No full-text available
To read the full-text of this research,
you can request a copy directly from the authors.
Investigating Co-Innovation Strategies to Prevent Food Loss in the Fruits and Vegetables Sector
... Interestingly, this correlation is weaker forcommercial relations between producers and retailers than for other buyers, confirming the results from the focus groups, where a lack of communication between producers and retailers is reported. Indeed, communication represents a key element in improving the quality of commercial relations [4], which may also be enhanced by the adoption of technological innovations that allow for improving the relationship between actors, as shown, also with reference to the fruit and vegetables supply chain [41][42][43]. ...
The different bargaining power of actors is a long-standing problem in the fruit and vegetable supply chain, where buyers (e.g., retailers, industry, and wholesalers) have more power than agricultural producers and are, therefore, able to engage in commercial practices that may be perceived as unfavorable or even unfair by the weaker part. This study explores how producers perceive the quality of commercial relations. The methods include a focus group discussion with sales managers of producer organizations and a survey of agricultural producers in Italy. We measure their willingness to change buyer and their stated overall satisfaction with the commercial relation by analyzing ninety-eight commercial relations and five dimensions of quality in the relationship. We identify four clusters of relationships characterized by different quality levels. The satisfaction and willingness to change buyers significantly differ across the clusters; economically favorable commercial relations are associated with a low willingness to change buyers, even when the producer is not satisfied with the overall quality of the relationship. The highest levels of satisfaction and the lower willingness to change buyers are reached for commercial relations that are not only economically favorable but also include positive relational aspects such as trust and mutual commitment.
With the aim of disclosing the antecedents and dynamics of food loss generation in the upstream stages of the fruit and vegetable sector, this paper presents the results of a series of semi-structured interviews with 10 Producers' Organisations (POs) in Germany and Italy. The content of the interviews is analysed by applying a qualitative content analysis approach, thus disclosing the most relevant issues affecting food loss generation at the interface between POs and buyers (industry and retailers). Several similarities emerge as we compare the answers provided by Italian and German POs, especially concerning the role of retailers' cosmetic specification on products in the generation of losses. Instead, the structure of contracts regulating commercial transactions between POs, industry, and retailers show noticeable differences, apparently resulting in a greater capacity to plan the demand of products from the beginning of the season in the Italian context. Despite these differences, this study confirms the key role of POs in increasing farmers' bargaining power against the buyers, both in Germany and Italy. Further research is needed to compare circumstances in other European countries and to analyse why the similarities and differences identified occur.
Retailers' food waste, often consisting of edible food, could be reduced, while simultaneously tackling food insecurity, through surplus food donations to vulnerable groups. However, sustainability assessments of food donations covering all three sustainability perspectives are scarce, hampering decision-makers in prioritizing donation as a food waste management measure. This Swedish case study assessed the environmental, economic, and social aspects of surplus food donation and examined trade-offs between the different sustainability perspectives. Methods included life cycle assessment, net economic benefit calculation, social life cycle assessment based on food security questionnaires, and nutritional assessments. The results showed that food donation was a way to reduce food waste benefitting the environment and adding economic and social value, to vulnerable people in particular. Despite substantial rebound effects offsetting some potential environmental savings, food bag donations outcompeted anaerobic digestion as a food waste management option in terms of environmental mitigation effect. Regarding trade-offs, accrued savings causing the rebound effects generated important social value for the donation recipients, by relieving their personal finances. Private and public investment was required to fund the donation units, but positive economic value was generated through valorization of surplus food. Food bag donations also showed potential to alleviate recipients' food insecurity and to contribute positively to recipients' nutrition intake. To realize the potential of surplus food donation, policy measures should be better aligned with the waste hierarchy. Despite some trade-offs and inability to solve the underlying problems of food insecurity, food donations have great short-term potential to contribute to a more sustainable society.
Q methodology provides a foundation for the systematic study of subjectivity, people's viewpoints about a topic of interest. Over the past two decades, Q methodology has rapidly gained popularity among researchers in various disciplines. However, the variation in how the method is applied has also increased. The aim of this study was to provide insight into the methodological choices made in recent applications of Q methodology.We conducted a systematic literature review of recent Q methodology articles (2015–2019), focusing on the choices made by researchers regarding the design of their study, the collection, analysis and interpretation of their data and the reporting of their findings, covering all disciplines in which Q methodology was applied. We identified 965 articles in two databases, of which 613 were included in this review. Data extraction was based on a predefined and pilot-tested extraction form. We collected both quantitative and qualitative data and conducted the analyses in Microsoft Excel.We found considerable variation in choices made, but mostly within confined bounds. However, many articles did not report clearly or at all on many of the choices made. Based on our findings, we compiled a checklist for reporting Q methodology articles.This systematic review provides a comprehensive overview of how Q methodology has been applied in recent years, offers a frame of reference for future users and provides a research agenda. The checklist for reporting Q methodology articles will hopefully contribute to more thorough consideration of and reporting on methodological choices, which is important for the comprehensibility, quality assessment, replicatability ansd impact of future studies.
There is growing recognition that sustainable innovation is not necessarily about new technologies, but about new or adapted organisational models, behaviours, and networks. How people engage in or with innovation is driven by values, but values differ across actor categories in agri-food value-chains. Understanding actors’ values helps us to identify potential for collaborative innovation within agri-food value-chains, and to address potential barriers and obstacles. In the context of the Ploutos H2020 project, we conducted participatory focus group (FG) sessions at the EU level involving actors across the value-chain to brainstorm values, enablers, and hindrances in the process of sustainability-oriented innovation. Participants co-created stories showing scenarios within sustainability-oriented innovation where conflicts could occur between values and others where mutual values were created by multi-actor alliances. Based on a qualitative description of the data collected in these FGs, we identify a range of cultural and social values in decision-making and innovation processes, creating dilemmas and trade-offs, but also opportunities for sustainability-oriented innovation. A strong ecosystem of collaboration across the value-chain, based on relationships of shared interests and trust, is fundamental to innovation. We provide detailed insights regarding the use of participatory approaches to working with innovation actors to increase awareness of diversity in value systems and how it can be negotiated. Our findings are of particular interest to practice oriented scholars, practitioners, and innovation brokers working on the ground to further SOI.
