Despite the growing interest in True Cost Accounting (TCA) approaches, uptake by businesses, governments and accounting firms had been slow. This was in part due to the multiplicity of tools, databases and case studies developed by different organizations, as well as the methodological complexity of TCA approaches.

This project aimed to assist the process by creating a one-stop-shop on TCA information.

The specific objectives of the project were to:

- Provide a synthesis of methodologies and databases that could be used to assess the four capitals—financial, human, social, and natural—in TCA.

- Develop an inventory of cases applying TCA across food systems, with the aim of developing a user-oriented searchable database and application tools.

- Distill strategic recommendations about how to strengthen a systemic TCA approach across food systems to inform the development of a "TCA for Food Systems Accelerator."

The information generated by the inventory was organized in a user-oriented database. The accompanying report was the first to review TCA procedures and outline the steps taken. It provided strategic recommendations for scaling up TCA for food systems and informed the agenda of the global TCA community.

At the time of launch in 2020, the inventory was the first to offer a consensus of TCA procedures and became a one-stop-shop for TCA practitioners and researchers around the world.