The SustainaKit – Towards a Sustainable and KM0 Cooking Education (KA220-VET) project aims to bring sustainability into the heart of vocational education and training (VET), with a special focus on culinary schools. Co-funded by the Erasmus+ Programme, the project supports the European Green Deal, the Farm to Fork Strategy, the Circular Economy Action Plan and the UN Sustainable Development Goals 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production) and 13 (Climate Action).
Why SustainaKit?
The way we cook has a direct impact on the environment. Every step of the culinary process, from sourcing ingredients to preparing and serving food, uses natural resources and can generate waste. Even so, sustainability, responsible consumption and the use of KM0 (local) products are still not fully part of culinary VET curricula in many European countries.
The partners behind SustainaKit saw this gap in their daily work with students, teachers and the hospitality sector. Future chefs and kitchen professionals need the knowledge, skills and confidence to make sustainable choices, and teachers need practical, ready-to-use materials to bring these topics into the classroom and the kitchen.
Main Objectives
- Raise awareness among culinary and dietetics VET students about the sustainability of their everyday practices, in the kitchen and beyond.
- Promote KM0 (local) and seasonal products, helping learners understand how buying locally reduces transport emissions, supports local economies and encourages sustainable agriculture.
- Develop and improve good practices in sustainable cooking, including food waste reduction and less energy-consuming culinary techniques.
- Empower teachers and trainers to integrate sustainability into their lessons, as they are the key channel through which knowledge reaches learners.
- Contribute to EU policies on sustainability, responsible consumption and food waste through education.
- Digitalise culinary VET by offering an open-access online platform with interactive learning tools, especially valuable in a sector where teaching is mostly practical.
What Will SustainaKit Develop?
- Good Practices Handbook: the theoretical foundation of the project, structured in an introductory lesson and four modules:
- The importance of sustainability in culinary VET centres
- Responsible consumption
- Food waste and use of KM0 products
- Implementation of less consuming culinary techniques
- SustainaKit Toolkit: an interactive, practical companion to the Handbook, with separate parts for learners and teachers, including practical activities, quizzes, games and videos.
- Multilingual Digital Platform: all materials freely available online in English, Slovak, Spanish, Italian and Greek, accessible on computers and mobile devices and designed with accessibility in mind.
- Multiplier Events: national events in every partner country to share the results with teachers, VET managers, stakeholders and the wider community.
Who Is It For?
SustainaKit is designed mainly for culinary VET students (aged 14–25) and VET teachers and trainers. It is also open to VET managers, policymakers, culinary and hospitality professionals, sustainability organisations and anyone who wants to cook and consume more responsibly.
A European Partnership
The project brings together seven organisations from five countries: Slovakia, Spain, Italy, Greece and Cyprus. The consortium includes culinary VET schools, training providers, a food innovation hub and a digital partner:
- TOPCOACH (Slovakia) – project coordinator
- Mediterráneo Culinary Center (Spain)
- KM ZERO Food Innovation Hub (Spain)
- ENGIM Veneto (Italy)
- Lula Consulting (Italy)
- Academy of Entrepreneurship – AKEP (Greece)
- Partners for Skills Development – PfSD (Cyprus)
Together they combine expertise in culinary education, sustainability, food innovation, teacher training and digital learning. This lets partners learn from each other and build materials that work across Europe.
Inclusive and Accessible
SustainaKit recognises that not every learner or family can afford the same sustainable choices. The materials will therefore offer solutions adapted to different economic situations. They will use clear, simple language so that sustainability is accessible to everyone, including learners at risk of social exclusion.
Long-Term Impact
SustainaKit aims to shape a new generation of sustainability-aware culinary professionals who reduce food waste, value local producers and use resources responsibly. Because all results remain openly available online, culinary schools across Europe will be able to use and adapt them long after the project ends. This makes sustainable cooking education a lasting part of VET.
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