Official launch of the CARE project Consumer Awareness for Responsibility to Environment

On the 31st March 2022, the Consortium joined the Kick-Off Meeting of CARE, a Project co-funded by the Erasmus Plus Programme of the European Commission, which brings together 7 partners from 4 different countries (Spain, Portugal, Italy, Belgium). CARE (Consumer Awareness for Responsibility towards Environment) aims to increase social and environmental awareness, the perception of the cultural value of traditional and more austere habits, responsible consumption (i.e., reuse & recycling, reduction of waste and draining of water and energy). Consumption occurs throughout life and the education for responsible and conscious consumption should be a part of cross-cutting training, something that only has started to happen recently but did not reach those who are now mature adults. CARE will offer this education to adult consumers, with the aim of providing objective and non-biased information on the economic, environmental effects of their consumption decisions, covering also social concerns such as working conditions, gender gaps and the cultural impact of the production of goods and services. More precisely, CARE will focus on four main areas of interest: 1. Responsible food – based on natural products, little processed, local and seasonal. 2. Responsible mobility – through non-polluting and healthy means of transport in daily life and on large journeys, also becoming aware of the social impact of mass tourism 3. Responsible clothing – encouraging the acquisition of solid and durable garments, the reusing and input of recycled materials 4. Responsible use of resources – in order to maximize waste management efficiency and effectiveness CARE will also address the side of the offer, providing a door to the generation of entrepreneurial ideas and initiatives based on sustainable and responsible business models. During the meeting, the consortium as a whole discussed about the overall project implementation schedule, defining timelines and respective duties. During the project lifetime, partners will carry out research and analysis activities aimed Information, awareness and training of the target population by making intellectual products available to them through the REA CARE platform – which will remain available in open access format for wide visibility and transferability of all project’s deliverables and resources produced by partners