Beth Mander
Programme Manager for Food, Ellen MacArthur Foundation
Learn how the circular economy can fix our broken food industry and allow both nature and business to thrive.
Our current food industry isn’t working. The way food is produced, processed and distributed accounts for a third of global greenhouse gas emissions and is one of the biggest drivers of biodiversity loss — but a solution is within reach.
Redesigning food for nature
By embracing the circular economy, brands and retailers can construct the food system of the future – one that is commercially viable while actively regenerating nature. This means promoting healthy and stable soils, boosting local biodiversity and improving air and water quality.
Redesigning our food system is no overnight fix, but the Ellen MacArthur Foundation set out to prove that it is possible. The Big Food Redesign Challenge was launched in May 2023 with the mission to demonstrate that food production can benefit nature, instead of depleting it, by applying circular economy principles to every aspect of food design. This involves 57 innovative producers, startups, suppliers and retailers that rose to the challenge of rethinking and creating products designed to regenerate nature.
Our current food industry is exhausting nature
and leaving economic benefits untapped,
Products better for soil and climate
The Challenge has since led to the creation of 141 products in line with our Circular Design for Food Framework. This means that products include upcycled, diverse or lower-impact ingredients grown within regenerative systems. That packaging is designed to be kept in the economy and out of landfill.
Now that the Challenge products have hit shelves in 2025, data confirms that they scored 18% better for nature, with improvements across areas such as climate, biodiversity and soil health. Beyond benefitting the planet, results present a compelling case for businesses looking to lead this change.
Circular design strengthens systems
Designing our food for the circular economy increases supply chain resilience and unlocks new commercial pathways, from marketing opportunities and product innovation to strengthened ESG strategies and regulatory alignment.
Our current food industry is exhausting nature and leaving economic benefits untapped, but the path to a better system has been proven, and it begins by rethinking how we design what we eat.
