scholarly journals The way towards food sustainability: some insights for pasta supply chain

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marisa Faggini ◽  
Silvia Cosimato ◽  
Anna Parziale

AbstractOver the last decades, circular economy and its implications for sustainability have gained momentum in several socio-economic domains (e.g., academia, industry, politics, society), even though the relationship between them remains poorly understood. This situation has blurred the conceptual definition of both terms, limiting their research and practice effectiveness. To counteract this situation, scholars and policymakers are approaching Circular Economy as able to inspire the development of sustainable development strategies and to increase the sustainability of the current economic system, balancing the need for economic development and the importance of protecting environmental resources and people wellbeing. Drawing on the previous considerations, this study aims to contribute to address this gap, better understanding how a circular economy approach can contribute to challenge the number of sustainability issues that currently affect supply chains. In doing so, the analysis has been focused on the investigation of a specific supply chain, the pasta supply chain. To this end, after a brief theoretical recognition, an interpretative model has been proposed for better recognizing and describing the enhancing actions that—at each supply chain’s stages—can improve process efficiency, output effectiveness and, therefore, the overall sector sustainability. However, it is worth noting that the inherently theoretical nature of the study somewhat limits it; therefore, future empirical research is needed to further test the proposed model, applying it to other real applicative sets.

Author(s):  
Jens K. Roehrich ◽  
Beverly B. Tyler ◽  
Jas Kalra ◽  
Brian Squire

Contracts are a formal mode of governing interorganizational relationships. They specify the terms and conditions of the agreement between two parties, interpret and adapt the relevant legal and industrial norms, serve as framing devices, and establish the rules and norms underpinning the relationship. The objective of this chapter is to synthesize the extant literature on interorganizational contracting to guide future research and practice. This chapter focuses on the three phases of contracting: (1) designing the contracting portfolio; (2) negotiating initial contracts; and (3) managing the relationship using contracts. The chapter explores the key decisions in each phase and the criteria involved in making these decisions. In doing so, it draws on existing research and theoretical frameworks that have contributed to the development of the contracting literature. The chapter also identifies some important and interesting directions for future contracting research and offers suggestions regarding how selected theoretical lenses might guide these endeavors. The principal conclusion is that while the existing research has primarily focused on the structural issues guiding contracting design, a more processual, social, and behavioral focus is required in future developments of the contracting literature.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Franco Fassio

Food, the basic connecting unit of all the UN's Sustainable Development Goals, plays a crucial role in the ecological transition towards a circular economic paradigm. This paper takes scientific considerations as a starting point in order to contribute to the definition of a theoretical-operational framework in which to grow the Circular Economy for Food. This is a still-open question in a sector of the circular economy that is emerging as vital to sustainable development. The 3 C's of Capital, Cyclicality and Co-evolution offer a systemic, holistic vision of the food system's role. Within this conceptual framework, the designers can find the main boundaries of the system, within which to express their creativity. The aim must be to avoid damaging relationships with the best supplier of raw material known to humanity (Nature), respecting planetary boundaries and at the same time offering a fair space to civil society.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Malin Song ◽  
Chenbin Zheng ◽  
Jiangquan Wang

PurposeThe COVID-19 pandemic is still raging, which calls for an exploration of how to prevent and control pandemics to promote sustainable development. The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of the digital economy in sustainable development, the relationship between the two, the impacts of the outbreak on economic and social development, and changes in China's digital economy.Design/methodology/approachThe study used the time-series data from 2002 to 2019 and an unconstrained VAR model to examine the relationship between the digital economy and sustainable development before the pandemic.FindingsChina's digital economy has promoted the country's sustainable economic and social development; it has advanced rapid economic growth, improved people's living standards, increased efficient utilization of resources, and strengthened environmental protection.Research limitations/implicationsAmid the pandemic, China's digital economy developed effectively; it showed strong resilience because of its unique advantages. The digital economy in China has helped the country to control the pandemic in a short period, reduced the risk of supply chain disruption, promoted China's economic growth, and ensured the orderly operation of society. Therefore, countries worldwide are encouraged to prioritize their digital economies.Originality/valueCompared with the extant literature, this study explores the sustainable supply chain in a broader sense in the context of a pandemic, and how the supply chain is influenced by the digital economy. It not only includes the stability, resilience, and viability of the supply chain in economic development but also involves aspects of people's life, resource utilization, and environmental protection.


