Energy communities and food supply chains: the role of citizens and civil society organisations in working towards a sustainable economy

In the recent years, as a reaction to neo-liberalist individualism there is a growing trend towards self-organization of citizens/consumers: the aim of these initiatives is to create value - not only economic - and alternative models to the capitalistic ones. From this point of view, it is possible to observe an interesting process at European level. Indeed, thanks to the increasing awareness of the "environmental issue", the most interesting experiences concern two sectors: energy and food. In the first one, the energy communities are achieving a fundamental role in the energy transition process. In the second, within the food production and distribution, short supply chains, based on principles of fairness and solidarity, are unfolding. This paper presents a review of the most relevant experiences implemented in two sectors. By analysing their features, we included these initiatives inside specific categories highlighting their different and common aspects. The purpose is to point out the connections among the social movements that are developing in both sectors.