Identifying the drivers of circular food packaging: a comprehensive review for the current state of the food supply chain to be sustainable and circular

The resilience of food systems is jeopardized by using food packaging materials that have adverse impacts on the environment, food quality, food safety, shelf-life, food loss, and waste. Therefore, a transition into a more sustainable system can only be possible by adopting circular economy principles and practices that can facilitate the elimination of unsustainable packaging, irresponsible disposal behaviors, and waste management. This paper mainly focuses on circular packaging practices in the existing literature to reveal the drivers of circular food packaging applications. The study also displays the triple combinations of material-sector, material-CE, and sector-CE principles. As a methodology, a systematic literature review (SLR) has been used for this study. Furthermore, this study investigates the literature findings, such as the most frequently mentioned food sector and sub-sector, CE principles, materials adopted for food packaging, and so on. The primary contribution of this study to the body of literature is the synthesis and mapping of the literature as a whole from the perspectives of CE principles, both sector-based and national, and the materials used through circular food packaging, and the attempt to facilitate this transition into a more circular system by outlining the drivers of circular food packaging

Big data-enabled solutions framework to overcoming the barriers to circular economy initiatives in healthcare sector

Ever-changing conditions and emerging new challenges affect the ability of the healthcare sector to survive with the current system, and to maintain its processes effectively. In the healthcare sec-tor, the conservation of the natural resources is being obstructed by insufficient infrastructure for managing residual waste resulting from single-use medical materials, increased energy use, and its environmental burden. In this context, circularity and sustainability concepts have become essential in healthcare to meliorate the sector’s negative impacts on the environment. The main aim of this study is to identify the barriers related to circular economy (CE) in the healthcare sec-tor, apply big data analytics in healthcare, and provide solutions to these barriers. The contribution of this research is the detailed examination of the current healthcare literature about CE adaptation, and a proposal for a big data-enabled solutions framework to barriers to circularity, using fuzzy Best-Worst Method (BWM) and fuzzy VIKOR. Based on the findings, managerial, policy, and theoretical implementations are recommended to support sustainable development initiatives in the healthcare sector

The effects of globalization on supply chain resilience: outsourcing techniques as interventionism, protectionism, and regionalization strategies

Globalization may cause companies to broaden their customer bases, operate internationally, and serve more customers. However, it also entails dangers, including shifting circumstances, disruptions, and elevated prices. To address these issues, outsourcing has evolved, lowering outputs and service costs. To mitigate these risks, businesses employ strategies such as interventionism, protectionism, and regionalization. By investigating and simulating the interplay of outsourcing approaches to equip businesses with supply chain resilience (SCRES), this study aims to close the knowledge gap between the existing knowledge and global supply chain (GSC) risk management practices. To choose the best alternative for our case study company, we analyzed four distinct outsourcing techniques, namely offshoring, reshoring, nearshoring, and farshoring; furthermore, we investigated the outsourcing elements typically taken into account to achieve resilience. The results indicated that the reshoring method would be the most promising one for this company, under specific circumstances, in terms of attaining resilience in the manufacturing industry

The role of agri-food 4.0 in climate-smart farming for controlling climate change-related risks: a business perspective analysis

The impact of climate change, including fires, droughts, and storms, on natural resources and agricultural output is increasing. In addition to these problems, resource depletion and greenhouse gas emissions, agriculture also contributes to global warming. To reduce the dangers of climate change, farmers are using sustainable practices. This article aims to link agri-food 4.0 technology with climate-smart agriculture (CSA) to lessen the two-way interaction (both affecting and impacted) between the agricultural sector and global warming, as well as dangers related to the agri-food business. In light of this information, the research methodology of the paper is twofold. Initially, related risks towards climate change and the CSA and agri-food 4.0 technologies to overcome these risks were determined through a literature review. Then, risks and technologies are evaluated by adopting the TODIM (an acronym in Portuguese for Interactive and Multicriteria Decision Making), which is used for evaluating the criteria set with the related technologies to overcome climate change-related risks and provide a guiding map for academics and practitioners to eliminate risks associated with these climate change-related factors. According to the study's findings, the highest-priority concerns in the agri-food industries that are connected to climate change include energy consumption, food safety, and GHG emissions. IoT, bio-innovation, and artificial intelligence are thought to be the most promising technological solutions to address these problems