2019 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Luciana Oranges Cezarino ◽  
Lara Bartocci Liboni ◽  
Nelson Oliveira Stefanelli ◽  
Bruno Garcia Oliveira ◽  
Lucas Conde Stocco

Purpose In this paper, the authors aim to explore the relationship between the concepts of Industry 4.0 and circular economy (CE) as a contribution to the management decision on emerging countries. By analyzing the trends of scientific production to ascertain the interface of both constructs, the purpose of this paper is to identify limitations for Industry 4.0 and CE implementation in Brazil, as well to present an original framework and strategic pathways to overcome limitations for emerging countries. Design/methodology/approach Supported in the Brazilian case, the authors draw a framework using the structuralism approach to indicate pathways for the strategic positioning of emerging economies that consider their limitation and potential for competitive advantage. By understanding country-related limitations such as social and economic contingencies, the authors conceive a structure of implications for Brazil’s capacity to develop CE in the digital era. Findings Results show that Brazil has a reasonable, institutional and stable environment, as well as strong regulatory policies for solid waste that can stimulate CE in the country. However, it requires more communication between actors, especially public and private institutions, performing long-range relationships. Also, the country requires consolidation of industrial policies and investments in the remanufacturing process in the supply chain. Likewise, despite Brazil’s ability to take advantage of CE’s benefits, the country presents a huge lack of qualification to fulfill the competences that the digitization process demands. Economically, Brazil has been fighting against an economic crisis since 2014 that has limited general investments, especially in the industrial sector. Industry presents low performance and decreasing GDP participation, which leads to constant overseas production transfer as a consequence of the workforce’s high costs. Research limitations/implications The authors can affirm that Brazil is far behind developed countries in searching for the capacity to provide CE through technological industrial change. The main problems are related to the lack of articulation of public and private spheres to promote new digital business models. Therefore, the structured framework enables managers and public agents to provide solutions and to properly address supply chain bottlenecks in emerging economies. Originality/value Exploring the relationship between the concepts of Industry 4.0 and CE through the specific lens of the structuralist method, this work can contribute to the management decision on emerging countries, looking into four important perspectives: political, economic, social and technological.


2015 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 66-100 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Ross

This article analyses the legal and practical implications of the Scottish Government's overall stated objective of increasing sustainable economic growth and the further implications that arise now that the term is formalised in legislation. It draws on the author's previous research into use of legal duties to deliver government objectives and the meaning and delivery of sustainable development and economic development. It is based on a critical review of Scottish Government policy, the provisions of the Regulatory Reform (Scotland) Act 2014, as well as the written and oral evidence submitted to parliamentary committees scrutinising Bills, their reports, and the subsequent Government responses. More broadly, the article examines the relationship between sustainable economic growth and the more widely accepted and used objective of sustainable development as complementary or contrasting policy objectives and legal duties. In doing so, it also aims to demonstrate the difficulties governments face in trying to put flesh on the bones of the Brundtland definition of sustainable development and accelerate progress towards sustainable living.


Author(s):  
S. Nallusamy ◽  
A.M. Muhammad Umarmukdhar ◽  
R. Suganthini Rekha

In global competitive atmosphere, foundry industries are needed to perform efficiently with minimum percentage of rejections there by reducing cost of manufacturing. Foundries are using state of art processes with the involvement of experienced and knowledgeable people but the experience and knowledge needs to be transformed for the growth of the industries. Some foundries are working in a trial and error mode and get their work done. Many foundries have very less control on the rejections since they are in critical need of meeting production targets and they ignore the rejections and recover the castings. They need to have an efficient quality control aspiring for defects free castings with minimum production cost. Strategic decision makers need extensive models to guide them for efficient decision making that increases their profitability of the entire chain. The noval idea of this research is to investigate the various defects of cast iron foundry and suggest remedies for the defects in a day to day activity and propose a supply chain model to present the necessity of quality in a medium scale industry of cast iron foundry under different delay conditions, rejection rates and also various other factors. The results of the proposed model have been discussed and confirmed based on the original results of an industry. This research is also inspects the relationship between supply chain processes and quality as a key role in supply chain management.


1993 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 3-4
Author(s):  
Edna Mora Szymanski ◽  
Michael J. Leahy

The purpose of this special issue is to provide a current picture of credentialing in rehabilitation counseling. Credentialing is one aspect of the definition of a profession. Research provides a basis for the relationship between credentialing and the requisite knowledge base for professional practice.


2014 ◽  
Vol 564 ◽  
pp. 661-666 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zohreh Molamohamadi ◽  
N. Ismail ◽  
Zulkiflle Leman ◽  
Zulkifli Norzima

It has been a while since supply chain management (SCM) has shifted its focus from production efficiency to sustainability related issues. Implementing this strategic shift demands all supply chain members, all processes, and generally all of the elements to be involved in helping the chain move faster and further toward sustainability. This has necessitated the strong relationship between supply chain and the three sustainability pillars: environment, economy, and society. Having considered this essentiality, this paper, describes the supply chain, sustainable development and discusses their existing definitions in the literature. The relationship between supply chain and sustainability is then discussed and a framework for sustainable supply chain is proposed based on the previous suggested structures for supply chain and sustainable development.


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