•We studied growers, distributors and retailers in agri-food supply chains in the developing world.•We investigated the causes and mitigation strategies to prevent agri-food waste and losses.•We ...offer a new food waste hierarchy suitable to the challenges of SMEs in the agri-food sector.•We propose a Circular Capability Framework that links NRBV capabilities to the CE principles.•The framework can further aid the adoption of CE by SMEs within the agri-food supply chains.
Food loss and food waste (FLW) within agri-food supply chains in the developing world remains a perennial problem. This is partly due to the lack of knowledge on how business operations within supply chains contribute towards the FLW issue, particularly in the case of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Circular Economy (CE) has been heralded as an appropriate pathway for businesses towards reduction of FLW, however, the practical realities of how the CE can be best employed remains unclear. This paper fills this knowledge gap by studying growers, distributors and retailers in the agri-food supply chain, in order to develop a Circular Capability Framework. The findings generate unique insights into FLW understandings, causes and mitigation strategies to provide a detailed, developing world relevant food waste hierarchy. The novel framework we propose can aid participation in the CE by conceptualising CE antecedents as business capability pathways, set out as eight propositions.
•Managerial approaches to food waste mitigation in UK coffee shops are explored.•Food waste represents an important issue but its management lags behind.•Major barriers are the lack of governmental ...support and imperfect legislation.•Limited internal resources and poor consumer awareness also play a role.
The hospitality industry generates substantial amounts of food waste. Although the issue has been politically recognised, it remains under-researched. Studies are limited in number and restricted in sectoral and geographical coverage. They have attempted to quantify and characterise food waste in hospitality ventures while the managerial approaches to its reduction have not been scrutinised. The coffee shop sub-sector of the hospitality industry has been entirely excluded from analysis. This study examined food waste in UK coffee shops through the managerial lens. While food waste represents a significant challenge, the managerial approaches to its minimisation are conservative and focus on disposal, rather than prevention. Lack of governmental support, imperfect legislation, irresponsible consumer behaviour and restricted internal resources inhibit application of more advanced managerial approaches. To enhance the effectiveness of food waste management within the sub-sector, targeted policy interventions designed to strengthen corporate commitments and facilitate pro-environmental changes in consumer behaviour are necessary.
In an effort to reduce waste and engage in more sustainable construction, this research focuses on the development of a cost-competitive, environmentally-friendly geopolymer concrete mixture that ...offers structural benefits relative to ordinary Portland cement (OPC), uses fly ash, a toxic waste byproduct as a raw material, and reduces the amount of CO2 emitted during production of the concrete. The production of OPC, the current standard in concrete, relies on a high amount of energy, and as a result accounts for 7% of CO2 emissions worldwide. Production of OPC is expected to increase 4-fold over the next 30 years, posing significant environmental risk. While numerous studies have examined the use of geopolymer concrete as a more sustainable construction material, concerns about the cost and environmental impact are obstacles against widespread production and market adoption. The new mix designs proposed herein result in up to a 50% decrease in the cost of geopolymer concrete, making this sustainable alternative a viable option relative to traditional concrete. In addition, the production of the proposed mixtures requires less than 50% of the fuel usage (thermal energy) required for OPC, decreasing CO2 emissions. The proposed mixtures not only reduce environmental impact, but they also offer improved performance, which may appeal to many concrete manufacturers. While the proposed alternative to Portland cement is suitable for most applications, it is posited that those firms interested in pursuing sustainable construction may be most inclined to adopt the proposed mixture in order to meet their sustainability goals.
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•The new mix geopolymer concrete has a lower fuel usage than Portland cement by 52%.•Sodium hydroxide plays a dominant role in the cost and fuel usage of geopolymer concrete.•Using Portland cement has a small effect on the overall cost and energy usage.•New mix designs reduced the cost of geopolymer concrete up to 50%.
The need to use Building Information Modelling (BIM) for Construction and Demolition Waste (CDW) minimisation is well documented but most of the existing CDW management tools still lack BIM ...functionality. This study therefore assesses the expectations of stakeholders on how BIM could be employed for CDW management. After a review of extant literature to assess the limitations of existing CDW management tools, qualitative Focus Group Interviews (FGIs) were conducted with professionals who are familiar with the use of BIM to understand their expectations on the use of BIM for CDW management. The 22 factors identified from the qualitative data analyses were then developed into a questionnaire survey. The exploratory factor analysis of the responses reveals five major groups of BIM expectations for CDW management, which are: (i) BIM-based collaboration for waste management, (ii) waste-driven design process and solutions, (iii) waste analysis throughout building lifecycle, (iv) innovative technologies for waste intelligence and analytics, and (v) improved documentation for waste management. Considering these groups of factors is key to meeting the needs of the stakeholders regarding the use of BIM for CDW management. These groups of factors are important considerations for the implementation and acceptance of BIM-based tools and practices for CDW management within the construction industry.
