Public Participation in Developing a Common Framework for the Assessment and Management of Sustainable Innovation

Related sector

• A - Agriculture, forestry and fishing

SI Lead organisation

Mossagården Eko AB - organic cultivation, a farm shop and delivery of organic vegetables to 60 schools and companies in the vicinity - Business actor ( Small private organisations (SME) )

www.mossagarden.se

SI Scope

SI Process

Start Date: 1998 End Date: N/A

Start Date: 2005 End Date: 2007

Organic cultivation started in Mossagården in 1987. An online store was opened in 1998 to be the first of its kind in Sweden, when Ebba-Maria Olson was delivering food with her old horse trailer. The range and customer base of Mossagården have steadily increased due to the growth of e-commerce. The company Mossagården Eko AB was opened in 2005. From 2006 to 2007 the business has doubled. In addition, the family is running an organic clothes store in Malmö and an adjacent organic food store Morot & Annat (Carrot and Other). Currently the family Olson has their own network of suppliers and customers and purchase goods from organic farms all over Skåne. Family members have always been engaged in new projects by Mossagården. Current projects include a garden cafe, a restaurant and a preparation for a festival at Mossagården.

Link to H2020 SI Priorities

• Raw materials conscious sustainable lifestyle
• Climate action by sustainable lifestyle
• ICT systems improving resource efficiency

SI Type

• Social (incl. behavioural) - The new way of satisfying people's nutritional need by selling food online and delivering it by sustainable means of transportation instead of driving to the store as well offering only organic food choices contibutes to lifestyle changes of Mossagården's customers and has potentially a broader impact on the society (e.g. families of the customers, their friends and neighbours).

• Service / Process - Online food ordering was new for Sweden when Mossagården introduced its business model. Food delivery by sustainable vehicles (biogas powered cars or bikes) is innovative.
• Organisational / Business model - By offering a possibility for people to order their organic food baskets online and delivering the food to the customers (and in this way matching the food producer with the consumer directly), Mossagården establishes a new business model alternative to the traditional centralised supermarket concept.

SI Objectives

• To find the nearest way between the producer and the consumer and therefore reduce organic food prices
• To avoid GMO production due to the unknown risks both for the nature and for human health
• To make it as easy and fun as possible for people to buy organic food
• To offer fresh fruits and seasonal vegetables every week without unnecessary transportation
• To work from a system persepctive on a small scale by a building a cycle of nutrients and energy, which are continuously reused

• To offer organic vegetables that are richer in taste, vitamines and nutrient content

SI Origin

Mossagården was opened as a family business in 1987. Parents Marianne and Bengt Olson run the agricultural side of the business, while daughters Hanna-Metta and Ebba-Maria operate the stores and the vegetable subscription via the Internet. Christer Ohlsson joined Mossagården in 2001 as one of the managers. Christer and Ebba both previously worked in the transportation business and came up with the idea for home delivery using vehicles on biogas. They also manage side projects including a graden cafe, a restaurant and a preparation to Mossagåden festival.

SI Factors of success

• Technological - The order of fruits, vegetables and other organic products via Internt makes buying organic food convenient and easy for customers
• Economic - The small-scale business funding is applied under the European Union budget plan every year. The food prices of Mossagården produce are similar to the organic food price in Swedish supermarkets.
• Environmental - Cultivation techniques at Mossagården include the use of only natural fertilisers (animal manure) and crop rotation to combat weeds, pests and diseases (the planting methods are structured over an 8 year period). No chemicals or artificial additives are used. The cultivation is kept at a small and natural scale.
• Social - Mossagården offers seasonal employment and volunteer opportunities for students and others, who can at the same time learn more about organic lifestyles

Sources

• Primary - Official web-site of Mossagården for the farm history, services offered by Mossagården Eko AB, online store and general information about advantages of eating organic produce: www.mossagarden.se Interviews with the company founders and managers, a possibly study visit to the farm: Mossagården Eko AB, 247 64 Veberöd; office opening hours: Mon-Fri, 8:00-17:00; Tel: `+46 46 855 44; email: info@mossagarden.se, kundtjanst@mossagarden.se
• Secondary - A report Small Scale Organic Farming in Skåne by Aishan Hsieh and Maria Petrasova, available in: MESPOM. 2009. “The Future Is Distributed: A Vision of Sustainable Economics”. IIIEE at Lund University. https://www.mespom.eu/sites/default/files/field_attachment/blog/node-5326/distributedeconomiesmespom2009-1.pdf