Through a targeted selection of agri-food value chains across the EU and by engaging multiple stakeholders in the co-creation of systemic innovations in appropriate behavioural and experimental settings, the project Behavioural Change Towards Climate-Smart Agriculture (BEATLES) will provide an integrative inventory of behavioural insights about the full range of “lock-ins” and levers that hinder or motivate behavioural change, including individual, systemic, and policy factors.

Five different food systems representing the major crop and livestock farming systems in Europe (cereals, dairy, stone fruits, livestock, vegetables) in various EU regions (Western, Eastern, Southern, and Northern Europe), will be studied to account for the diversity in agri-food systems and conditions in the EU.

The overall objective of BEATLES is to propose innovative, systemic solutions, based on behavioural insights, to encourage long-term and large-scale transitions to sustainable, productive, and climate-smart agri-food systems.

• Objective 1: Investigate the full range of decision-making factors that facilitate or hinder the transition of entire food systems towards sustainable, productive and climate-smart practices and behaviours.
• Objective 2: Assess the proposed behavioural interventions' overall sustainability, and environmental and socioeconomic impact.
• Objective 3: Develop fair business strategies for the transition to sustainable, productive, climate-smart agri-food systems.
• Objective 4: Formulate policy recommendations and innovative policy tools to foster large-scale and long-term behavioural shifts.
• Objective 5: Use participatory approaches to engage multiple value chain stakeholders in co-creating effective transformation pathways to change.

Further information:

• BEATLES

Funding source:

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 101060645.