In recent years, researchers and practitioners have increasingly paid attention to food waste, which is seen as highly unethical given its negative environmental and societal implications. Waste ...recovery is dependent on the creation of connections along the supply chain, so that actors with goods at risk of becoming waste can transfer them to those who may be able to use them as inputs or for their own consumption. Such waste recovery is, however, often hampered by what we call 'circularity holes', i.e., missing linkages between waste generators and potential receivers. A new type of actor, the digital platform organization, has recently taken on a brokerage function to bridge circularity holes, particularly in the food supply chain. Yet, extant literature has overlooked this novel type of brokerage that exploits digital technology for the transfer and recovery of discarded resources between supply chain actors. Our study investigates this actor, conceptualized as a 'circularity broker', and thus unites network research and circular supply chain research. Focusing on the food supply chain, we adopt an interpretive inductive theory-building approach to uncover how platform organizations foster the recovery of waste by bridging circularity holes. We identify and explicate six brokerage roles, i.e., connecting, informing, protecting, mobilizing, integrating and measuring, and discuss them in relation to extant literature, highlighting novelties compared to earlier studies. The final section reflects on contributions, implications, limitations and areas for further research.
•Implementation of ZW requires a holistic point of view.•ZW encompasses waste prevention as well as behavioral changes.•Critical factors for implementation can be organized in governance and ...operationalization.•Economic growth, measurement mechanisms and consumer behavior inhibit ZW.
Considering the growing concern with solid wastes problems and the pressing need for a holistic approach to their management, this study developed a literature review about the subject “Zero Waste”. To that end, a systematic literature review was executed, through which 102 published articles were analyzed with the aim to, initially, comprehend the concept of Zero Waste, and, then, map its benefits, challenges, and critical success factors. The results show that scholars have not reached a consensus regarding the concept of ZW. While some studies fully address this philosophy, other studies are based on just one or on some of its topics. The benefits were grouped and organized into four dimensions: benefits to the community, financial-economic benefits, benefits to the environment and benefits to the industry and stakeholders. As to the challenges, barriers were identified both in the macro environment (mainly political and cultural) and in the meso and micro environments (stakeholders, industries, and municipalities). The analysis of the articles enabled listing critical success factors, supported by a set of activities that must be carried out. Regarding future studies, it is worth noting that more empirical studies about ZW implementation are necessary, particularly with regard to educational practices designed to promote changes in user behavior.
The prime objective of this paper was to analyze and compare biogas production from various sources of waste material. The Renewable Energy Policy envisions that 5% of total energy production needs ...to be achieved by 2015 and 10% by 2020. This work focuses on the comparative study of the production of biogas through anaerobic co-digestion utilizing abandoned resources of biomass. Materials under study were Cow manure, Sewage Sludge, Kitchen Waste & Water Hyacinth. Experiments were conducted under mesophilic condition (37 °C) with 1.5 wt%NaOH to obtain the desirable pH. The loading ratio of each batch was maintained as 1:1 on both experiments. Kitchen Waste and Cow Manure showed promising results till about the 120th hour following plummeting production of biogas. Total production for 1 L batch of Water Hyacinth, Cow Manure & Sewage Sludge was 812 ml with 65%Methane, 14%CO and 21%other gases obtained after 800 h, while Kitchen Waste & Cow Manure provided 335 ml consisting of 60%Methane, 18%CO & 22%other gases within the same time frame. Results indicated that addition of Sewage Sludge with the widely used Cow Manure can lead to accelerated reaction, increased production and an improved methane content.
Biogas production (mL) vs. Time (hour) curve for Kitchen Waste + Cow Manure & Water Hyacynth + Cow Manure + Sewage Sludge. Display omitted
•Use of Sewage Sludge accelerates biogas production.•Comparison between the amount of Biogas produced from several anaerobic co-digestions.•Testing of the composition of produced biogas.
Value is perhaps one of the most intensively examined concepts in business research. Although prior work greatly contributed to the understanding of the value concept and how it can be generated, ...proposed, captured and distributed, little is known about its destruction. This special issue focuses on food waste as a prime example of value destruction through proactive action or passive non-activity. Individually, as well as collectively, the articles in the special issue contribute to current debates and discussions by providing a more nuanced understanding of food waste and food waste management, by integrating conceptual, empirical and practical insights, and by offering theoretical contributions that extend and advance the current state of knowledge.
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