GOAL

To understand the behavioral patterns linked with multiple stages in the food supply chain in the context of food waste in universities and propose a strategic experiential solution that cultivates and motivates sustainable behaviors.

CONTEXT

Coming from India, a country where lack of adequate food resources is a grave issue impacting millions of people every day, I decided to take on the challenge of addressing the global issue of food waste.

We haven’t looked at high volume settings like organizations, universities, and hospitals through the waste reduction lens to the highest potential. In such settings, molding behaviors that lead to modified actions is more important than merely designing products. Behavioral change is an intrinsic change on an individual level, but as a community, it can lead to a large scale shift.

It can prove as a significantly large factor influencing food waste patterns. I limited the scope of this project to my university in order to enable ease of access to stakeholders and country where the lack of food is a grave issue that impacts millions of people everyday, this subject was close to my heart, and this was an attempt to help the world act towards a global cause.

EMPATHIZE

I conducted research with the intention of understanding the typical user flow in the different cafeterias on campus. Through interviews, surveys, cultural probes and extensive observation, I observed typical behaviors, actions, triggers for waste cause and the overall environment.

DEFINE

For collecting and sifting through my data points collected in the research phase, I used the traditional affinitization technique to find key insights. By the end of this thorough process, I had eight umbrella insights, three archetypes and a user journey in the university cafeteria.

These insights shed light on:
- the need for awareness
- a circular economy
- a need for providing motivation by incentivizing the process

IDEATE

Based on the umbrella insights and the foundation of design for behavioral change, I realized that an association that is created and led by the students, for the students is going to be most effective way to inspire and motivate intrinsic change in behaviors. My insights and ideation led to the design of a multi-faceted framework for a student-run association, possessing activities and services that cater to its core values.

This framework, called WRAP (Waste Reduction And Prevention) creates a model for the client university and is executed by the students of the university with the help of the administration. A few important features of WRAP involve design challenges competitions, incentives in terms of meal points, workshops, expert sessions and third party collaborations with local organic farmers, sustainable organizations and charitable institutions.

The model is scalable to other large scale organizations like businesses, schools, and hospitals. Since user behavior is the underlying cause of food waste today, the implementation and execution of this framework on a business level can help us become sustainable, one institution at a time.

TAKEAWAYS

• Conducting in-person interviews and observations of food-wasting habits was key to my project. However, with cultural and societal bounds and norms, these actions are often associated with guilt and shame.

• My key takeaway was that it is very important to have empathy for the interviewee and make them comfortable enough to establish trust and confidence in the researcher. A high level of trust was necessary for people to open up about admitting to wasting food.