In the European Union, greenhouse gas emissions from the agri-food supply chain account for approximately one third of the total for our entire continent. This is a share that must necessarily be addressed if we are to remain on track with the EU's climate targets for 2040 — namely a 90 per cent cut in emissions compared to 1990 — and for 2050, when climate neutrality is expected to be achieved. It is precisely this need that Mission Carb 0 (or MC0) seeks to address: a project funded by the Interreg France-Italia Alcotra programme, designed to guide businesses through a structured decarbonisation pathway.

The state of the agri-food sector in Europe

What is the context in which the MC0 project operates? The answer comes from the latest report published by the European Scientific Advisory Board on Climate Change, entitled "Adaptation and mitigation of climate change in the agri-food system – Recommendations for coherent EU policies". The document was released last March and paints a picture of a sector made fragile by the climate crisis, which is losing approximately 28 billion euros per year across the continent due to extreme weather events. Furthermore, it highlights how southern Europe — which includes Italy — is more exposed to catastrophic events than the rest of the continent. Decarbonising the sector therefore serves both to contribute to the achievement of climate targets and to help prevent the effects of the crisis.

Among the recommendations to the EU, the report's authors call for targeted support for the transition to help businesses in the sector overcome financial and knowledge barriers. In practice, they also call for greater awareness of the climate issue in order to act accordingly. This is precisely one of the areas on which the MC0 project has been working.

Alcotra and the MC0 project

The acronym Alcotra stands for "Alpi latine cooperazione transfrontaliera" (Alpine Latin Cross-Border Cooperation), and refers to the European cooperation programme in the Alpine territory between France and Italy, which aims to address environmental challenges while positively influencing the economic and social fabric of the area. The initiative covers the period 2021–2027 and is funded by the ERDF, the European Regional Development Fund.

MC0 is a three-year project within Alcotra that involves Italian and French partners and has the specific objective of guiding small and medium-sized enterprises across four supply chains through the decarbonisation process: agri-food, mechatronics, aromas and perfumes, and mountain services — transforming sustainability from a regulatory obligation into a strategic lever to make businesses in the region more competitive.

MC0's goal has been to design an emissions calculation platform covering both direct and — above all — indirect emissions (those from transport and suppliers, for example), enabling individual businesses to monitor their performance and obtain a baseline picture useful for assessing which areas to invest in for decarbonisation, as well as for raising awareness among all their stakeholders.

The platform is called L.I.S E. (Limita i tuoi impatti e supervisiona le tue emissioni — Limit your impacts and supervise your emissions) and is now made available to all SMEs across the four supply chains that participated in the project.

MC0 for the agri-food sector

With regard to the agri-food sector specifically, Mission Carb0 assessed aspects such as the organisational carbon footprint and ESG assessment; it carried out supplier data collection and conducted an evaluation of indirect emissions. According to the analysis, the latter amount to approximately 141 tonnes of CO2 equivalent.

Among the priority areas of intervention for the sector is, for example, the reduction of packaging — and in particular of the plastic used — to be replaced with recycled materials, adopting sound eco-design practices for products.

Another central issue to emerge is logistics: according to the analysis, it is necessary to make transport more efficient, optimise routes and improve supply chain management — while also promoting data sharing and collaboration among the various players within the same supply chain. The ecological transition of the agri-food sector depends not only on technology, but also on companies' ability to collaborate and build a shared vision across the entire production chain.

Agri-food: the companies involved

Between France and Italy, there are currently 20 companies that have joined the Mission Carb 0 project, calculated their direct and indirect emissions, and participated in the guided decarbonisation process. Here they are, province by province.

• Province of Cuneo

1. Antica Cascina Srl
2. Beppino Occelli I Formaggi Srl
3. Caseificio Vincenzo Quaglia Srl
4. Forneria Artigiana Cavanna Srl
5. Fruit Project Srl
6. Isofood Srl
7. I Tesori della Terra Soc.coop.agr. sociale Onlus
8. La Granda Trasformazione Srl
9. La Manta Foods Srl
10. Nocciola Tomatis
11. Obun Srl
12. Selezione Oberto Srl
13. Ortofruit Italia Soc.agr.coop
14. Pasta Fresca di Grimaldi Valerio

• Province of Turin

1. Caseificio Paje Srl
2. Pascal Srl
3. Molini Bongiovanni SpA

• Savoie Department

1. Le Pain de Belledonne

• PACA Department

1. Alziari
2. Barral SA