ECO_Tag: ACHIEVING SUSTAINABLE CULINARY CENTRES

<< Background >>Our consortium submitted the ECO_Tag proposal because our VET schools, specialised in gastronomy, did not have specific training for our teachers that would allow them to acquire competences in sustainability. Due to the close relationship between sustainability and the food sector, we considered it essential that our teachers have knowledge that they can transfer to their students. Therefore, we wanted to address the need for specific training and thus improve the ecological footprint of our schools.In addition to this, we also saw that within our schools there is a lot of ignorance about European policies on sustainability, especially those related to the food sector. Therefore, we decided to create a guide that would explain them in a simple way, and that would be available to the general public.<< Objectives >>The objectives of our project were:- The accessibility and dissemination of international policies on sustainability in the food sector and its relation to VET of qualifications such as cooking, gastronomy. - To provide training on specific knowledge on sustainability in culinary centres such as; origin of products, waste management, energy management or food waste. - Apply the new EU Green Comp Framework to the VET sector on cooking, gastronomy, contributing to the innovation and updating of the education system. - Validate and certify both the efforts of the culinary centres and the competences acquired by the participants, thanks to a certification system (ECOETIQUETA Erasmus) developed throughout the project, thus guaranteeing the quality of the contents offered and the creation of a certified digital seal for this sector. - Raising awareness among the target audience of the importance of sustainability and the value of knowing how to transmit it to third parties. << Implementation >>To achieve our objectives, we have implemented the following activities:- We have developed a guide with information on international policies related to sustainability, which we have shared with different professionals at European level so that they can give their opinion.- We have created a MOOC on sustainability in VET cooking schools, available on a platform for use by anyone interested. - We have created 3 levels of certification, two individual levels and one VET school level, to certify the sustainability knowledge acquired by the participants in the project.- We have organised a pilot with teachers from our VET centres, through which they have been able to do the MOOC and have acquired the ECO_Tag certificate. Thus, we have been able to confirm that the project was successful, and we have started our goal of making VET schools more sustainable.- We have organised face-to-face and online dissemination activities to bring the project to as many people as possible.<< Results >>The results of our project have been:- Interactive guide on the latest international policies related to sustainability, and ways to apply these policies in culinary and hospitality training centres.- MOOC course for teachers/professors with content on sustainability applied in a multidisciplinary way in a culinary centre: from technical issues about the centre and its facilities, to teaching competences and communication with students, so that sustainability is included as the basis of all activities.- Certification system and creation of a digital seal for the project content, developed by a partner specialised in competence certification systems according to ISO 17024 standards, informal open recognition as a basis for formal certification and development of EU competence certification systems funded in the framework of Erasmus+ projects.- Open and accessible digital platform, where project contents are included and digital badges can be downloaded.