**An Interview with Emily Adamson**

Open Sauce, a collaborative project partially funded by Sustainability Victoria, has been making waves in reframing food waste as a valuable resource. As the project draws to a close at the end of June 2023, we had the opportunity to sit down with Emily Adamson, the Team Lead for Circular Economy Business Innovation at Sustainability Victoria, to gain insights into the project and reflect on its achievements. In this interview, Emily was asked her impressions of the Open Sauce project and shared her thoughts on the challenges faced during the pandemic, the essence of collaboration, the principles of circularity, the power of education, and the future prospects of Open Sauce.

Here are the insights and impressions of the Open Sauce project that Emily shared with us:

Open Sauce needed to adapt and innovate through uncertainty

The inception of Open Sauce amidst a pandemic and multiple lockdowns necessitated significant adaptability. Emily noted: "You had to be highly adaptable because of COVID. At the beginning waste audits were an important part for the rest of the project, and you had to pivot and be adaptable and innovative."

Despite these challenges, the team still managed to lay the foundation investigations into waste streams, which then informed the rest of the project. They also incorporated stakeholder interviews alongside waste audits to understand the "why" behind different waste resources in the food waste stream. This flexibility and innovation enabled Open Sauce to move forward successfully.

Collaboration was a key ingredient for success

Emily acknowledged the high level of collaboration achieved by Open Sauce, particularly with the Moving Feast network and various partners involved. She described the open innovation framework used during the project as a catalyst for collaboration, emphasizing its vital role in the circular economy. She believed that Open Sauce clearly demonstrated successful collaboration.

*“The open innovation framework that you’ve used really draws in collaboration; this project is an excellent example of how collaboration enables success..”*

*Emily (right) participating in the Open Sauce themed Melbourne Knowledge Week workshop.*

Regeneration and maximizing resource value was integral to Open Sauce’s success

Emily shared her views on how Open Sauce exemplified higher-level circular economy principles by reducing food waste and keeping materials at their highest value for as long as possible. Emily explained, "We (Sustainability Victoria) are really trying to create more value with less, and that's what you're doing with Open Sauce. By rescuing food that might have ended up in compost or landfill, the project channeled the value chain to reach its highest potential.” Emily highlighted the example of stinging nettles, which can be transformed into nettle tea, soup, or pasta, thereby unlocking greater value.

*Above: Open Sauce sought to identify ways to use resources to their highest value*

Education was another ingredient that empowered change and engagement

Emily described how Open Sauce extended beyond achieving circular economy outcomes; it actively educated and engaged various stakeholders including members of the public. Emily noted the project's ability to involve everyone by delivering value on multiple fronts including workshops for addressing both food waste and packaging waste. She also shared her thoughts on the visual communication used during the project, and noted, “I think the way Open Sauce communicates is really cool, with all the pictures and graphic design that you’ve done. It brings that educational element and it’s another way to engage people around what you’re doing well. It makes complex things understandable for people who are not perhaps up to speed with everything.”

Open Sauce has set the foundations for open innovation and collaboration

Emily closed by saying, "Everything you've done has led you to where you are”. She shared her thoughts that Open Sauce was a great example of how projects can simultaneously connect people working together and members of the community at large.

The Open Sauce team, and wider Moving Feast network of Victorian social enterprises, want to thank the team at Sustainability Victoria, for supporting this project. This project has been supported by the Victorian Government’s Recycling Victoria Innovation Fund as part of the Circular Economy Business Innovation Centre (CEBIC).