Beyond awareness: co-creating food waste engagement in higher education

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present an innovative academic project aimed at raising student awareness about food waste through the integration of co-creation and experiential learning. Implemented within a marketing and market research undergraduate program, the initiative engaged students in the design of peer-targeted communication campaigns to promote sustainable consumption. Design/methodology/approach The methodology combined baseline diagnostic surveys, hands-on workshops and the assessment of designed initiatives using both self-report instruments and neuromarketing tools, such as eye-tracking. Findings Results indicate that students initially perceived food waste as a low-priority issue. However, their active involvement in initiatives’ development significantly increased engagement and perceived relevance. Moreover, different emotions serve distinct communication objectives in social marketing. The initiative’s evaluation revealed that creative appeals eliciting positive emotions achieved the highest visualization rates and superior initial visual engagement and shareability, key for digital platforms. In contrast, appeals to negative emotions proved more effective in driving deeper message internalization and yielding higher persuasive potential. Research limitations/implications The relatively low level of voluntary participation and the specific university context may limit the generalizability of the findings. And, assessing whether the project generated sustained behavioral change among students remains challenging beyond the duration of the intervention. Practical implications The model offers a replicable framework for Higher Education Institutions to integrate student co-creation and advanced digital marketing skills into sustainability curricula. It provides both theoretical insights and practical guidance for sustainability educators and social marketing practitioners seeking to foster pro-environmental behavior change in university contexts. Social implications The project aims to empower university students, a key demographic identified as contributing significantly to food waste, with the necessary skills and agency to become effective sustainable change agents in their communities, addressing a critical systemic societal challenge. Originality/value The project not only contributes to raising awareness about food waste but also demonstrates the value of interdisciplinary, data-informed educational strategies.