IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v14y2022i18p11754-d918811.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

How Blockchain Facilitates the Transition toward Circular Economy in the Food Chain?

Author

Listed:
  • Ashkan Pakseresht

    (Department of Bioeconomics, Novia University of Applied Sciences, 10600 Tammisaari, Finland)

  • Sina Ahmadi Kaliji

    (Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences, Alma Mater Studiorum, Università di Bologna, 40127 Bologna, Italy)

  • Vilma Xhakollari

    (Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences, Alma Mater Studiorum, Università di Bologna, 40127 Bologna, Italy)

Abstract

Food loss and waste are two of the many problems that modern society is facing. To date, among many solutions, the circular economy is the one prevailing. A successful transition toward a circular economy (CE) requires the food sector to overcome the challenges of today’s complex food supply chains such as information asymmetry, poor cooperation among stakeholders, and concerns about food safety. Blockchain, a form of distributed ledger technology, has been progressively gaining traction in supply chains in areas like data management, certifying product provenance and tracking products. Despite its importance, knowledge around the potential of the blockchain technology in facilitating the transition towards a circular economy in the agri-food sector is fragmented. This review provides evidence-based insights into the blockchain implementations in the food supply chains and the implications for CE. Our findings indicated four major areas that blockchain could accelerate CE in the agri-food sector: improving data utility; supply chain management efficacy; enhanced eco-efficiency; and superior traceability.

