Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them. Grant Agreement Number: 101124674 From serious games to measurable food-waste reduction Ezequiel França dos Santos¹²³ Cláudia Sevivas¹² Vítor Hugo Mendes da Costa Carvalho³⁴ ¹ IADE – Faculty of Design, Technology and Communication, European University, Lisbon, Portugal ² UNIDCOM/IADE – Research Unit in Design and Communication, Lisbon, Portugal ³ 2Ai – School of Technology, Polytechnic Institute of Cávado and Ave (IPCA), 4750-810 Barcelos, Portugal ⁴ LASI – Associate Laboratory of Intelligent Systems, 4800-058 Guimarães, Portugal 

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them. Grant Agreement Number: 101124674 • Food waste is large and measurable: UNEP estimates 1.05 billion tonnes in 2022, with households responsible for 60%. • Household waste is behavioral and systemic: planning, storage, labels, packages, schedules, and uncertainty interact. • The PhD question is not only whether games engage users, but whether they can support measurable waste reduction. • Scope: consumer and household food waste, while SG-FLW keeps the wider food loss and waste measurement chain explicit. Problem and Scope 

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them. Grant Agreement Number: 101124674 3 The thesis position A serious game should act near the top of the hierarchy: before food becomes waste, and before the only remaining options are treatment or disposal. Design consequence The intervention must capture whether prevention behavior changed, not only whether players liked the game. Figure 1. Food use hierarchy adapted from the Waste Framework Directive (European Commission Joint Research Centre, 2024) Waste Framework Directive 

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them. Grant Agreement Number: 101124674 4 The difference between food loss and food waste. Adapted from FAO, 2019 

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them. Grant Agreement Number: 101124674 5 The first gap The field often measures knowledge, intention, and self-report more clearly than actual waste reduction. 

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them. Grant Agreement Number: 101124674 • Mapped how gamification and serious games address household food waste. • The field uses apps, serious games, educational platforms, installations, feedback, challenges, and tracking. • Most evidence is easier to compare for awareness, knowledge, engagement, intentions, and self-reported practices. • The review creates the first PhD pivot: stronger measurement is needed before claiming sustained food-waste reduction. Completed: Systematic Literature Review 

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them. Grant Agreement Number: 101124674 7 Accepted: Measurement Framework 

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them. Grant Agreement Number: 101124674 8 

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them. Grant Agreement Number: 101124674 9 

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them. Grant Agreement Number: 101124674 Derived from FOWCUS local repository; upstream Coudard et al. Scientific Data 2025. In Development: Locus of Control Locus of Control: In food waste research, locus of control we want to understand which individuals believe they can influence the amount of food they waste through their own actions. A stronger internal locus of control is associated with greater confidence in preventing food waste through everyday food management practices. Ajzen, I. 2002. “Perceived Behavioral Control, Self-Efficacy, Locus of Control, and the Theory of Planned Behavior.” Journal of Applied Social Psychology 80 (6): 2918–2940. doi:10.1111/j.1559-1816.2002.tb00236.x. 

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them. Grant Agreement Number: 101124674 Derived from FOWCUS local repository; upstream Coudard et al. Scientific Data 2025. In Development: Use of FOWCUS: data layer for quantified feedback FOWCUS (Food Waste Composition and Utilization Dataset) is a dataset that disaggregates more than 280 food products into avoidable, potentially avoidable, and unavoidable fractions, enabling more accurate quantification of food waste, assessment of resource losses, and identification of valorization opportunities. Coudard, A., Szabo-Hemmings, T., Honorine Delval, M. et al. The FOod Commodity composition for Waste qUanti fi cation and valorization opportunitieS (FOWCUS) Dataset. Sci Data 12, 1553 (2025). https://doi.org/ 10.1038/s41597-025-05629-x 

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them. Grant Agreement Number: 101124674 •For the final study, the measurement plan should be designed before evaluation: baseline, mechanism, behavior/proxy, conversion, and follow-up. •SG-FLW protects the claim boundary: knowledge, attitude, usability, or engagement can be valuable without being treated as direct waste reduction. Planned: Serious Games Food Waste Intervention Planned minimum target for my intervention B 2 K 2 D 2 E 1 L 1 Minimum prospective target: B2/K2/D2/E1/L1