
We are a European network and multi-stakeholder platform of scientists and civil society, working to demonstrate how accounting for the hidden costs of food systems can improve human health, environmental sustainability, and social equity. The Alliance focuses on innovative projects that use True Cost Accounting to reveal and measure hidden costs, enabling effective, evidence-based sustainability measures in policymaking and the private sector.


True Cost Alliance works to reveal and measure the true costs and benefits of food systems, so that production systems, supply chains, business models, and dietary patterns can be evaluated and compared. With True Cost Accounting as a recognized, science-backed approach, we can effectively guide policy and business strategy, while increasing transparency for producers and consumers.
True Cost Alliance is building a growing European network of business partners to advance methodologies, integrate them into food supply chains, and drive political support.



We are a European network and multi-stakeholder platform of scientists and civil society, working to demonstrate how accounting for the hidden costs of food systems can support sustainable decision-making in business and policy. We are also a member of the True Cost Accounting Accelerator, a global network of TCA advocates.
We drive innovative projects that use True Cost Accounting to optimize accounting and reporting practices in business and for policymaking.
True Cost Alliance uses its extensive experience to provide sector-specific recommendations and support policy design to effectively reduce and internalize the hidden costs of food systems.
TMG is a Berlin-based think tank dedicated to driving just and sustainable transitions through action research, policy dialogue, and strategic advice. With main focus areas in the EU and Africa, TMG has expertise in food systems transformation, land governance, and climate change adaptation, as well as strong German and UN networks in governance and policy.
The Competence Center for Sustainable Food and Resource Management (Kompetenzzentrum für Nachhaltige Ernährungs- und Ressourcenwirtschaft, K.NER) of Nuremberg University of Technology is the research member of the True Cost Alliance. K.NER connects science, practice, and society to address pressing challenges in the food and resource management sector in a solution-oriented manner. The goal is to foster exchange among various stakeholders and participants, and to develop practical solutions that benefit both business and society. K.NER conducts research on sustainable resource management, sufficiency strategies for sustainable production and consumption, and True Cost Accounting, in order to make challenges visible, understand complex interrelationships, and develop sound approaches to sustainably shaping the economy and society. The scientific team gains relevant knowledge through research and development projects as well as collaborative, practical collaborations. We support companies, organizations, and public institutions in implementing ecological, social, and economic solutions.
Misereor is the German Catholic Bishops’ Organization for Development Cooperation. For over 60 years, Misereor has been committed to fighting poverty in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Misereor strives for a world where all people can lead a self-determined life free of hunger and poverty, where they take on responsibility for themselves and for the world around them, and where everyone can exercise their economic, social, and cultural human rights, regardless of their religion, world view, gender, health status, age, sexual identity, or ethnic and social origin. With our political lobbying and campaign work, we make it clear that the current mode of production and consumption is still based on exploitative structures between the Global South and North.
Through research and innovation to improve accounting practices, True Cost Alliance members run projects that showcase the feasibility of True Cost Accounting and advance its use in business and policy.
ASAN creates teaching materials that explain, in a child-friendly way, how environmental, health, and social costs (“true costs”) arise along food production, and implements and evaluates these materials in schools while raising public awareness. Funded by: Staedtler Foundation.
Led by Wageningen Research, FOODCoST develops a harmonized methodology to assess environmental, biodiversity, health, and social costs along the food value chain. The project conducts 11 case studies to test the implementation of True Cost Accounting in practice, including applications in policy, businesses, and school menus, supporting the transition toward sustainable food systems. Funded by: European Union Horizon Europe Programme.
Implemented with the cultural and environmental festival organizer Tollwood, the project quantified and monetized environmental impacts, especially biodiversity loss, that arise during food production but are not reflected in market prices. A national case study with the German retailer PENNY demonstrated how “true costs” can be assigned to different food production systems to inform policy, society, and practice. Funded by: German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF).









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Become a True Cost Alliance member—help us reduce the hidden costs of food systems and create pathways for sustainable transformation.


We are a European network and multi-stakeholder platform of scientists and civil society, working to demonstrate how accounting for the hidden costs of food systems can improve human health, environmental sustainability, and social equity. The Alliance focuses on innovative projects that use True Cost Accounting to reveal and measure hidden costs, enabling effective, evidence-based sustainability measures in policymaking and the private sector.