While studies indicate that collaboration between stakeholders plays a prominent role in reducing food loss and waste (FLW), they have not specified which stakeholder group's collaboration will be more effective in reducing FLW. To fill this gap in the literature, this paper aims to identify and classify fruit and vegetable supply chain (FVSC) stakeholders according to their salience level and offer mitigation strategies for different salient stakeholder groups to tackle FLW. The study was conducted in Turkish FVSC because fruit and vegetable loss accounted for 53% of the total food loss. A multi-method approach was utilised to achieve the aim. First, 26 semi-structured interviews were conducted with Turkish FVSC experts to determine FVSC stakeholders and FLW drivers. Second, to identify and classify salient stakeholders, stakeholder mapping was undertaken. Collaboration-related mitigation strategies are offered high salient stakeholders and other stakeholder groups to reduce the amount of fruit and vegetable loss and waste. According to content analysis results, 25 supply chain actors are identified as stakeholders, and 15 are classified as salient stakeholders who can be more effective in tackling FLW. In addition, based on the results, 26 FLW drivers are identified according to different supply chain stages. Collaboration-based mitigation strategies were developed to diminish the impact of FLW causes at different stages. This study is one of the early attempts to classify food supply chain stakeholders according to saliency level. This study offers collaboration-related mitigation strategies to eliminate FLW drivers that cause loss and waste between specific stages of the FVSC.
As a consequence of intensive maize mono-cropping practice on sloping lands in northern Thailand, Nan province, farmers face extremely low yields, soil erosion, and prolonged drought. Research and development efforts are needed to identify possible solutions, evaluate and scale them out to farmers. Consequently, an innovation platform has initiated a network of stakeholders, including farmers, government officers, researchers, and private sector actors, who meet regularly to coordinate the development of long-term solutions. Therefore, this study aims to identify which interests and goals are shared and which are conflicting among the various stakeholders involved in the Nan R4D platform, which was initiated as part of the Humidtropics project. Q methodology was employed, and 29 participants were selected from the R4D platform to conduct a Q-sort activity. The results showed that the two distinctive framings shared ways of thinking about research and development (R&D) and environmental issues. Additionally, participants’ interests and goals were diversifying agriculture, livestock promotion, growing vegetables, government aid, rubber plantation profitability, pesticide damage, deforestation, growing own food, and the possibility of growing maize sustainably. However, they disagreed on whether maize cultivation leads to food insecurity and high debt among farmers, and if planting fruit trees on sloping land is advisable. Ultimately, this study delivers agricultural stakeholders’ perspectives from the platform including recommendations on further potential policies for agricultural development in Nan.
Fresh fruit and vegetables are crucial for human health. Their fibrous structure and high nutritional value are essential for people’s well-being. This study aims to provide a review of the current state of knowledge and practices regarding fresh fruit and vegetable supply chains (FFVSC). The reviewed papers are divided into categories according to their findings, research purposes, tools and messages used. Our objective is to guide both academics and practitioners by pointing out significant streams of research with respect to these categories. For a better understanding, these subgroups are essentially based on their common research purpose, and the tools and methods they adopted are explained. Therefore, this study sheds light on research related to FFVSCs for those who are new to this area or planning to conduct in-depth research on directions suggested by studies in this area. The related literature was classified into eight categories: namely, (1) value chain indicators of FFVSCs, (2) food-related problems/postharvest losses along FFVSCs, (3) roles of parties involved in the FFV value chain, (4) review papers, (5) technological trends in FFVSCs, (6) packaging issues of FFVSCs, (7) logistics solutions of FFVSCs, and (8) sustainable FFVSCs. Details on the tools and methods employed in these studies are summarized in Appendix B. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, the related literature lacks a comprehensive review that investigates different aspects of FFVVCs in detail. Thus, this study contributes towards a better understanding of the related literature and can be used as a guide for future studies.
Purpose
This paper presents a comprehensive overview of the cross-disciplinary literature on the drivers, barriers and performance outcomes of sustainable packaging to understand the current state of research in this field and identify research opportunities.
Design/methodology/approach
A systematic review is conducted within no time limit. The Methodi Ordinatio methodology was applied that resulted in retaining 48 relevant and high impact articles published in 26 academic journals with various scopes.
Findings
Seven key drivers are identified and defined: the integrative and collaborative supply chain, environmental capabilities and resources, market-based instruments, cost reduction, consumer pressure, competitive advantage, and regulatory pressure. Three main barriers are identified and defined: cost/benefit ambiguity, additional costs and complex trade-offs between packaging requirements. The review shows that the drivers and barriers to packaging sustainability are contingent on the firm size. Sustainable packaging positively affects the environmental, social and economic performance; however, its operational performance requires a proactive and integrated supply chain. The results highlight the importance of integrated packaging decisions at three different levels to improve packaging sustainability: vertical and horizontal integration, upstream and downstream integration, and product-packaging integration. The authors developed research propositions and provided insightful directions for future research.
Originality/value
Most studies focus on specific drivers, barriers and outcomes of sustainable packaging, while this paper brings them together to build a comprehensive framework. The latter provides a deeper understanding of the factors that incentivize or deter firms from pursuing sustainable packaging and its performance outcomes.
Existing research suggests that regions can develop their long-term competitive advantage through well-functioning interregional innovation cooperation. In this article, we use the example of innovation in small and medium-sized agri-food enterprises (SMEs) to scrutinise and compare regional innovation approaches on each side of the Dutch-German border and explore how they can converge into a cross-border innovation space. Particular attention is paid to the role of academic institutions and innovation brokers in creating a common innovation space. We explore how differences between two cross-border regions can be harnessed to enhance the impact of innovation, and how this may lead to what we describe as hybridisation effects. In the empirical analysis, we apply the concept of hybridisation to a cross-border innovation space, something that, as far as we are aware, has not been done before. We empirically ground the concepts of a cross-border innovation space and hybridisation and illustrate how relative regional strengths can lead to hybridisation effects. We conclude that differences in economic structures, institutional set-ups, visions and identities inherent in cross-border spaces are not only hindrances, but also opportunities, and we highlight the importance of these complementary strengths and the potential for their strategic use by regional innovation actors. Our findings are highly relevant for the further development of the Interreg Europe programme and the implementation of the EU’s Territorial Agenda 2030.
Q-methodology is a mixed qualitative-quantitative method used to measure social perspectives on issues relating to sustainability and environmental governance in a systematic, replicable manner. Although its use grown over the past two decades, to date there has not been a comprehensive review of the environmental sustainability Q-methodology literature. Using bibliometric analysis and systematic review, this paper examines the rapid growth in published Q-methodology research on sustainable natural resource management and environmental governance. We analysed and iteratively coded 277 empirical Q-studies published between 2000-2018 to establish research trends, shared gaps, and best practices among environmental social science Q-researchers. We also conducted co-authorship and co-citation analyses to identify research clusters using Q-methodology. We find that, while Q-methodology uses a relatively standardized protocol, considerable heterogeneity persists across such domains as study design, p-set identification, concourse and Q-set development, analysis and interpretation. Further, we identify major reporting gaps among Q-methodology publications where researchers do not fully describe or justify subjective decision-making throughout the research process. The paper ends with recommendations for improving research reporting and increasing the circulation and uptake of up-to-date Q-methodology practices and innovations.
The Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) reported that approximately one-third of all produced foods (1.3 billion tons of edible food) for human consumption is lost and wasted every year across the entire supply chain. Significant impacts of food loss and waste (FLW) have increased interest in establishing prevention programs around the world. This paper aims to provide an overview of FLW occurrence and prevention. Economic, political, cultural, and socio-demographic drivers of FLW are described, highlighting the global variation. This approach might be particularly helpful for scientists, governors, and policy makers to identify the global variation and to focus on future implications. The main focus here was to identify the cause of the FLW occurrence throughout the food supply chain. We have created a framework for FLW occurrence at each stage of the food supply chain. Several feasible solutions are provided based on the framework.
p>The objective of the paper is to understand the process of designing a multi-stakeholder partnership in the adoption of sustainable innovations in value chains. More specifically, the focus is on the design of feasible types of horizontal agreements and contractual formulas to be implemented in the agri-food supply chain in order to introduce sustainable agricultural practices. To this purpose, the Barilla Sustainable Farming initiative, which is currently in the first phase of designing an MSP, is used as a case study.</p
In 2015, the United Nations defined the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), which include a target (12.3) on food waste. The target requires “by 2030, to halve per capita global food waste at the retail and consumer levels and to reduce food losses along production and supply chains, including post-harvest losses”. The target has increased awareness about the food waste problem and boosted research in food waste quantification. Nevertheless, there is a lack of studies that adopt a systematic approach to account for food waste providing disaggregated values per food supply chain stage and per food groups. Such an approach could support policy makers in prioritizing interventions for food waste reduction. To fill this gap, this paper presents a high-level top-down approach to food waste accounting in the European Union. The study aims to support the understanding of the mass flows associated with food production, consumption, and waste, addressing different food groups along the food supply chain. The method for accountin is the mass flow analysis. According to the results, cereals, fruit, and vegetables as the food groups are responsible for the highest amount of food waste, and the consumption stage to be responsible for the largest share of food waste for most food groups. This work highlights the need for further primary research on food waste generation in the EU. Ultimately, this would allow to robustly estimate the food waste generated at EU level, and establishing a more accurate baseline to track the progress towards SDG target 12.3.
The continuous emergence of new ideas and terms simultaneously enables and impedes the advancement of sustainability, because of an increasingly complex conceptual landscape. This study aims at highlighting combinations of sustainability concepts (circular, green and bioeconomy) and of development models (growth, steady-state, degrowth) which selected researchers have considered priorities for pursuing sustainability transformations. Leading scholars working on sustainability issues were asked to rank 36 statements describing activities related to either circular, green, bio, growth, steady-state or degrowth economy. Using Q methodology, an exploratory approach to the identification of shared or diverging opinions, three archetypical perspectives were identified across the respondents: 1. circular solutions towards economic-environmental decoupling in a degrowth perspective; 2. a mix of circular and green economy solutions; 3. a green economy perspective, with an emphasis on natural capital and ecosystem services, and critical towards growth. Economic growth was perceived negatively across all perspectives, in contrast to the current lack of political and societal support for degrowth ideas. Neither did bioeconomy-oriented activities have support among the participating researchers, even though half of the respondents were working with bioeconomy issues, which are currently high on the political agenda. The lack of support for pro-growth and bioeconomy solutions are unexpected results given the current political discourses. While the results are not to be generalised beyond the sample, they provide valuable orientation for emerging and under-investigated research and policy directions. If bioeconomy policies are to be implemented on a broader scale, it seems worthwhile evaluating the acceptability of the bioeconomy agenda among various societal actors. Furthermore, our results point to the (still under-explored) potential of formulating synergic circular, green and bioeconomy policies, possibly without a focus on economic growth.
In recent years, food waste has received growing interest from local, national and European policymakers, international organisations, NGOs as well as academics from various disciplinary fields. Increasing concerns about food security and environmental impacts, such as resource depletion and greenhouse gas emissions attributed to food waste, have intensified attention to the topic. While food waste occurs in all stages of the food supply chain, private households have been identified as key actors in food waste generation. However, the evidence on why food waste occurs remains scattered. This paper maps the still small but expanding academic territory of consumer food waste by systematically reviewing empirical studies on food waste practices as well as distilling factors that foster and impede the generation of food waste on the household level. Moreover, we briefly discuss the contributions of different social ontologies, more particularly psychology-related approaches and social practice theory. The analysis reveals food waste as a complex and multi-faceted issue that cannot be attributed to single variables; this also calls for a stronger integration of different disciplinary perspectives. Mapping the determinants of waste generation deepens the understanding of household practices and helps design food waste prevention strategies. Finally, we link the identified factors with a set of policy, business, and retailer options.
As innovations are the basic premise of commercial success in the market the main objective of this paper is to determine the main course of innovations in wood-processing industry within the forestry-wood chain in Slovakia from the viewpoint of representatives of wood processing companies. Using a Q-methodology approach the emphasis is also put on identification of differences between the opinions of small individual entrepreneurs and representatives of capital companies. Based on the results of structured interview with representatives of 33 wood processing companies the main findings suggest that future innovation activities in the sector will be related to the technology innovations mainly in processing of coniferous timber. However, the extent of such innovations is perceived differently depending on the company size and ownership category. While small individual entrepreneurs expect only slight innovation changes in the industry aimed at the meeting of required standards, managers of capital companies tend to foresee the future vision in restructuralisation of wood-processing industry.
Acknowledging the diversity of preferences, goals and motivations of individuals is key to promote the effectiveness of incentive-based conservation interventions. This paper analyses the heterogeneity of motivations to adopt silvopastoral practices, a social-ecological innovation for soil conservation and carbon emission reduction. We use Q methodology to identify smallholders' views with regard to these practices in a community in the forest frontier in Chiapas (Mexico). The analysis uncovers three main perspectives: self-sufficient pioneers, environmentally-conscious followers and payment-dependent conservatives. We discuss these perspectives around three topics: smallholders' predisposition to adopt silvopastoral practices, their views about needing external payments to sustain their livelihood and the diffusion of innovative sustainable practices. We relate these perspectives with livelihood characteristics and with observed adoption levels under a pilot programme to promote silvopasture. Our findings suggest that incentives other than payments may be more appropriate for those more likely to adopt, and that payments could encourage rent-seeking strategies and not necessarily promote permanent behavioural change. We suggest ways for designing more effective and adaptive environmental conservation programmes to foster adoption and continuation of social-ecological innovations.