Suggested Citation

  • Ashkan Pakseresht & Sina Ahmadi Kaliji & Vilma Xhakollari, 2022. "How Blockchain Facilitates the Transition toward Circular Economy in the Food Chain?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(18), pages 1-22, September.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:18:p:11754-:d:918811
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/18/11754/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/18/11754/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Modgil, Sachin & Gupta, Shivam & Sivarajah, Uthayasankar & Bhushan, Bharat, 2021. "Big data-enabled large-scale group decision making for circular economy: An emerging market context," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 166(C).
    2. Friedman, Nicola & Ormiston, Jarrod, 2022. "Blockchain as a sustainability-oriented innovation?: Opportunities for and resistance to Blockchain technology as a driver of sustainability in global food supply chains," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 175(C).
    3. Sachin Kamble & Angappa Gunasekaran & Himanshu Arha, 2019. "Understanding the Blockchain technology adoption in supply chains-Indian context," International Journal of Production Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 57(7), pages 2009-2033, April.
    4. Kristoffer Francisco & David Swanson, 2018. "The Supply Chain Has No Clothes: Technology Adoption of Blockchain for Supply Chain Transparency," Logistics, MDPI, vol. 2(1), pages 1-13, January.
    5. Kirchherr, Julian & Piscicelli, Laura & Bour, Ruben & Kostense-Smit, Erica & Muller, Jennifer & Huibrechtse-Truijens, Anne & Hekkert, Marko, 2018. "Barriers to the Circular Economy: Evidence From the European Union (EU)," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 150(C), pages 264-272.
    6. Pandey, Vivekanand & Pant, Millie & Snasel, Vaclav, 2022. "Blockchain technology in food supply chains: Review and bibliometric analysis," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    7. Antle, John M., 2001. "Economic analysis of food safety," Handbook of Agricultural Economics, in: B. L. Gardner & G. C. Rausser (ed.), Handbook of Agricultural Economics, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 19, pages 1083-1136, Elsevier.
    8. Starbird S. Andrew & Amanor-Boadu Vincent, 2007. "Contract Selectivity, Food Safety, and Traceability," Journal of Agricultural & Food Industrial Organization, De Gruyter, vol. 5(1), pages 1-22, February.
    9. Luca Berchicci & Wynand Bodewes, 2005. "Bridging environmental issues with new product development," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 14(5), pages 272-285, September.
    10. Jacopo Grecuccio & Edoardo Giusto & Fabio Fiori & Maurizio Rebaudengo, 2020. "Combining Blockchain and IoT: Food-Chain Traceability and Beyond," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(15), pages 1-19, July.
    11. Aschemann-Witzel, Jessica & Stangherlin, Isadora Do Carmo, 2021. "Upcycled by-product use in agri-food systems from a consumer perspective: A review of what we know, and what is missing," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 168(C).
    12. Yi-Cheng Chen & Yueh-Peng Chou & Yung-Chen Chou, 2019. "An Image Authentication Scheme Using Merkle Tree Mechanisms," Future Internet, MDPI, vol. 11(7), pages 1-18, July.
    13. Emma Brandon-Jones & Brian Squire & Chad W. Autry & Kenneth J. Petersen, 2014. "A Contingent Resource-Based Perspective of Supply Chain Resilience and Robustness," Journal of Supply Chain Management, Institute for Supply Management, vol. 50(3), pages 55-73, July.
    14. Mario Dobrovnik & David M. Herold & Elmar Fürst & Sebastian Kummer, 2018. "Blockchain for and in Logistics: What to Adopt and Where to Start," Logistics, MDPI, vol. 2(3), pages 1-14, September.
    15. Oliver Maaß & Philipp Grundmann, 2018. "Governing Transactions and Interdependences between Linked Value Chains in a Circular Economy: The Case of Wastewater Reuse in Braunschweig (Germany)," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-29, April.
    16. Gupta, Shivam & Chen, Haozhe & Hazen, Benjamin T. & Kaur, Sarabjot & Santibañez Gonzalez, Ernesto D.R., 2019. "Circular economy and big data analytics: A stakeholder perspective," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 144(C), pages 466-474.
    17. Jiang Duan & Chen Zhang & Yu Gong & Steve Brown & Zhi Li, 2020. "A Content-Analysis Based Literature Review in Blockchain Adoption within Food Supply Chain," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(5), pages 1-17, March.
    18. Abderahman Rejeb & John G. Keogh & Suhaiza Zailani & Horst Treiblmaier & Karim Rejeb, 2020. "Blockchain Technology in the Food Industry: A Review of Potentials, Challenges and Future Research Directions," Logistics, MDPI, vol. 4(4), pages 1-26, October.
    19. Jaehun Joo & Yuming Han, 2021. "An Evidence of Distributed Trust in Blockchain-Based Sustainable Food Supply Chain," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(19), pages 1-15, October.
    20. Nesrin Ada & Yigit Kazancoglu & Muruvvet Deniz Sezer & Cigdem Ede-Senturk & Idil Ozer & Mangey Ram, 2021. "Analyzing Barriers of Circular Food Supply Chains and Proposing Industry 4.0 Solutions," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(12), pages 1-29, June.
    21. Luiza Toma & Cesar Revoredo‐Giha & Montserrat Costa‐Font & Bethan Thompson, 2020. "Food Waste and Food Safety Linkagesalong the Supply Chain," EuroChoices, The Agricultural Economics Society, vol. 19(1), pages 24-29, April.
    22. Arim Park & Huan Li, 2021. "The Effect of Blockchain Technology on Supply Chain Sustainability Performances," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-18, February.
    23. Dianhui Mao & Zhihao Hao & Fan Wang & Haisheng Li, 2018. "Innovative Blockchain-Based Approach for Sustainable and Credible Environment in Food Trade: A Case Study in Shandong Province, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(9), pages 1-17, September.
