Shrink Your Food Waste App: Turn Everyday Meals into Climate Action
The CHOICE project has just launched “Shrink Your Food Waste”, a free Android app designed to help people better understand the environmental impact of their everyday food choices. By turning complex environmental and nutritional data into clear, practical information, the app supports users in planning meals, exploring the carbon footprint of different foods and making more climate-conscious decisions. It forms part of CHOICE’s wider mission to connect scientific knowledge with accessible digital tools that empower citizens to take meaningful action towards healthier and more sustainable food systems.
Making the impact of food visible
Developed by the Institute of Communication and Computer Systems (ICCS) through its I-SENSE Group as part of the CHOICE project, the app makes complex information easier to understand and use in daily life.
Users can add foods to a daily meal plan, record what they eat and view estimated CO₂ emissions for different food items. Environmental information is presented alongside nutritional details and suggested serving sizes, helping users consider both the climate and health dimensions of their meals.
Daily and weekly charts also allow users to monitor how their food-related footprint changes over time and identify areas where small adjustments could make a difference.
More than a tracking tool
Shrink Your Food Waste combines monitoring features with interactive learning experiences.
Data stories explain the links between food, waste, water, energy and climate change in an accessible format. Environmental assessments and quizzes help users test their knowledge, while the built-in smart assistant provides personalised guidance on sustainability, nutrition and lower-impact food options.
Together, these features encourage users to move beyond awareness and apply what they learn when planning meals and selecting food.
What you can do with the app
- Plan daily meals and record the foods you eat.
- Explore estimated CO₂ emissions for different food items.
- View environmental and nutritional information.
- Follow your daily and weekly progress through visual charts.
- Discover interactive stories about food and sustainability.
- Complete quizzes and environmental-awareness assessments.
- Ask the smart assistant for personalised sustainability guidance.
Connecting individual choices with the CHOICE mission
Shrink Your Food Waste reflects the wider goals of CHOICE, a Horizon Europe research project working to make climate mitigation pathways more inclusive, realistic and relevant to society.
CHOICE improves Integrated Assessment Models, or IAMs, by better representing behavioural change and the different circumstances, motivations and decisions of consumers, producers and other food-system actors. These models help researchers and policymakers explore how changes in areas such as diets, agriculture and land use may influence emissions and other environmental outcomes.
The project combines climate modelling with behavioural science, stakeholder participation, data storytelling and digital engagement. This approach helps translate scientific insights into tools and messages that people can understand, while also connecting individual behaviour with change across the wider food system.
Better meal planning, reduced food waste and more informed food choices can support climate mitigation while contributing to wider benefits, including healthier diets, biodiversity protection and food security.
Start exploring your food footprint
Climate action can begin with the meals we plan, the foods we choose and the waste we prevent.
The app is now available free of charge on Google Play. Scan the QR code below to download Shrink Your Food Waste and explore how small changes in everyday eating habits can contribute to a more sustainable food system.
Ready to explore your food footprint? Scan the QR code and download the app for free on Google Play