Food consumption is amongst the main drivers of environmental impacts. On one hand, there is the need to fulfil a fundamental human need for nutrition, and on the other hand this poses critical threats to the environment. In order to assess the environmental impact of food consumption, a lifecycle assessment (LCA)-based approach has been applied to a basket of products, selected as being representative of EU consumption. A basket of food products was identified as representative of the average food and beverage consumption in Europe, reflecting the relative importance of the products in terms of mass and economic value. The products in the basket are: pork, beef, poultry, milk, cheese, butter, bread, sugar, sunflower oil, olive oil, potatoes, oranges, apples, mineral water, roasted coffee, beer and pre-prepared meals. For each product in the basket, a highly disaggregated inventory model was developed based on a modular approach, and built using statistical data. The environmental impact of the average food consumption of European citizens was assessed using the International Reference Life Cycle Data System (ILCD) methodology. The overall results indicate that, for most of the impact categories, the consumed foods with the highest environmental burden are meat products (beef, pork and poultry) and dairy products (cheese, milk and butter). The agricultural phase is the lifecycle stage that has the highest impact of all the foods in the basket, due to the contribution of agronomic and zootechnical activities. Food processing and logistics are the next most important phases in terms of environmental impacts, due to their energy intensity and the related emissions to the atmosphere that occur through the production of heat, steam and electricity and during transport. Regarding the end-of-life phase, human excretion and wastewater treatments pose environmental burdens related to eutrophying substances whose environmental impacts are greater than those of the agriculture, transports and processing phases. Moreover, food losses which occur throughout the whole lifecycle, in terms of agricultural/industrial and domestic food waste, have also to be taken into consideration, since they can amount to up to 60% of the initial weight of the food products. The results of the study go beyond the mere assessment of the potential impacts associated with food consumption, as the overall approach may serve as a baseline for testing eco-innovation scenarios for impact reduction as well as for setting targets.
To meet the 2°C climate target, deep cuts in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions will be required for carbon dioxide from fossil fuels but, most likely, also for methane and nitrous oxide from agriculture and other sources. However, relatively little is known about the GHG mitigation potential in agriculture, in particular with respect to the combined effects of technological advancements and dietary changes. Here, we estimate the extent to which changes in technology and demand can reduce Swedish food-related GHG emissions necessary for meeting EU climate targets. This analysis is based on a detailed representation of the food and agriculture system, using 30 different food items.
There has been growing interest in establishing food waste prevention and recovery programs throughout the world. The drive to target food waste stems from increasing concerns about resource conservation, food security, food waste's environmental and economic costs, and a general trend in the waste management industry to transition to more sustainable practices. Here the drivers of residential, institutional, and commercial food waste generation in developed countries, particularly in the U.S., are explored. The impacts of food system modernization on food waste generation are examined, including impacts related to food system industrialization, urbanization, globalization, and economic growth. Socio-demographic, cultural, political, and economic drivers of food waste are described with emphasis on how food waste perspectives may vary globally. Specific behaviors and attitudes which result from many of these waste drivers are then discussed. The examination of the range of food wastage drivers are used to provide insight into the best policy approaches to sustainably manage food waste. Food waste prevention policies are placed in context of the waste generating behaviors and attitudes that they address. A review of important background information on food waste is also provided, including definitions of key terms, food waste history, quantities of food waste generated, and the importance of food waste prevention for sustainability, as this information is all critical for effective policy development.
Innovation is a key issue in the discussion about the links between agriculture, food production and sustainability. Indeed, the creation, adoption and exploitation of innovations can interact with all three dimensions of sustainability - environment, society and economy. Despite the increasing support for innovation practices in the agrifood sector from institutions and public policies, innovation in this sector has spread quite slowly. Indeed, the diffusion of innovations strongly depends on the social, institutional and productive system behind the technological/structural features of the farms. The analysis of the drivers underpinning the innovation diffusion dynamics in agriculture is therefore a very interesting topic for studies in this domain. This paper aims to provide a map of the diffusion of innovations in the Italian agricultural sector, highlighting differences and territorial specificities. We try to explain the drivers and factors influencing such specificities, drawing from data on the agricultural sector as well as information on the institutional and regulatory framework. Data on the diffusion of product, process, organizational and marketing innovations in agriculture have been gathered for the 110 Italian provinces, drawing from the 2010 Agricultural Census survey. Maps of the diffusion of the different types of innovations have then been constructed and analysed. Results show that the diffusion of the different innovation types is not uniform within the country. Some are typical to specific areas where productive or market opportunities occur. Others are not territorial-specific but are linked to the features of the single farms. The influence of the regulatory context also seems to play a significant role. By analysing the local expenditure in rural development intervention, we analyses how the synergies among the productive and institutional systems may act as a driver for innovation diffusion in agriculture.
The growth in organic and low-input farming practices is driven by both market demand for high quality, safe food, and European Union policy support, and these types of farming practices are considered in European Union policies for sustainable production, food quality, healthy life, and rural development. However, many constraints to the development of low-input and organic dairy farming supply chains have been identified, including economic, political, and technical constraints. In order for these types of supply chains to develop and provide further benefits to society, innovations are required to improve their sustainability. However, an innovation will only be taken up and result in desirable change if the whole supply chain accepts the innovation. In this paper, Q methodology is used to identify the acceptability of dairy supply chain innovations to low-input and organic supply chain members and consumers in Belgium, Finland, Italy, and the United Kingdom. A strong consensus existed across all respondents on innovations that were deemed as unacceptable. The use of genetically modified and transgenic organisms in the farming system and innovations perceived as conflicting with the naturalness of the production system and products were strongly rejected. Innovations that were strongly liked across all participants in the study were those related to improving animal welfare and improving forage quality to be able to reduce the need for purchased concentrate feeds. Only minor differences existed between countries as to where the priorities lay in terms of innovation acceptability.
In the contemporary marketplace, it is essential for industries to offer environmentally conscious, “green” products. Because industries are aware of demands from both customers and from government policies towards environmental products, Indian industries are particularly pressured regarding issues of environmental adoption. At this point, they presently have less detailed research on the effects of the adoption of environmental practices using traditional supply chain management (TSCM). One sector that is less aware of environmental initiation practices in the TSCM is the fastener manufacturing industry, but they are in a good position to adopt and to improve their environmental performance. Sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) is an important concept to improve environmental performance in TSCM and to provide a useful green image in industrial products. However, there are many barriers to the successful implementation of SSCM, and it should be noted that not all the barriers carry an equal impact. We need to identify the dominant factors required to adopt the SSCM concept, so that industries need to analyze the barriers and their impacts. The main aim of this paper is to determine the relationship between the barriers and to identify the most influential barriers from the recommended barrier list with the help of interpretive structural modeling. In this study, 13 barriers are considered from the extensive literature available. This study has been conducted in two fastener manufacturing industries that are located in the southern part of India.
