Title: Simulation-based modelling of circular economy challenges in the food industry: an ISM approach for process optimisation and sustainability

Authors: Rakesh Kumar; Bijay Kumar Paikaray; Girija Nandini; Swarna Prabha Jena; Varadarajan Sowmya Damodharan

Addresses: Department of Management Studies, Graphic Era Deemed to be University, Dehradun, 248002, India ' Centre for Data Science, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Siksha 'O' Anusandhan (Deemed to be) University, Odisha, India ' School of Management, Centurion University of Technology and Management, Odisha, India ' Department of ECE, Centurion University of Technology and Management, Odisha, India ' Department Chair Business, Abu Dhabi Vocational Education and Training Institute, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

Abstract: This study aims to examine important factor challenges to the adoption of circular economy in the food industry for optimisation and sustainability. Food products involve various aspects such as processing, packing, and waste management. The study delves into how the circular economy can be adopted in the food industry. This research explores 15 challenges and factors for the sustainable food industry that hindered the adoption of circular processes. The expert opinion and previous literature reviews guided the selection of these factors. The study employed the interpretive structure modelling (ISM) method to identify the most influential and least challenging factors. This method structured all factors into five levels. The study found that the most significant obstacles to the adoption of sustainable food industry in the circular economy are the absence of government incentives, insufficient knowledge about sustainable food industry processes, awareness of CSR activities, corporate governance, and performance indicators. This study provides insights for policy makers, scholars, professionals, academics, and many more.

Keywords: circular economy; sustainability; food industry; packaging; governance.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSPM.2024.146031

International Journal of Simulation and Process Modelling, 2024 Vol.21 No.4, pp.294 - 304

Received: 17 Dec 2024
Accepted: 20 Feb 2025
Published online: 01 May 2025 *

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