The research team behind this is a collaboration between MAPP Centre at Aarhus University, Copenhagen Business School, and Democracy X, with international collaborators from ETH Zürich and Stockholm Stockholm Resilience Centre. The project ‘PlantTip’ models future transitions and tipping points in consumer food behaviour in Denmark.  

It does so by using existing consumer behaviour insights to build a realistic model of how individuals act within the current food environment, and then testing what happens when this environment changes.

"Behavioural changes towards more plant-based and diverse diets have huge potential to mitigate the environmental impact of our diets – but only if they happen at a large scale. Research shows that getting there will take much more collaborative action from food-system actors," says Professor Jessica Aschemann-Witzel.

She is the centre director at the MAPP Centre at the Department of Management at Aarhus University, and she is responsible for coordinating the project.

Innovative method

PlantTip uses a pioneering approach called participatory agent-based modelling (ABM), whereby a model is 'fed' with realistic data on consumer behaviour developed in collaboration between experts and stakeholders.

"Agent-based modelling (ABM) is a computer simulation method that projects system-level outcomes as a result of behaviour and choice at individual level. This makes ABM particularly useful for experimenting empirically with behavioural interventions and for measuring which interventions would most effectively accelerate us towards more sustainable food behaviour at national level," says Assistant Professor Arthur Hjorth, who is heading the modelling at the MAPP Centre.

To gain insight into how changes in the food environment affect behaviour, Meike Janssen from Copenhagen Business School will conduct consumer experiments, and she underlines the unique nature of the method:

"Developing agent-based models based on data from research experiments on social behaviour is an innovative approach. We combine micro-level data to provide a macro-level perspective," she says.

Close to the target group

Several partners are involved in the project, including Democracy X. Their task is to engage citizens and civil society to ensure a broad democratic foundation for the project's recommendations and foster dialogue on sustainable choices.

"By engaging citizens and civil society early in the process, we will ensure that the societal transition towards more sustainable food practices is co-created with the people it affects the most This participatory approach will strengthen the democratic foundation of the project and foster greater societal buy-in for long-term change," says Rune Baastrup, director of Democracy X.

The PlantTip project will result in recommendations on how to combine policy instruments, marketing strategies, consumer-oriented innovations and social dynamics to promote societal food tipping points. The project will contribute to accelerating and targeting the transition to more sustainable food habits.

Project information

Title: PlantTip: Modelling societal transitions and tipping points for the green transition of food consumption 

Funding: DKK 9.8 million, Novo Nordisk Foundation 

Duration: 2025-2028 

Partners: The MAPP Centre at Aarhus University (coordination), Copenhagen Business School, Democracy X, ETH Zurich and the Stockholm Resilience Centre