• Energy Research

In the transition from linear production systems, unsustainable from the point of view of resources, to a model that finds strength in environmental, social and economic sustainability, the circular economy paradigm is the foundation that facilitates the planetary agro-ecological transition. The European Union has taken a number of steps (including the Circular Economy Package of Directives) shaping circularity as a wide-ranging driver measure involving many sectors. The paper intends to provide a regulatory framework on the current general situation regarding circularity in European Union, in order to extrapolate and give evidence to the aspects that intersect the agri-food sector. This is not only because they are poorly addressed in the literature, but also because there is a lack of regulatory instruments on the circular economy specifically addressing this area of interest. For this purpose, the analysis focuses on waste and residue/scrap management issues, recognized by law as by-products and end-of-waste status, as they are covered by circular economy legislation and as they can be applied to the agri-food sector. The latter allow the implementation of circularity strategies in the agri-food sector and, given the numerousness of production chains and the peculiarities of each of them, various regeneration and/or reuse processes of specific resources may be depicted. The intent is to provide useful knowledge on how to implement sustainable waste management, also proposing a concrete case on a by-product of olive oil processing, through which it is possible to highlight how the correct application of regulations favors the adoption of circular economic and management models in the firms involved, as well as informing the relevant economic operators on the possible profiles of legal liability that may arise from insufficient knowledge. Furthermore, this paper delves into the European Green Deal’s Strategy as it enriches the circular economy paradigm with new facets. NextGenerationEU and the National Recovery and Resilience Plan financially support this strategy in the aftermath of the socioeconomic crisis from COVID-19 in the EU Member States. This is in order to achieve the objective of achieving the agro-ecological transition.

In the last decade, many researchers have asked themselves whether it is possible to have a different economic model from the so-called linear one, i.e. to move from the linear to the circular economy. The linear economy is based on the concept that the goods we use must follow a life cycle consisting of three phases. The first phase consists of the extraction of raw materials (or production of agricultural products). The second phase is the transformation of the raw material into semi-finished products. The final phase consists of finished products used by consumers and finally eliminated from the economic process as “waste”. In today's world, the linear method of production and consumption has many limitations. It is no longer economically, socially and environmentally sustainable. The answer to the question is the concept of a circular economy. Human demand is growing at a rate that nature's capacity to renew its resources cannot keep up. This paper addresses these aspects and illustrates some examples of a circular economic model applied in Sicily in the citrus waste sector. In fact, Sicily, in the Italian economic system, assumes a role of primary importance with more than 215,000 farms and 1,281,000 hectares cultivated, equal respectively to more than 46% of farms and 55% of national areas. On the island, citrus growing plays a strategic role both in terms of employment and income, contributing in a significant way to the local development of the territories in which it is most widespread (Catania, Syracuse, Palermo, etc..). Citrus fruits produced in Sicily are mainly intended for consumption in the fresh state or processed by the industries into juices. The main byproduct of the citrus industry is citrus pulp, which the enterprise still often consider a today “waste”. The circular economic model in citrus waste has generated significant diseconomies of scale for production with significant income losses for the operators of the chain. Considering the importance of citrus processing in Sicily, this paper analyzed the waste and by-products of the citrus industry and identified technical and organizational solutions to improve the sustainability of the citrus supply chain.

In recent decades, European policy has targeted specific measures towards SMEs. The recently concluded Horizon 2020 Programme, under the Europe 2020 Strategy, has provided economic support to stimulate competitiveness and boost the economy of member states by focusing on innovation. The SME Instrument, through a structure of multiple calls, constituted the vehicle for SMEs to access the funds made available by the European Union with disruptive innovation proposals. The initial structure of the SME Instrument, developed in phases and along the lines of the US Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) Programme, was afterwards simplified in the design of its successor, the EIC Accelerator Pilot. The success of the above mentioned economic instruments led the European institutions to develop a new instrument, the EIC Accelerator, supported by the current Horizon Europe programme. After outlining the main features of this transition and the novelties introduced, this paper aims to ascertain the extent to which SMEs in the agri-food sector in Italy have had the ability and opportunity to intercept funds by measuring participation in the SME Instrument. Furthermore, it intends to verify which type of firms in the agri-food sector, divided into agricultural and industrial enterprises, intercepted more of the examined funds, and which organisational phase, productive or commercial, the enterprises have been oriented towards, also giving relevancy to the specific objects of the winning projects.

Novel food refers to any type of food which was not used for human consumption before the 15 May 1997 in a specific place. This date refers to the introduction of European Union Regulation (EC) No 258/1997 which regulated the placing of novel foods or novel food ingredients on the market within the community for the first time. Then, the Regulation (EU) 2015/2283 changed the existing legislation for the categories of food belonging to novel food in order to guarantee a higher level of protection of human health and consumer interests. Algae, which are not commonly consumed by people but are considered among the most widespread foods of the future, are one of the principal food products of natural plant origin in the regulation of novel foods. However, even if algae were not well-known in the past, nowadays they are integrated into the different food cultures of the EU. This circumstance led to an analysis of the contribution of trade flows, of algae for human consumption inside and outside Europe, on the trade balance of the member countries of the European Union. Analysis of the Eurostat database was used to provide an overview of the international trade dynamics affecting the trade development of algae for human consumption in the European Union, with the aim of measuring the competitive dynamics within member countries.

There is continuing growth in food products new to European markets. Economic policy and legislative measures are now driven by this growth to match consumer expectations. Scientific research is undertaken for commercial, economic and legislative dynamics and is discussed in this paper, especially for the novel food, algae. Among the increasing number of novel foods authorized for use in the European Union market, algae is a promising product for the agri-food system, important both from a nutritional and environmental point of view, given the low impact that their production determines. The various possibilities of use of these products, even outside the agri-food sector, project many trajectories in international trade. For this purpose, the corresponding trends are outlined, and the results show an evolution of trade in the categories of algae intended for human consumption.