Sustainability-Focused Excellence: A Novel Model Integrating the Water–Energy–Food Nexus for Agro-Industrial Companies

Fernando Caixeta (), André M. Carvalho, Pedro Saraiva and Fausto Freire
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Fernando Caixeta: Federal Institute of Triângulo Mineiro, Campus Uberlândia, Fazenda Sobradinho, s/n, Uberlândia 38400-970, Brazil
André M. Carvalho: Polytechnic Institute of Cávado and Ave., 4750-810 Barcelos, Portugal
Pedro Saraiva: Department of Chemical Engineering, CIEPQPF, University of Coimbra, 3000-456 Coimbra, Portugal
Fausto Freire: Department of Mechanical Engineering, ADAI, University of Coimbra, 3000-456 Coimbra, Portugal

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 15, 1-20

Abstract: The water–energy–food (WEF) nexus approach is gaining attention due to the challenge of better managing natural elements. Agro-industrial companies, given their environmental impacts, need to take sustainability into proper account. However, this sector lacks the novel tools needed to integrate current methodologies with additional quality frameworks, such as business excellence models (BEMs). Therefore, the present research aims to propose a sustainability-focused excellence model by integrating the principles and objectives of the WEF nexus with existing BEM and proposing its application to agro-industrial companies. For that purpose, a new conceptual model to integrate sustainability and excellence was built. The proposed novel model can become a decision-support tool in helping agro-industrial companies transition toward improved sustainability while managing existing tradeoffs and synergies.

Keywords: Water-Energy-Food nexus; excellence models; agro-industrial companies; decision-support tool (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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