AI and data science project to help food and drink sector lower emissions

AI and data science project to help food and drink sector lower emissions

Scientists at the University of Aberdeen are embarking on a £1.1m project that will harness the power of artificial intelligence to help the UK's food and drink industry reduce its carbon emissions.

Working with businesses and industry stakeholders across the UK, the Enhancing Agri-Food Transparent Sustainability (EATS) project will gather and interpret complex data from new data sources on food and drink supply chains, using cutting-edge AI and data science techniques.

This data will be used to build a trusted digital sustainability platform where farmers, producers, and industry stakeholders can see the level of emissions created by food and drink items throughout their production, allowing them to identify where improvements in processes could be made to lower emissions and including tools to encourage changes in practice.

The project, funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)*, is an interdisciplinary collaboration led by the University of Aberdeen and involving researchers from the University of Dundee, the University of Nottingham, and Scotland’s Rural College, who will provide expertise in areas including social science, chemical engineering and agricultural policy.  Other partners include businesses and food and drink industry stakeholders across the UK.  

Peter Edwards, Professor of Computing Science at the University of Aberdeen, is leading the EATS project.

Professor Edwards commented: “The food and drink sector has a vital role in helping meet Scotland and the UK’s net zero targets, but this must be done while improving nutrition and protecting ecosystems and soil, water and air quality.

“While advances in monitoring and reporting processes have improved environmental monitoring and governance for supply chains, there are limitations in terms of how the data is collected, understood and used.

“Working with producers across the UK, this project will plug those gaps in our knowledge, in order to build a complete picture of the multitude of complex influences and dynamics at play within the supply chain.

“We will achieve this by using innovative design thinking techniques, as well as sensors to acquire key data on factors such as temperature, water and electricity; data models to better understand supply chains; and machine learning to aid analysis and decision-making.

“Using this high-quality data, we can then build a platform which everyone involved in the supply chain can use to identify where processes can be improve to reduce their environmental impact.”

Georgios Leontidis, Director of the University of Aberdeen’s Interdisciplinary Centre for Data and Artificial Intelligence, is also an investigator on the EATS project.

Dr Leontidis explained: “The project is based on three pillars, described as SEE-SHARE-ACT, encompassing the role of sensors and carbon reporting tools in capturing data about agri-food processes (SEE), the development of a digital platform able to manage and report sustainability data (SHARE), and the use of data analytics and machine learning to support decision making (ACT). 

“The ultimate aim is to create a more sustainable economy, built upon trusted data regarding the lifecycle history of products for enhanced environmental and product safety, therefore encouraging more resilient food supply chains.”

Search News

Browse by Month

2024

  1. Jan
  2. Feb
  3. Mar
  4. Apr
  5. May
  6. Jun
  7. Jul
  8. Aug
  9. Sep
  10. Oct
  11. Nov There are no items to show for November 2024
  12. Dec There are no items to show for December 2024

2023

  1. Jan There are no items to show for January 2023
  2. Feb
  3. Mar
  4. Apr
  5. May
  6. Jun
  7. Jul
  8. Aug
  9. Sep
  10. Oct
  11. Nov
  12. Dec

2022

  1. Jan There are no items to show for January 2022
  2. Feb There are no items to show for February 2022
  3. Mar
  4. Apr
  5. May
  6. Jun
  7. Jul
  8. Aug
  9. Sep
  10. Oct There are no items to show for October 2022
  11. Nov
  12. Dec

2021

  1. Jan
  2. Feb
  3. Mar There are no items to show for March 2021
  4. Apr There are no items to show for April 2021
  5. May There are no items to show for May 2021
  6. Jun
  7. Jul
  8. Aug
  9. Sep There are no items to show for September 2021
  10. Oct
  11. Nov There are no items to show for November 2021
  12. Dec There are no items to show for December 2021

2020

  1. Jan
  2. Feb
  3. Mar
  4. Apr
  5. May
  6. Jun
  7. Jul There are no items to show for July 2020
  8. Aug There are no items to show for August 2020
  9. Sep
  10. Oct There are no items to show for October 2020
  11. Nov There are no items to show for November 2020
  12. Dec There are no items to show for December 2020

2019

  1. Jan
  2. Feb There are no items to show for February 2019
  3. Mar There are no items to show for March 2019
  4. Apr
  5. May
  6. Jun There are no items to show for June 2019
  7. Jul There are no items to show for July 2019
  8. Aug
  9. Sep
  10. Oct
  11. Nov
  12. Dec There are no items to show for December 2019

