Going in Circles: Key Aspects for Circular Economy Contributions to Agro-industrial Cooperatives

Abstract

The global agribusiness context faces at the same time challenges of feeding a growing global population that is used to safe and nutritious food, opportunities based on innovation, high technology and efficiency in the agri-food production systems from field to table. Given the context, this article aims to present the main key aspects of the circular economy to agro-industrial cooperatives. These contributions were named key aspects, such as circular and symbiotic practices, competitive advantages, innovation, cooperation and barriers and opportunities. The field presents a problem that few literature in fact discusses circular economy approaches in the context of agro-industrial cooperatives. As a methodological procedure, a literature review was carried out in three databases to obtain relevant documents and thus analyse and discuss some characteristics based on circular economy practices applied in agro-industrial cooperatives. As a result, a diagnosis of the current scenario that agro sector organizations are facing in terms of the main rural activities and sustainable practices that relate to the circular economy; measures taken to generate competitive advantage; innovation behaviour; and how linear and circular business models are being applied in the agroindustry. A framework is presented to show potential routes strategies for closing the cycle in an agro-industrial cooperative. The opportunities are based on the implementation of high technology in the field, the use of bioenergy and the development of new circular business models throughout the agro-value chain. The study has contributions to rural properties and managers of cooperatives in terms of waste reduction, innovation generation and increases in activities and processes based on circular economy.