Assumptions of a Circular Economy Management Standard for the Food Industry: Choosing the Best Structure

The goal of this paper was to suggest the best structure of a management system standard that is capable of creating the conditions for the growth of a circular economy (CE) (on the basis of popular ISO management systems) and that can be used by SME food industry organisations. That standard can also constitute the framework for independent evaluation and certification. In this work, desk research was carried out based on scientific databases. This scholarly approach was complemented by another, using Internet search engines to find additional documents of a professional nature. The state-of-the-art in this field is presented, characterised by the differences in approach to CE in the literature. This work suggests the assumptions of a management system standard (MSS) structure that is capable of creating the conditions for the growth of a circular economy and that can be used by SME food industry organisations. The described system applies only to food producers, which is a significant limitation of the study. Important elements supporting a developed system are actions addressed to other organisations in the loop, such as primary food producers, packaging producers, recovery organisations or retail chains. Moreover, onsite analyses among all the interested parties are necessary so as to refine the standard. The paper presents a set of relevant theoretical considerations that support CE in SME. It can be used by managers of the food industry who have the will to embrace in practice circular economy principles. Moreover, it can be used to develop a CE MSS.