The generation of bread waste at suppliers and retailers is often linked to the production of surplus bread. This study reports the results of the first direct quantification and economic assessment of surplus bread conducted in Italy, involving a panel of 12 bakeries and their branches located in the Lazio region, which compiled a daily diary for 5 months. They are small-scale bakeries which reflect the typical structure of the Italian businesses in the bakery sector, producing fresh bread and selling it directly to consumers. The surplus bread measured during the study consists of 6,694 kg in total, with an average quantity of 4.83 kg/day per bakery. Studying the three main products (common bread, focaccia bread and bread rolls), the average rate of surplus is respectively 5.88 %, 3.99 % and 5.28 % of the production. The corresponding economic loss represents, on average, 5.44 % of the daily turnover. A set of factors seems to exert highest influence on the generation of surplus, as the range of production, location and number of customers. When surplus bread occurs, in 63 % of the cases it is managed on alternative routes to avoid disposal. Even if detected surplus bread does not necessarily become waste, it indeed represents a big loss for bakeries.
Although reducing food loss and waste (FLW) is a global concern, there is a scarcity of literature devoted to the selection of suitable mitigation strategies. Previous studies are more focused on the disposal or valorisation of FLW, rather than on its reduction or prevention, and the effectiveness of the mitigation strategies have hardly been evaluated. Therefore, this study develops and presents an evaluation framework to: (1) identify potential mitigation strategies based on the causes of FLW, (2) select criteria to assess the prevention measures of FLW and (3) evaluate and rank mitigation strategies to fight FLW. Fuzzy Step-Wise Weight Assessment Ratio Analysis (SWARA) is employed to determine the relative weights of the evaluation criteria and Fuzzy Weighted Aggregated Sum Product Assessment (WASPAS) is implemented to rank the mitigation strategies for FLW. The evaluation framework is further tested in Portugal in the context of the Fruit and Vegetable Supply Chain (FVSC) and a sensitivity analysis was conducted to assess the robustness of the results. Overall, 16 mitigation strategies (related to information, quality, technology or transport and infrastructure) were selected and considered relevant to tackle the causes of FLW in the Portuguese FVSC. The results show that the higher ranked strategies are the ones most transversal to the FVSC, which highlights the role of collaboration, coordination and information sharing between the stakeholders in the prevention and reduction of FLW. Furthermore, ensuring coordination and close collaboration between stakeholders may also help to implement the technology-related mitigation strategies identified. This paper provides researchers, practitioners and policymakers with a comprehensible and structured approach that can be replicated for any region, supply chain or food product in order to prioritise cost effective mitigation strategies for FLW with more significant environmental and social gains.
Food waste is one of the challenging issues humans are facing. A third of the food produced in the world is wasted at various points along the food supply chain. Food waste can be reduced by developing technology that can be utilized in different parts of the food value chain and through education programs that focus on consumers' behavior on healthy lifestyles and sustainable consumption. This article examines the problem of food waste and provides insights into the approaches to food waste management. Different techniques, such as education-based or structure-based, are used to encourage food waste prevention and management. Therefore, highlighting the current development in food waste management becomes important. The paper uses a systematic review that supports screening of the literature to answer the research questions and find the research gaps. According to the findings, food is either thrown out during the supply chain or even at the last stages of preparation and consumption. The review shows that the current food waste management treatment methods may be effective, but they do not provide an environmentally sustainable solution for food waste management. Therefore, the proposed article deeply investigated food waste prevention and social innovations to reduce food waste. This review complements the previous reviews by adding social and economic innovation focus on food waste management. The article recommends a course of action for future food waste management research.
Agricultural digitization is revolutionizing food production with promises to increase both yield and environmental sustainability through the reduction of chemical inputs. However, it is unclear whether the adoption of digital agricultural technologies can also play a role in preventing or reducing food loss and waste. Examples of technologies used in food loss and waste reduction include ‘smart packaging’ that changes colour as food spoils, or Blockchain and radio-frequency identification tags that track information to identify potential sources of contamination along the food supply chain. Here, a systematic literature review was conducted to investigate the role of digital agricultural technologies in enabling food loss and waste prevention/reduction or lack thereof from a global perspective. To explore the digital agricultural technologies-food loss and waste dynamics, this review employed four conceptual frameworks relevant to the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goal 12 and Target 12.3 to foster responsible consumption and production patterns and to halve per capita food waste respectively by 2030. The four frameworks include (i) environmental sustainability, (ii) economic efficiency, (iii) social equity, and (iv) substantive governance and policies. The review findings demonstrate that prohibitive investment costs and the digital divide between technology adaptors limit the wide uptake of digital agricultural technologies. Where adoptions were evident, the rationale to do so was centered on boosting economic gains, reducing food production costs, and/or alleviating food insecurity. Food loss and waste prevention was rarely the principal technology adoption driver. The dynamics between digital agricultural technologies and food loss and waste prevention deserve rigorous examination to support practical policy options that invigorate sustainable food systems.
Food systems are plagued by the grand sustainability challenge of food waste, which represents a urging issue from economic, environmental and social point of view.
dThe Circular Economy paradigm can open up different actions which are framed within the so-called Food Waste Hierarchy (FWH). In these regards, scholars recommend to leverage on those practices that are able to prevent the generation of surplus food, preserving a higher share of the sustainable value. For these pre-harvest and post-harvest practices that go under the name of prevention or reuse strategies in different FWH, technology plays a crucial role. Through a set of 34 semi-structured interviews with technology providers as well as with companies in the agri-food supply chain, the present work investigates extensively the range of the available technologies and the detailed objectives of such technologies for food loss and waste prevention (i.e., forecasting, monitoring, grouping, shelf life extension, product quality and value upgrading). Moreover, different forms of collaboration enable to reach these objectives in different ways. Collaboration with technology providers can be based on continuous technical assistance and consulting for data elaboration and data analysis as well as on full data sharing and co-design, allowing to achieve a different impact on food loss and waste prevention.
Finally, our study reveals that the adoption of different technological options can represent the engine to establish vertical collaborations between the adopter of the technology and another stage in the agri-food supply chain, in order to fight food waste and loss with a coordinated supply chain effort.
Purpose
Agri-food supply chains are facing a number of challenges, which cause inefficiencies resulting in the waste of natural and economic resources, and in negative environmental and social impacts. Food waste (FW) is a result of such inefficiencies and supply chain actors search for economically viable innovations to prevent and reduce it. This study aims to analyse the drivers and the barriers that affect the decision of supply chain operators to adopt innovations (technological – TI, organisational – OI and marketing – MI) to reduce FW.
Design/methodology/approach
The analysis was carried out using a four-step approach that included: a literature review to identify factors affecting the decision to adopt innovations; analysis of FW drivers and reduction possibilities along agri-food supply chains through innovations; mapping the results of Steps 1 and 2 and deriving conclusions regarding the factors affecting the adoption of innovations to reduce and prevent FW.
Findings
Results show that different types of innovations have a high potential in reducing and preventing FW along the supply chain; however, they still must be economically feasible to be adopted by decision makers in the food supply chain. TI, OI and MI are often interrelated and can trigger each other. When it comes to a combination of different types of innovation to reduce and prevent FW, a good example of combining TI, OI and MI may be observed in the retail sector in Europe. Here, innovative smartphone apps (TI) to promote the sale of products nearing their expiration dates (OI in terms of organising the sales differently and MI in terms of marketing it differently) were developed and adopted via different retailing channels, leading to the creation of a new business model.
