TRUE-COST is a four-year interdisciplinary research project, starting in January 2024. The project was initiated by and is affiliated to the Enterprise for Society (E4S) Centre, which brings together the economics and management faculties of UNIL, EPFL and IMD with the aim of driving the transition to an inclusive and resilient economy within planetary limits.
The aim of TRUE-COST is to propose ways of introducing true cost accounting for food (TCAF) in Switzerland, in order to reduce the environmental, health and social impacts of the Swiss food system.

We are exploring the capacity of TCAF, by quantifying different impacts in monetary terms, to help transform food systems towards sustainable, resilient and equitable systems. TRUE-COST aims both to create knowledge about the true cost of food at the level of value chains and at the national level, and to explore how this information can be translated into action at the level of consumers, producers, the private sector and politicians.
The consortium is made up of E4S and Unisanté (UNIL), EPFL, HES-SO Fribourg, UNIBE and HAFL, Swiss start-ups such as Beelong, Equal Profit, and consultants (Ecozept and Nadia El Hage Advising), to ensure the relevance and impact of our research. TRUE COST adopts a systemic and transdisciplinary approach, integrating expertise from public health, environmental engineering, public economics and innovation, food and agricultural sciences, behavioural sciences and human geography.
Modules and activities
The project is structured into five work modules. Firstly, it will provide a better understanding of the real cost of the Swiss food system, thanks to a TCAF calculator at Swiss level (WP2) and the application of TCAF to individual supply chains (WP4). On the other hand, the project addresses ways of implementing the TCAF through a participatory process (WP2, WP3), a policy analysis (WP2, WP3) and consumer behaviour (WP5).