2018

  1. Jan There are no items to show for January 2018
  2. Feb
  3. Mar There are no items to show for March 2018
  4. Apr There are no items to show for April 2018
  5. May There are no items to show for May 2018
  6. Jun There are no items to show for June 2018
  7. Jul
  8. Aug There are no items to show for August 2018
  9. Sep There are no items to show for September 2018
  10. Oct
  11. Nov There are no items to show for November 2018
  12. Dec There are no items to show for December 2018

2017

  1. Jan There are no items to show for January 2017
  2. Feb There are no items to show for February 2017
  3. Mar There are no items to show for March 2017
  4. Apr There are no items to show for April 2017
  5. May There are no items to show for May 2017
  6. Jun
  7. Jul There are no items to show for July 2017
  8. Aug
  9. Sep There are no items to show for September 2017
  10. Oct There are no items to show for October 2017
  11. Nov
  12. Dec There are no items to show for December 2017

2016

  1. Jan
  2. Feb
  3. Mar
  4. Apr
  5. May
  6. Jun
  7. Jul
  8. Aug
  9. Sep There are no items to show for September 2016
  10. Oct
  11. Nov There are no items to show for November 2016
  12. Dec There are no items to show for December 2016

2015

  1. Jan
  2. Feb
  3. Mar
  4. Apr There are no items to show for April 2015
  5. May
  6. Jun
  7. Jul
  8. Aug
  9. Sep
  10. Oct
  11. Nov
  12. Dec

2014

  1. Jan
  2. Feb There are no items to show for February 2014
  3. Mar
  4. Apr
  5. May
  6. Jun
  7. Jul There are no items to show for July 2014
  8. Aug There are no items to show for August 2014
  9. Sep
  10. Oct
  11. Nov There are no items to show for November 2014
  12. Dec

2013

  1. Jan
  2. Feb
  3. Mar There are no items to show for March 2013
  4. Apr There are no items to show for April 2013
  5. May There are no items to show for May 2013
  6. Jun There are no items to show for June 2013
  7. Jul There are no items to show for July 2013
  8. Aug There are no items to show for August 2013
  9. Sep
  10. Oct
  11. Nov
  12. Dec

2012

  1. Jan
  2. Feb There are no items to show for February 2012
  3. Mar
  4. Apr
  5. May
  6. Jun
  7. Jul There are no items to show for July 2012
  8. Aug
  9. Sep
  10. Oct
  11. Nov There are no items to show for November 2012
  12. Dec

2011

  1. Jan There are no items to show for January 2011
  2. Feb There are no items to show for February 2011
  3. Mar
  4. Apr
  5. May There are no items to show for May 2011
  6. Jun
  7. Jul There are no items to show for July 2011
  8. Aug
  9. Sep
  10. Oct
  11. Nov
  12. Dec

2010

  1. Jan There are no items to show for January 2010
  2. Feb There are no items to show for February 2010
  3. Mar There are no items to show for March 2010
  4. Apr There are no items to show for April 2010
  5. May There are no items to show for May 2010
  6. Jun There are no items to show for June 2010
  7. Jul There are no items to show for July 2010
  8. Aug There are no items to show for August 2010
  9. Sep There are no items to show for September 2010
  10. Oct There are no items to show for October 2010
  11. Nov
  12. Dec

2009

  1. Jan
  2. Feb There are no items to show for February 2009
  3. Mar There are no items to show for March 2009
  4. Apr There are no items to show for April 2009
  5. May There are no items to show for May 2009
  6. Jun There are no items to show for June 2009
  7. Jul There are no items to show for July 2009
  8. Aug There are no items to show for August 2009
  9. Sep There are no items to show for September 2009
  10. Oct There are no items to show for October 2009
  11. Nov There are no items to show for November 2009
  12. Dec There are no items to show for December 2009

2008

  1. Jan There are no items to show for January 2008
  2. Feb There are no items to show for February 2008
  3. Mar There are no items to show for March 2008
  4. Apr There are no items to show for April 2008
  5. May There are no items to show for May 2008
  6. Jun There are no items to show for June 2008
  7. Jul There are no items to show for July 2008
  8. Aug There are no items to show for August 2008
  9. Sep
  10. Oct There are no items to show for October 2008
  11. Nov There are no items to show for November 2008
  12. Dec There are no items to show for December 2008