Practical implications
This study analyses the drivers of FW generation together with the factors affecting the decision to adopt innovations to reduce it and provides solutions to supply chain operators to prevent and reduce FW through different types of innovations.
Originality/value
Literature has not systematically addressed innovations aiming at the reduction of FW yet. This paper provides a comprehensive literature review of the determinants of innovation adoption and offers a novel view on the problem of FW reduction by means of innovation, by linking factors affecting the decision to innovate with FW drivers.
Firms today are striving to adopt innovations to ensure their survival, value creation and success. Innovation is increasingly seen as an outcome of a collaborative process, involving various stakeholders both within and outside the firms, in supply chain relationships. Collaborative arrangements are gaining traction and the focus of innovation is shifting from firms to their supply chain networks. This leads to the notion of supply chain innovation, which has been widely accepted as an important ingredient for improving the organisational and supply chain performance of firms. Inefficient practices such as improper crop selection, involvement of too many intermediaries, flood irrigation, over-fertilization and food waste necessitate innovative practices that will improve the sustainability of the food supply chain. In this regard, there is a need to investigate how collaboration among food supply chain entities leads to innovative practices and how these innovative practices in turn improve the sustainability of the food supply chain. This study aims to address this gap using the case of the Indian Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs). Further, using the Supply Chain Operations Reference (SCOR) model, the supply chain of FPO is divided into five levels - plan, source, make, deliver and return and the case is analysed across these levels. The findings show that the formation of FPO through collaboration facilitates many innovative practices that result in several economic, environmental and social benefits to the FPO.
This paper aims to investigate the roles adopted by the distinct stakeholders that are engaged in a voluntary initiative to reduce food loss and waste (FLW) in the context of an emerging country. Data were collected by way of participant observation in multi-stakeholder events, observation visits and interviews with 54 food sector stakeholders, and from secondary data. The theoretical contribution of this paper is that it provides a systemic and realistic perspective for tackling FLW, as research in the field usually only focuses on one supply chain agent, or on consumer behaviour. Another contribution that may be replicated in other countries has to do with the role of each stakeholder in identifying the processes with which they are involved for reducing FLW. Activities and actions in a multi-stakeholder initiative change according to their positioning at the institutional or value chain level of analysis. Future studies should consider the extensive interplay that exists between the institutional and value chain levels in the food sector, and how they interact
Traditional approaches and debates in Agrifood Governance (AFG) have focused exclusively on the role of market forces and public policies. The emergence of alternative food movements, such as Territorial Short Food Supply Chains (TSFSCs), suggest the need to re-evaluate the role of civil society as a driver of governance mechanisms and a source of innovation and transformation of agrifood systems. This paper analyses the AFG processes that are configured in TSFSCs based on social discourses and coordination mechanisms of agents design. For this, the Q method and an exploratory/descriptive analysis are used, and the cities of Bogotá (Colombia) and Córdoba (Spain) are taken as case studies. Results show five different social discourses around AFG: 1) food activism, 2) development cooperation, 3) market niche, 4) local self-management, and 5) social and ecological awareness. It is also noted that TSFSCs configure a mode of reflexive food governance. Coordination mechanisms of the SFSCs are mainly settled in the social and market sphere, and they are in line with features of governance network. These two governance approaches (reflexive and networked) operate in tandem, with important complementary and synergistic effects that foster food democracy.
In this study, the key gaps of food waste prevention been addressed in the context of the emerging circular economy. First, current terminology related to food waste was reviewed and clarified, in particular, the terms food surplus, waste and losses. This work highlights why the clarity of these definitions is crucial for the sustainability of future food waste management systems, especially in the context of circular economy. Through a simple matrix, definitions are linked to the concepts of edibility and possibility of avoidance, leading to six distinct categories of food waste: i) edible, ii) naturally inedible (pits), iii) industrial residue, iv) inedible due to natural causes (pests), v) inedible due to ineffective management and vi) not accounted for. Category I encompasses surplus food only; category II-V food waste and category VI food losses. Based on this, an updated pyramid for food waste hierarchy is proposed, distinguishing surplus food and a new category for material recycling, in order to reflect the future food waste biorefineries in the circular bioeconomy. Nutrient and energy recovery are two separate categories and the terms recovery and recycling are clarified. Finally, a circular economy framework is presented for food surplus and waste, considering closing the loop throughout the whole food supply chain, in connection with the concept of strong and weak sustainability. This is presented along with a review of key EU policies related to food waste and examples of initiatives from the Member States.
Accepted version of the abstract:
This study evaluates the transition to CE in Italy on a sample of 292 organizations after introducing a brief overview of the main principles of CE (reduction, repair, reuse, recover, remanufacturing, recycling) as well as how they are implemented at macro level. With regard to the sample we analysed the data related to the circular business models adopted by the selected organizations, with also a focus on CE implementation at the meso levels given that it also entails the adoption of cooperation strategies between companies.
The results point out that several types of organizations (companies for profit and non-profit, research centres/universities) are involved in the transition to CE with different sizes (small, medium and large) and economic sector’s specializations.
Recycling resulted to be, among the so called 6R practical framework, the preferred practice of most of the organizations involved over the whole supply chain, from the collection of post-consumption waste to the recovery, recycling and production of secondary raw materials.
The other "principles" such as repair, reuse, remanufacturing are progressing well, mainly within small companies, where several laboratories deal with the reuse of products and their selling in second hand shops, or in the recovery and redistribution of food surplus and the remanufacturing of personal computers. The “reuse”, in particular, has constantly increased in the last five years thanks to the on-line sales.
Some companies also deal with the dissemination of the CE culture (by means of different channels such as cultural events, actions and best practices to avoid plastic abuse, repair cafés, urban regeneration and urban mining projects) that includes the diffusion of all its principles and concepts such as in particular the prevention and reduction of waste and the maintenance of the value of products. In that, such companies and their activities provide with the opportunity of shifting the concept of CE beyond the current social political debate centred on recycling. Hopefully, this will contribute to unlock and promote the preventive vision of the CE.
The main purpose of this literature review is to establish a state of the art of food loss and waste management system that addresses the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goal number 12: sustainable consumption and production. The paper constitutes a detailed summary of recent literature on the concepts, product categories, causes, solutions, and research challenges surrounding food loss and waste management. The contribution of this article is a new classification of the causes, solutions and research challenges, based on diverse existing classifications. Solutions for reducing food loss and waste include awareness raising, business process redesign, integrated supply chain models, redistribution, recovery, and disposal. Several research direction propositions came out of this literature review: developing standardised and up-to-date data collection and concept definitions; analysing the ‘awareness of the need’ concept in redistribution; studying consumer behaviour; examining the performance of local versus global logistics networks in terms of food loss and waste; and identifying the role of packaging in food loss and waste and greenhouse gas emission reduction.