    24. Garrard, Robert & Fielke, Simon, 2020. "Blockchain for trustworthy provenances: A case study in the Australian aquaculture industry," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 62(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Zhong, Ziqi & Zhao, Elena Yifei, 2024. "Collaborative driving mode of sustainable marketing and supply chain management supported by metaverse technology," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 121160, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    2. Javeed, Sohail Ahmad & Akram, Umair, 2024. "The factors behind block-chain technology that boost the circular economy: An organizational perspective," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 200(C).
    3. Yasanur Kayikci & Nazlican Gozacan‐Chase & Abderahman Rejeb, 2024. "Blockchain entrepreneurship roles for circular supply chain transition," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(2), pages 197-222, February.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Aditi S. Saha & Rakesh D. Raut & Vinay Surendra Yadav & Abhijit Majumdar, 2022. "Blockchain Changing the Outlook of the Sustainable Food Supply Chain to Achieve Net Zero?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(24), pages 1-21, December.
    2. Büşra Ayan & Elif Güner & Semen Son-Turan, 2022. "Blockchain Technology and Sustainability in Supply Chains and a Closer Look at Different Industries: A Mixed Method Approach," Logistics, MDPI, vol. 6(4), pages 1-39, December.
    3. Priyanka Vern & Anupama Panghal & Rahul S Mor & Sachin S. Kamble & Md. Shamimul Islam & Syed Abdul Rehman Khan, 2023. "Influential barriers to blockchain technology implementation in agri-food supply chain," Operations Management Research, Springer, vol. 16(3), pages 1206-1219, September.
    4. Abderahman Rejeb & Karim Rejeb & Steve Simske & Horst Treiblmaier, 2021. "Blockchain Technologies in Logistics and Supply Chain Management: A Bibliometric Review," Logistics, MDPI, vol. 5(4), pages 1-28, October.
    5. Yuling Sun & Xiaomei Song & Yihao Jiang & Jian Guo, 2023. "Strategy Analysis of Fresh Agricultural Enterprises in a Competitive Circumstance: The Impact of Blockchain and Consumer Traceability Preferences," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 11(5), pages 1-18, February.
    6. Abderahman Rejeb & John G. Keogh & Suhaiza Zailani & Horst Treiblmaier & Karim Rejeb, 2020. "Blockchain Technology in the Food Industry: A Review of Potentials, Challenges and Future Research Directions," Logistics, MDPI, vol. 4(4), pages 1-26, October.
    7. Balzarova, Michaela & Dyer, Celia & Falta, Michael, 2022. "Perceptions of blockchain readiness for fairtrade programmes," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 185(C).
    8. Pandey, Vivekanand & Pant, Millie & Snasel, Vaclav, 2022. "Blockchain technology in food supply chains: Review and bibliometric analysis," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    9. Patrizia Gazzola & Enrica Pavione & Arianna Barge & Franco Fassio, 2023. "Using the Transparency of Supply Chain Powered by Blockchain to Improve Sustainability Relationships with Stakeholders in the Food Sector: The Case Study of Lavazza," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(10), pages 1-16, May.
    10. Ulpan Tokkozhina & Ana Lucia Martins & Joao C. Ferreira, 2023. "Uncovering dimensions of the impact of blockchain technology in supply chain management," Operations Management Research, Springer, vol. 16(1), pages 99-125, March.
    11. Lewis A. Njualem, 2022. "Leveraging Blockchain Technology in Supply Chain Sustainability: A Provenance Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(17), pages 1-15, August.
    12. Vincenzo Varriale & Antonello Cammarano & Francesca Michelino & Mauro Caputo, 2021. "Sustainable Supply Chains with Blockchain, IoT and RFID: A Simulation on Order Management," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-23, June.
    13. German Arana‐Landin & Waleska Sigüenza & Beñat Landeta‐Manzano & Iker Laskurain‐Iturbe, 2024. "Circular economy: On the road to ISO 59000 family of standards," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 31(3), pages 1977-2009, May.
    14. Abderahman Rejeb & Karim Rejeb & Suhaiza Zailani & Yasanur Kayikci & John G. Keogh, 2023. "Examining Knowledge Diffusion in the Circular Economy Domain: a Main Path Analysis," Circular Economy and Sustainability, Springer, vol. 3(1), pages 125-166, March.
    15. Seyyed-Alireza Radmanesh & Alireza Haji & Omid Fatahi Valilai, 2023. "Blockchain-Based Architecture for a Sustainable Supply Chain in Cloud Architecture," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(11), pages 1-19, June.
    16. Kirti Nayal & Rakesh D. Raut & Balkrishna E. Narkhede & Pragati Priyadarshinee & Gajanan B. Panchal & Vidyadhar V. Gedam, 2023. "Antecedents for blockchain technology-enabled sustainable agriculture supply chain," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 327(1), pages 293-337, August.
    17. Fabio De Felice & Antonella Petrillo, 2021. "Green Transition: The Frontier of the Digicircular Economy Evidenced from a Systematic Literature Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(19), pages 1-26, October.
    18. Nallapaneni Manoj Kumar & Shauhrat S. Chopra, 2022. "Leveraging Blockchain and Smart Contract Technologies to Overcome Circular Economy Implementation Challenges," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(15), pages 1-18, August.
    19. Abderahman Rejeb & Karim Rejeb & John G. Keogh & Suhaiza Zailani, 2022. "Barriers to Blockchain Adoption in the Circular Economy: A Fuzzy Delphi and Best-Worst Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(6), pages 1-23, March.
    20. Qinglan Liu & Adriana Hofmann Trevisan & Miying Yang & Janaina Mascarenhas, 2022. "A framework of digital technologies for the circular economy: Digital functions and mechanisms," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(5), pages 2171-2192, July.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:18:p:11754-:d:918811. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.