Policy, research & institutions

From insights to implementation

Environmental degradation, social inequality and resource depletion are not accidental outcomes – they are often the result of costs that remain invisible in markets and decision-making. These hidden costs, also known as externalities, are a structural blind spot in the global economy. In food systems alone, they represent an estimated $20 trillion annual gap between market prices and real societal costs.

Public policy, research and academic institutions play a critical role in reshaping the economic systems that determine how value is created – and who bears the costs.

True pricing makes hidden environmental and social costs visible, measurable and actionable. By quantifying externalities in monetary terms, it provides a robust foundation for evidence-based policymaking, regulatory design and system-level transformation.

Why true pricing matters for policy and research

Governments and institutions are increasingly expected to design policies that are effective, defensible and aligned with long-term societal goals. At the same time, they must navigate trade-offs between economic growth, climate action, social equity and competitiveness.

True pricing supports this by helping to:

Reveal the true societal costs and benefits of products, activities and policies
Improve the quality, comparability and transparency of impact assessments
Inform coherent policy design across climate, agriculture, trade, tax and social policy
Translate environmental and social impacts into clear monetary values for decision-making

In the Netherlands and at the European Union level, true pricing is increasingly recognised as a valuable instrument to support sustainability transitions. Governments are exploring its use in public procurement, subsidy reform and regulatory frameworks. The field is moving from theory toward practical implementation.

Our mission is not to make products more expensive, but more sustainable. True price payments can be used for remediation — restoring or compensating for environmental and social damage — thereby strengthening fairness and long-term resilience.

How we support you

Quantitative foundations for evidence-based policymaking

Effective sustainability policy requires robust measurement. True pricing provides scientifically grounded methodologies to quantify environmental and social impacts across value chains and convert them into comparable monetary values.

We support ministries, public agencies and advisory bodies with analyses that inform:

Policy design and evaluation
Regulatory impact assessments
Public procurement and subsidy frameworks
Carbon pricing and trade mechanisms

By translating complex impact data into clear metrics, we help policymakers close the implementation gap between sustainability ambition and economic reality.

Applied research and methodological development

True Price has developed an open-source, rights-based methodology over more than a decade. Our methods are regularly updated based on the latest scientific insights and international best practices, and offered by True Price Foundation we work closely with.

We collaborate with research institutes and universities to:

Develop and refine true pricing and true cost accounting methodologies
Contribute to academic and applied research
Test approaches through pilots and proof-of-concepts
Align terminology and standards across the field

Our methodology builds on and contributes to international standards, incorporating natural, social, human and produced capital. It addresses key challenges around comparability, completeness and decision-usefulness.

Notable collaborations include:

The Dutch Research Partnership on Fair and True Prices, which developed publicly available true pricing methods for food systems
The Global Partnership on the True Price of Food, a multi-stakeholder initiative enabling large-scale application of true pricing
Contributions to international dialogues, including the UN Food Systems Summit Science Group

In November 2025, we established a Standard Advisory Council (SAC) to provide independent guidance on methodological updates, emerging research priorities and alignment with global best practices — strengthening credibility, transparency and relevance across contexts.

Who we work with

We collaborate with:

National and local governments
Ministries and public agencies
Research institutes and universities
International and multilateral organisations
Advisory councils and public knowledge institutions

Across all partnerships, our shared goal is clear: to support better decisions by making societal costs and benefits visible — and by embedding environmental and human rights into economic systems.

Take action now

Join the movement toward transparent, socially, and environmentally responsible production. Let True Price help you take the next step in creating a more sustainable future for your organisation.