The purpose of FEED-X is to remove the barriers to sustainably fed, affordable food by 2030 through fast-tracking the scaling up of sustainable innovations in the sector. The project has now entered a critical point, halfway through the nine stages of delivery. On 17 September, 18 shortlisted innovators will have the opportunity to present their innovation to a panel of judges, who will deliberate and decide on up to nine finalists who will be taken forward into the next phase of testing.
Project X received 133 expressions of interest for FEED-X. Of these, 61 innovators were long-listed to be assessed in an independent, transparent and objective process, considering six common risk metrics. Over the last 3 months, a wide-range of experts with environmental, ethical, economic, regulation, nutrition and social backgrounds have been assessing this long-list and have now selected 18 innovators for the final stage of the assessment process.
On September 17 the finalists will be presenting their innovations to a diverse panel of judges including representatives from Skretting, WWF, IKEA, Climate KIC, University of Cambridge, The World Bank, private wealth investors among others. The finalists will be announced during an awards ceremony the same day.
During the next phase, the finalists will have the opportunity to test their products or innovations with lead partner Skretting, through the Skretting Aquaculture Research Centre (ARC). If testing proves successful, the second phase of the project focusing on verification, scale and roll out will ensure maximum impact ultimately accelerating the adoption of sustainable innovations at scale. This process is expected to continue throughout 2020 and beyond.
“Time is our scarcest resource. Coordinated action is critical to address the key challenges of our time, whilst respecting the self interest of the key players in the system," says Marcela Navarro, CEO & Co-Founder Project X. "In FEED-X we are delighted to be working with our mission-aligned partners including Skretting, IKEA, Climate-KIC and WWF to accelerate adoption of challenger sustainable alternatives at the scale and pace the planet needs it. It excites us to have the opportunity to demonstrate tangible results on the ground, for an industry that has been challenged to drive cutting edge sustainable innovations into the heart of their operations, and at scale.”
“We face an enormous challenge to feed 9.5 billion people in 2050 in a sustainable way, and it will not be easy. This project aims to make a significant contribution to solving this global challenge,” said James Rose, Skretting Operations & Procurement Director. “We are excited to be part of this process with Project X and are committed to making a real change to the future of food production.”