True Cost Alliance works to reveal and measure the true costs and benefits of food systems, so that production systems, supply chains, business models, and dietary patterns can be evaluated and compared. With True Cost Accounting as a recognized, science-backed approach, we can effectively guide policy and business strategy, while increasing transparency for producers and consumers.



We are a European network and multi-stakeholder platform of scientists and civil society, working to demonstrate how accounting for the hidden costs of food systems can support sustainable decision-making in business and policy. We are also a member of the True Cost Accounting Accelerator, a global network of TCA advocates.
We drive innovative projects that use True Cost Accounting to optimize accounting and reporting practices in business and for policymaking.
True Cost Alliance uses its extensive experience to provide sector-specific recommendations and support policy design to effectively reduce and internalize the hidden costs of food systems.
True Cost Alliance is building a growing European network of business partners to advance methodologies, integrate them into food supply chains, and drive political support.
TMG is a Berlin-based think tank dedicated to driving just and sustainable transitions through action research, policy dialogue, and strategic advice. With main focus areas in the EU and Africa, TMG has expertise in food systems transformation, land governance, and climate change adaptation, as well as strong German and UN networks in governance and policy.
The Competence Center for Sustainable Food and Resource Management (Kompetenzzentrum für Nachhaltige Ernährungs- und Ressourcenwirtschaft, K.NER) of Nuremberg University of Technology is the research member of the True Cost Alliance. K.NER connects science, practice, and society to address pressing challenges in the food and resource management sector in a solution-oriented manner. The goal is to foster exchange among various stakeholders and participants, and to develop practical solutions that benefit both business and society. K.NER conducts research on sustainable resource management, sufficiency strategies for sustainable production and consumption, and True Cost Accounting, in order to make challenges visible, understand complex interrelationships, and develop sound approaches to sustainably shaping the economy and society. The scientific team gains relevant knowledge through research and development projects as well as collaborative, practical collaborations. We support companies, organizations, and public institutions in implementing ecological, social, and economic solutions.
Misereor is the German Catholic Bishops’ Organization for Development Cooperation. For over 60 years, Misereor has been committed to fighting poverty in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Misereor strives for a world where all people can lead a self-determined life free of hunger and poverty, where they take on responsibility for themselves and for the world around them, and where everyone can exercise their economic, social, and cultural human rights, regardless of their religion, world view, gender, health status, age, sexual identity, or ethnic and social origin. With our political lobbying and campaign work, we make it clear that the current mode of production and consumption is still based on exploitative structures between the Global South and North.
Through research and innovation to improve accounting practices, True Cost Alliance members run projects that showcase the feasibility of True Cost Accounting and advance its use in business and policy.
ASAN creates teaching materials that explain, in a child-friendly way, how environmental, health, and social costs (“true costs”) arise along food production, and implements and evaluates these materials in schools while raising public awareness. Funded by: Staedtler Foundation.
Led by Wageningen Research, FOODCoST develops a harmonized methodology to assess environmental, biodiversity, health, and social costs along the food value chain. The project conducts 11 case studies to test the implementation of True Cost Accounting in practice, including applications in policy, businesses, and school menus, supporting the transition toward sustainable food systems. Funded by: European Union Horizon Europe Programme.
Implemented with the cultural and environmental festival organizer Tollwood, the project quantified and monetized environmental impacts, especially biodiversity loss, that arise during food production but are not reflected in market prices. A national case study with the German retailer PENNY demonstrated how “true costs” can be assigned to different food production systems to inform policy, society, and practice. Funded by: German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF).









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Become a True Cost Alliance member—help us reduce the hidden costs of food systems and create pathways for sustainable transformation.
©True Cost Alliance. All rights reserved. Legal Note Privacy Policy Website by Studio Christian Vukomanovic
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Sign up with your email and receive our newsletter. You can find information on how your data is stored and used, as well as your unsubscribe options, in our privacy policy.
Sign up with your email and receive our newsletter. You can find information on how your data is stored and used, as well as your unsubscribe options, in our privacy policy.
©True Cost Alliance. All rights reserved. Legal Note Privacy Policy Website by Studio Christian Vukomanovic
©True Cost Alliance. All rights reserved. Legal Note Privacy Policy Website by Studio Christian Vukomanovic