About CARE

CARE empowers households to reduce food waste and extend the life of clothes, facilitating the transition to a circular economy. Together with CARE, we transform our homes for the better.

What is CARE?

CARE stands for “Circular consumption Activities to tRansform households toward material Efficiency.” It’s a Horizon Europe project running from 2024 to 2027, driven by a consortium of eleven dedicated partners across Europe. These partners bring together expertise in research, policy making, and community engagement to empower households in five European countries – Finland, Norway, Sweden, Germany, and Estonia – to embrace circular living in households. From reducing food waste to making smarter clothing choices, CARE provides the tools and support to make circular living practical and enjoyable. Together, we’re not just promoting sustainability – we’re making it measurable, impactful and accessible, one household at a time.

CARE’S Vision & Mission

Our vision is to inspire and empower households across Europe for a sustainable future where circular consumption – maintaining, repairing, sharing, reusing, recycling and reducing waste – is not just a practice, but a celebrated norm. We envision a society where every choice contributes to a healthier planet and well-being for all, supported by policy reforms, industry standards and community engagement.

At CARE, we aim to empower households across Europe with the knowledge, tools, and support they need to make the transition to a circular economy. This shift promotes sustainability, improves resource efficiency, and increases well-being.

Collaborating with over 100 households, we help families to rethink and redesign their daily food and clothing consumption habits. Through tailored advisory services and community-led activities, we promote the optimal use of resources for a sustainable lifestyle. Our science-based approach, which integrates holistic and behavioural studies, impact assessments and life cycle analysis, ensures that our strategies are both effective and comprehensive.

Working hand in hand with sustainable consumption organisations, industry leaders, policy makers and researchers, CARE develops scalable solutions in line with European sustainability goals. Together, we strive to foster a resilient ecosystem and create lasting change.

CARE’s Goal: Transforming Households for a Circular Future

CARE is committed to creating meaningful and measurable change in households across Europe by focusing on food and clothing consumption. Our project targets key environmental, social, and systemic challenges to promote a sustainable, circular economy. Through its seven focused work packages, CARE addresses systemic and behavioural challenges, laying the foundation for lasting change. Here are CARE’s core objectives and impacts:

Transform households into circular role models

Through local pilots, CARE households will adopt circular practices like reducing food waste and upcycling clothing, inspiring others to follow their lead.
Reduce material inefficiencies by 30-50 %

We target reductions in food waste and the purchase of new clothing, aiming to halve their environmental impacts by 2030.
Deliver replicable and scalable advisory services

CARE aims to develop replicable advisory services and tools, including a toolbox to be released by the project’s end, enabling communities across Europe to replicate and extend our solutions.
Foster systemic change through policy reforms

By working closely with policymakers and stakeholders, CARE promotes regulatory reforms and community-driven initiatives to embed circularity in daily life.
Environmental and community benefits

Reduce greenhouse gas emissions and waste while improving the quality of life for households through economic savings, reduced clutter, and stronger community ties.

Did you know?

In the EU, households generate more than 72 kg of food waste per person annually, contributing significantly to greenhouse gas emissions. Reducing this waste can have a major impact on climate change (Source: Eurostat). Similarly, the average EU citizen’s clothing consumption results in 270 kg of carbon foot print per year (Source: European Environment Agency). Extending the life of clothes and reducing textile waste can dramatically reduce emissions. Small changes at home add up – imagine the impact if 100 households took action!

Join us in shaping a circular future!

Whether you’re a researcher, community advocate, industry expert or policy maker, your role matters. Together with CARE, we transform our homes for the better.

Get involved