Evaluating Circular Strategies for the Resilience of Agri‐Food Business: Evidence From the Olive Oil Supply Chain

Abstract

In the agri‐food sector, the valorization of by‐products according to a circular economy (CE) approach can be a viable solution to increase profits and improve business resilience. However, to facilitate its implementation and dissemination, it is necessary to validate the application of CE approaches in real case studies and as well as to verify their economic sustainability. This paper analyses the adoption of different circular paths of real case studies in the olive oil supply chain and assesses their degree of circularity through the Material Circularity Indicator (MCI) and economic sustainability through life cycle costing (LCC). As evidenced in the scientific literature, these methodologies represent the optimal approach to assess the impact of circularity in agri‐food processes on companies' sustainability strategies. Moreover, the results can be integrated to facilitate progress toward ever‐greater sustainability. Findings show that the degree of circularity varies according to the different strategies adopted, highlighting better economic viability of firms that adopt CE strategies, whose profits are less sensitive to changes in input and output prices and therefore more resilient from an economic point of view when market fluctuations occur.