Towards Circular Economy in the Agri-Food Sector. A Systematic Literature Review

Benedetta Esposito, Maria Rosaria Sessa, Daniela Sica and Ornella Malandrino
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Benedetta Esposito: Department of Business Studies Management and Innovation Systems, University of Salerno, 84084 Salerno, Italy
Maria Rosaria Sessa: Department of Business Studies Management and Innovation Systems, University of Salerno, 84084 Salerno, Italy
Daniela Sica: Department of Business Studies Management and Innovation Systems, University of Salerno, 84084 Salerno, Italy
Ornella Malandrino: Department of Business Studies Management and Innovation Systems, University of Salerno, 84084 Salerno, Italy

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 18, 1-21

Abstract: Over the last decade, the unsustainability of the current economic model, based on the so-called take-make-dispose paradigm, has emerged. In particular, the agro-food sector (AFS) has been severely affected by such problems as resource scarcity and food loss and waste generation along the supply chain. In addition, climate change and biodiversity loss have helped to define an imperative paradigm shift towards a circular economy. Recently, with the publication of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the scientific research examining the adoption of circular economy (CE) models and tools has increased. In this context, the importance of shifting towards a circular economy has become urgent. In this paper, a systematic literature review (SLR) was performed to investigate the state-of-the-art research related to the adoption of circular economy models and tools along the agro-food supply chain. Furthermore, this review highlights that, due to the complexity of the agri-food supply chain, it is almost utopian to define a unique circular economy model for the whole sector. In addition, it emerges that future researches should be concentrated on the integration of different stages of the supply chain with circular economy models and tools in order to create a closed-loop agri-food system.

Keywords: sustainability; circular economy; LCA; agro-food supply chain; food waste (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (27)

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