There is a large consensus highlighting the need to prevent the food waste volume along the food supply chain. However, there is currently a lack of understanding as to what the most effective anti-food waste measures to be implemented in fact are. The food waste puzzle can be considered from diverse perspectives depending on the stakeholder position on the chain. In view of this, the objective of this paper is to conduct a multi-actor approach to identify the most effective measures to prevent food waste. To do so, we combined in-depth interviews and the Delphi method and applied this to key agents along the food supply chain. The study was conducted in the Barcelona metropolitan region, and a total of 24 key stakeholders participated in the process. We identified 48 measures from the in-depth interviews. The Delphi method was used to evaluate stakeholders' perception of the effectiveness of each measure to prevent food waste and, the consensus and dissensus among the panel. In particular, we found different strong prevention measures, such as the increasing of diet valuation, weak prevention measures, such as building consumer awareness about food waste, and a set of redistribution measures. Finally, we discussed the importance of engaging as diverse a panel of stakeholders as possible when addressing food waste. The paper contributes to the incipient debate on how to examine the impact of multiple and diverse alternatives to food waste prevention.
Transition narratives are stories promoting particular pathways for development, promoting specific actions, strategies, and interventions to enable certain outcomes in socio-technical transitions. Narratives centered around biorefineries take a significant role in the growing bioeconomy discourse, yet they express remarkably different visions for the transition. The paper uses Q methodology to identify and analyse transition narratives related to biorefinery innovation, their domains of conflict and consensus, and implications for alternative pathways of development. The analysis shows that the narratives are divided on three aspects: the significance of different kinds of products, the importance of generating new or applying current knowledge, and the need for a comprehensive agenda of state interventions to support a transition towards a bioeconomy. Pathways to very different bioeconomies are indeed open, but policy should remain attentive to the existing conflicts and not presume consensus among actors who claim to support innovation for a bioeconomy.
Olive growing is one of the most significant sources of income for agricultural areas in the Mediterranean basin, and a characteristic element from environmental and landscape perspectives. Italy is the second largest producer of olive oil; this cultivation represents the nation's most important supply chain, especially in the southern Italian Calabrian region, contributing to both local and rural economies. However, in a Calabrian context, olive production underperforms due to structural and managerial weaknesses, and farming techniques' potential impacts are not properly addressed due to farmers' poor knowledge of agricultural sustainability techniques. Therefore, Calabrian olive growing requires innovation, especially to respond to new sustainability requirements, currently claimed by public policies (eco-conditionality), and consumers and citizens increasingly concerned with environmental quality, human health and social liveability. This paper analyses the aspects that require innovation towards sustainability aims by exploring the perceptions of various actors, including local and supply chain stakeholders, and highlighting and suggesting new pathways to be introduced in Calabrian olive growing. The application of a mixed qualitative/quantitative statistical method, or the ‘Q-methodology’, small and medium-sized farms, academic experts, technicians and consumers have been interviewed to investigate their perceptions and interpretations of sustainability issues. Further, their opinions on possible weaknesses and areas of improvement are examined, highlighting either a consensus or diversity regarding their points of view. The results indicated that all actors perceived a need to orient Calabrian olive growing towards more sustainable management practices by better exploiting its potential and focusing on product quality. Sustainable innovation, in this sense, would increase production efficiency and economic performance, thus satisfying the need for employment and fairer remunerations.
The possible implications of global trends such as climate change and resource scarcity on food security are high on the political agendas. While the food sufficiency aspect of food security takes centre-stage, the future of food safety and nutritional quality of diets often seems to be taken for granted. This paper builds on the results of a foresight study on EU food safety and nutrition towards 2050 to discuss potential future points of tension for food policy. Increasing food production while using fewer resources and reducing food waste while ensuring food safety are just two examples. Innovation at different levels in the food system will be needed to address future challenges. Fast technology uptake and the launch of new food-related products can put pressure on the ability to deliver timely risk assessments, the scope of which might also need to cover other legitimate factors. Future food policies need to be more sensitive to impacts on food safety and nutrition and health aspects. A holistic food systems approach must be taken to identify and discuss in advance possible tensions and trade-offs and to address them upfront in a systematic and transparent manner.
Putting unsold food at good use is clearly a high-priority option according to the Food Waste Hierarchy, but we still know relatively little about the antecedents, strategies, and processes that make it possible within companies. This paper aims at explaining how food manufacturers can prevent the degradation of generated surplus food into waste. Based on an extensive literature review and 4 exploratory case studies, research questions are formulated about (i) available avenues for managing surplus food, and (ii) internal drivers that make these avenues viable and efficient. In order to adapt, refine and corroborate the conceptual framework, the research conducts 10 descriptive case studies of Italian food manufacturers. Results from the cross-case analysis highlight the multiplicity of reuse and redistribution options, and their viability over the product shelf life. The analysis also shows that a structured surplus food control system and partnerships with food aid organizations are necessary to reduce food waste.
The aim of this paper is to understand how firms engage in new processes, strategies and behaviors for sustainable innovation. It results on a non-linear, recursive and self-organized process that can be studied as a complex adaptive system. Based on an integrative literature review, we find five ontological sustainable innovation components: operational, collaborative, organizational, instrumental, and holistic. Our analysis also yields three complex adaptive system phenomena, which explain three main patterns of how components interact and interconnect: non-linearity, self-organization and emergence. The three phenomena are mutually dependent and specific to each company. Non-linearity explains the connection between the components, including positive and negative feedback loops and the rates of change, disorder, chaos and stability between them. Self-organization increases the order or regularity between the components interaction and even generates a new order and configuration with the different components behaving autonomously. Emergence involves radically new processes and component interactions due to new and radical experimentation, rule-breaking and disruptive sustainable technologies. Each phenomenon is explained in three extended examples, including three interaction mechanisms describing the dynamics of the five components. The outcomes of this research provide a new approach to theory-building in the sustainable innovation field and serve as the basis for further research on the complexity of engaging sustainable innovation in firms. This suggests new research questions regarding the role of firms in sustainable innovation and sustainable system transitions. It also calls for more interdisciplinary work on the issue due to the systemic nature of sustainable innovation at the firm level.
