative. As an initiative at European level, the INDUCE project has established a transmission of knowledge through a public platform with training materials, online lessons, guides and various tools to promote behavioural and organizational change models for more energy efficiency.

INDUCE has now come to an end and can look back on the success based on its results. The project has developed its own genuine methodology, which has been analysed and validated in 15 companies, including food corporations, agricultural societies, breweries, and others. A total number of 490 measures on energy efficiency have been implemented in the pilot and replication companies and 61 external trainers were trained in the INDUCE methodology to spread the INDUCE methodology even further. The following sections highlight the core results that were developed, tested and refined during the project and are now ready to be used beyond its duration:

INDUCE methodology

The INDUCE methodology is linking knowledge transfer on energy efficiency with behavioural and organizational change models, so an energy culture and an environment conducive for change are established in the company, while employees are motivated to act in a more sustainable manner. The approach taken in the INDUCE project was based on ad-hoc training courses and interventions, which are following a Human-Centred Design approach to empower all the relevant actors to develop energy efficient behaviour in a tailor-made way.

INDUCE training workshops

In order to transfer the learnings and innovations of the project, the members of the consortium have organized training workshops based on the INDUCE methodology, to disseminate it and make it known in their respective countries. Two types of workshops were conducted during the project: (i) Training workshops for employees in food & beverage companies as well as (ii) trainings for energy consultants, who act as multipliers.

The trainings for individual employees in the company, who should be enabled to think “energy-efficiently”, required an average of 20 hours per employee. An overview on the trainings in pilot countries can be found on the project website.

To transfer the learnings and innovative methodology of the project, consortium partners have, as well, organized training workshops based on the INDUCE methodology, to spread it and make it known in their respective countries. For these workshops, energy consultants were invited. The workshops had different thematic foci:

• INDUCE workshop held in the Netherlands at the annual FNLI(Federation of the Dutch Food Industry) event in Amersfoort on October 10^th 2019, had a strong focus on the behavioural component and provided its participants with a step-by-step plan, so they can record the needs within their company regarding energy-related topics.
• German workshop took place on July 13th, 2020. FPI(-Processing Initiative e.V.) organized this workshop as a one-hour online session plus extra time for discussion. This format was chosen to attract the German food and beverage companies, energy consultants and other stakeholders that are always dealing with time issues.
• French partners ACTIA(Technical Coordination Association for the Food and Beverage Industry), and CRITT PACA (Regional Centre for Innovation and Transfer of Agro-food Technologies) organized their workshop on energy efficiency within the framework of the project aimed at the food industry, on July 7th, 2020.
• Spanish members, CIRCE and FIAB,organized the online training session on the methodology, in June 18^th, 2020, with the collaboration of pilot companies that have participated in the project. In addition, this training was completed with two online seminars on energy management systems in the food industry, in June 25^th, 2020, and on innovation in energy efficiency and sustainability and circular economy, in July 2^nd, 2020.

[1] https://www.fcirce.es/noticias/induce-disena-metodologia-innovadora-impulsar-eficiencia-energetica-sector-alimentacion-bebidas

INDUCE web platform

One of the main objectives of the project has been the dissemination of knowledge derived from the methodology and the learning that has been obtained through its implementation in the pilot companies to the rest of the companies in the food and beverage industry.

To do so, the INDUCE project has made the materials it has been developing available to all companies and industries in the sector, to transmit the skills that have been acquired through the introduction of this tool in the companies that have participated. Thus, all education and training resources, online classes, guidelines or toolkits are available on an open digital platform (www.energyefficientfoodindustry.eu). Through it, companies in the sector can also get in touch with trainers to ask questions and concerns in this regard.

Links

INDUCE Project Website: https://www.induce2020.eu/

INDUCE Web Platform: https://www.energyefficientfoodindustry.eu/

Keywords

Energy-efficiency, food & beverage industry