Source: https://tendernation.io/opportunities/01a13bd5-8c8b-721f-8e3b-3523a71bf483/sustainable-healthy-diets-and-pathway-to-net-zero-assessing-the-role-of-dietary pending GB open procedure Suitable for SMEs # Sustainable Healthy Diets and Pathway to Net Zero: Assessing the Role of Dietary Transitions in UK Food System Decarbonisation [Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs](https://tendernation.io/buyers/department-for-environment-food-and-rural-affairs) Often single bidder Estimated value £225,000 Published 23 Feb 2026 Deadline Rolling deadline ## Who can bid - Buyer says suitable for SMEs The buyer ticked “suitable for SMEs” on the notice. Anyone can still bid. - Buyer says suitable for VCSEs The buyer ticked “suitable for voluntary, community and social enterprises” on the notice. - Open procedure Anyone can submit a full tender; there is no shortlisting stage. [More contracts for small businesses and VCSEs](https://tendernation.io/opportunities/for-small-businesses) ## About this tender ### Scope Defra is seeking to commission a research project to quantify how a transition to more sustainable and healthy diets, driven by current consumption trends and potentially enhanced by future demand side policies may influence UK territorial greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the food system in the run up to Net Zero 2050. The study should explore a suite of policy driven and trend driven dietary transition scenarios and assess consequential effects on: - UK agricultural production patterns - Trade flows and import/export exposure - Land use and land use change - Herd sizes and protein production - Energy use and food system infrastructure - Broader system feedbacks (market responses, consumer acceptance, technological shifts) The project is expected to address these issues through robust modelling, integrating economic, system-dynamic, behavioural, and physical modelling where appropriate, and using both attributional and consequential Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) approaches. ### Required Expertise Suppliers (or consortia) should demonstrate: - Technical expertise in food systems sustainability, greenhouse gas accounting, systems modelling, life cycle assessment. - Advanced modelling capability, including development and/or application of: o Systems dynamics models o Agent-based models o Integrated assessment or economic models o Other complex modelling frameworks appropriate for long term scenario design - Ability to synthesise evidence using government standard approaches, including Quick Scoping Reviews and Rapid Evidence Assessments. - Critical appraisal skills to articulate uncertainties, limitations, methodological trade-offs, and data gaps. Consortia and collaborations with academia, research institutes, NGOs, sectoral bodies, and industry partners are welcomed. ### Additional Context This project is informed by a growing evidence base demonstrating that demand side dietary change is likely to be essential for meeting the UK's Net Zero goals, as supply side agricultural efficiencies alone are insufficient. However: - Existing UK modelling often uses outdated datasets, - Many studies apply simplified trade assumptions, and - Few explicitly model the pathways from policy → consumer behaviour → production → territorial emissions. This project intends to fill these gaps by developing a credible, future facing modelling framework capable of capturing complex interactions across the food system and assessing the role of different policy packages. Defra has separately commission ADAS to examine the climate implications of market expansion in the UK alternative protein sector (outputs expected May 2026). Alignment between this study and the AP study is encouraged. Read full description ## CPV classification Research and development consultancy services Source Find a Tender (UK) · Notice ocds-h6vhtk-064e0a-2026-02-23T12:16:55Z [View official notice](https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/ocds-h6vhtk-064e0a-2026-02-23T12:16:55Z) Never miss a tender like this again Get AI summaries, deadline alerts and a bid pipeline for tenders matched to your business. Free to start. 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