In recent years, a wide range of organizations in developed countries have embarked on efforts to address the economic, environmental and social impacts of “food waste.” Based on more than 120 interviews and complementary observations in the United States and France, this paper examines how recent mobilizations impact the way surplus food is actually managed with respect to sustainable production and consumption. This analysis of multiple stakeholders’ interests and motives complements a growing literature on food waste prevention and management focused on technical evaluations of “solutions.” Recent frameworks on food surplus and waste establish one hierarchy of preferable categories of solutions: first, prevention (reducing surplus at the source), then recovery (reusing for human consumption) and finally recycling (feeding animals, creating energy or compost). Fieldwork results show that actors with different interests in food commodity chains actually develop competing solutions, both within and between three hierarchies based on environmental, social and economic goals. In the long term, the solutions they promote may therefore not achieve “win-win-win” benefits for all actors and at all scales. Drawing on a distinction between “weak” and “strong” sustainability, this paper argues that “strong” prevention based on holistic changes in the food system is the most sustainable solution to food surplus and waste. It suggests that academics focus on strong food surplus prevention, but also that advocates encourage government and corporate actors to differentiate between weak and strong actions to diffuse strong sustainability across organizations and countries.
In the agri-food sector, global partnerships between lead firms and international NGOs design standards that aim to enhance environmental sustainability and to some extent realise social justice. However, the effectiveness of such standards is limited when their content and governance provokes resistance in production regions upstream in the chain. This paper addresses the question whether and how multi-stakeholder partnering makes internationally constructed standards fit local institutions, i.e. norms, rules and practices in producers' regions. The case studies make use of ‘global value chain’ and ‘global production network’ approaches to analyse two examples of global–local interactions: Utz Certified rooibos tea in South Africa and Aquaculture Stewardship Council certified shrimp in Indonesia. The analysis demonstrates that producer regions are not always merely standard-takers. Co-creation in standard-setting and certification may occur when the chain's commercial exploitation of natural resources threatens sourcing in the long term, when local partnerships experienced in environmental protection of the resource become involved in the implementation, and when global and local partnerships interact not only via hierarchically organised value chains, but also via a newly emerging public space.
This book introduces the theory and practice of Q methodology, and takes the reader on a journey from understanding the early history of the method to being in a position where the reader will be able to do Q methodology for themselves. Watts and Stenner cogently and clearly set out the origins of Q methodology in factor analysis and the R methodological procedures, and go on to explain the theory behind Q as set out by the method's early pioneers. They also look at how Q deals with issues such as subjectivity, abduction and constructivism. The main purpose of this book is to enable the reader to set up, run and analyse and effective study using Q methodology. The book is illustrated with examples and case studies throughout, and offers advice on highly practical issues such as the conduct of fieldwork, working with participants, good data management. The bulk of the book looks at process of analysis itself in Q methodology and examines and explains analysis through the use of a dataset and practical examples and exercises.
The food industry and its supply chains have significant sustainability implications. Effective supply chain management requires careful consideration of multiple tiers of partners, especially with respect to sustainability issues. Firms increasingly approach their sub-suppliers to drive compliance with social and environmental efforts. A number of complexities and unique challenges make sub-supplier management more difficult than direct supplier management, e.g. a lack of contractual relationships to sub-suppliers, few opportunities to put direct pressure on sub-suppliers, or lack of transparency concerning sub-suppliers' involvement in a focal firm's supply chains. The literature has not investigated, either from sustainability or other perspectives, the critical success factors (CSFs) for firms' sub-supplier management. Therefore, this study seeks to explore and increase understanding of critical factors that help to overcome the complexities and unique challenges of sub-supplier management, with a focus on the food industry. Using data and information from a year-long field study in two food supply chains, the research identified 14 CSFs that influence the success of sub-suppliers' compliance with corporate sustainability standards (CSS). The identified CSFs can be classified into (1) focal firm-related, (2) relationship-related, (3) supply chain partner-related, and (4) context-related CSFs. The present research expands on the theory of critical success factors by applying the theory to the sustainability and sub-supplier management context. In support of critical success theory, it was found that CSFs do exist and their management will be necessary for effective sub-supplier management success as highlighted and exemplified by field study insights from practitioners. Multiple research avenues are necessary for further evaluation of sub-supplier management in the food industry and other industries who may find similar issues that arose from the food industry.
The unprecedented scale of food waste in global food supply chains is attracting increasing
attention due to its environmental, social and economic impacts. From a climate change
perspective, the food sector is thought to be the cause of 22 per cent of the global warming
potential in the EU. Drawing on interviews with food waste specialists, this study construes
the boundaries between food surplus and food waste, avoidable and unavoidable food
waste, and between waste prevention and waste management. This study suggests that the
first step towards a more sustainable resolution of the growing food waste issue is to adopt a
sustainable production and consumption approach and tackle food surplus and waste
throughout the global food supply chain. The authors examine the factors that give rise to
food waste throughout the global food supply chain, and propose a framework to identify and
prioritize the most appropriate options for the prevention and management of food waste.
The proposed framework interprets and applies the waste hierarchy in the context of food
waste. It considers the three dimensions of sustainability (environmental, economic, and
social), offering a more holistic approach in addressing the food waste issue. Additionally, it
considers the materiality and temporality of food. The food waste hierarchy posits that
prevention, through minimization of food surplus and avoidable food waste, is the most
attractive option. The second most attractive option involves the distribution of food surplus
to groups affected by food poverty, followed by the option of converting food waste to animal
feed. Although the proposed food waste hierarchy requires a fundamental re-think of the
current practices and systems in place, it has the potential to deliver substantial
environmental, social and economic benefits.
This paper conducts an interdisciplinary, systematic review on sustainability-oriented innovations (SOIs) in small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in a time frame between 1987 and 2010. Since the Brundtland report in 1987 a wide debate has emerged on eco-innovations (e.g. eco-design, cleaner production) and SOIs, that is, the integration of ecological and social aspects into products, processes, and organizational structures. While prior research has often dealt with SOI in large firms, the last decade has begun to generate broad knowledge on the specificities of SOI in SMEs. However, this knowledge is scattered across different disciplines, research communities, and journals. Therefore, this systematic review analyzes the heterogeneous picture with a focus on innovation and collaboration practices to delineate a research agenda. By consulting major research databases we have identified and analyzed 81 key journal articles. First, SME innovation behavior ranges from reactive, anticipatory, and innovation-based to sustainable entrepreneurship type behavior. Second, we can explain contingencies through taxonomies of sustainability strategies and a sustainable entrepreneurship perspective. Third, we can identify innovation practices at the product, process, and organizational level with still a strong focus on eco-innovation. From these results we argue that innovation-based and sustainable entrepreneurship type SMEs are capable of innovating more radically and realizing SOI at the intersection of product, process, and organizational level. Fourth, we can show how collaboration strategies and network engagement are viable strategies to activate reactive, facilitate anticipatory and innovation-based type SMEs. Co-innovation is a suitable strategy especially for sustainable entrepreneurs. Fifth, we identify major research gaps in the area of radical product and product-service innovations, innovation in and across sustainable supply chains from an SME perspective, SOI capacity building in SMEs, and a need to develop more streamlined innovation methods (e.g. life-cycle-analysis or cleaner production) that adhere to SME specificities. In a visual framework we aggregate the results and provide a guide to future research.