Instance on Energy Management Practices for Circular Economy in Agricultural SMEs

Dear Colleagues,

The agri-food sector has relevant potential in the transition to sustainability. Nonetheless, actual linear models of agri-food production and consumption are deemed unsustainable, producing food waste and losses, soil and air pollution, and resource overexploitation (Pagotto and Halog 2015; Principato et al. 2019). The issue of food losses is one of the main challenges as it is estimated that one third of total food production is wasted globally every year (FAO, 2011); circular economy (CE) in this context has been seen as a strategic approach enabling the reduction of the amount of generated waste, especially the re-use of food, the utilization of food waste to energy flows, nutrient recycling, and a transition toward new food patterns (Jurgilevich et al. 2016; Donner et al. 2020). Within this framework, bioeconomy can foster the transformation of biological resources from agro-waste (i.e. biomass) into nutrients, bio-based products and bioenergy (Rodias et al. 2021). Bioenergy can bring cleaner production of energy, can increase energy security and efficiency and can provide market advantages related to the valorization of agri-waste (Barros et al. 2020; Piwowar 2020). Examples of CE practices with high potential in agriculture are represented by the use of biomass to generate electricity and bioethanol as renewable fuels and the use of organic materials in biodigesters to produce biogas for heat and electricity, biomethane to substitute fossil fuels, and natural fertilizers (Barros et al. 2020). However, the managerial and sustainable aspects related to the implementation of CE practices in agriculture, especially considering bioeconomy, deserves further investigation. Energy consumption in agriculture is one of the most relevant factors that relates to the agricultural production systems and their related operations, with a consequent impact on environment and on the overall business sustainability (Rodias et al. 2021). When focusing on SMEs, such issues are particularly challenging; given the need to promote the sustainable development of the agricultural sector, international institutions have initiated projects that may support agricultural SMEs in the adoption of circular bio-based economy practices (i.e. European Commission, 2020). Nonetheless, SMEs continue to face impediments of CE implementation related to environmental culture, lack of capital, lack of technological expertise, lack of government support and effective legislation, lack of awareness on the benefits of CE, administrative burden related to sustainability practices, and the difficulty to engage customers in sustainability activities (Rizos et al. 2016; Ormazabal et al. 2018). In addition, SMEs are weak in strategy definition, or in providing explicit strategic plans (Garengo et al. 2005), and performance measurement is routed in tracking business operation, but it is not meant to track strategic goals’ achievement (Garengo and Bernardi 2007);  as a consequence, one can find a poor alignment between performance measures and the firm’s strategy (Garengo et al. 2005). This might result in adopting CE-based actions considering the technical feasibility of specific actions without considering the overall impact on the economy and management of the SME. In this way, a major need for SMEs to develop management control practices and expertise to support CE and sustainability initiatives and monitor the related performance has been outlined by scholars (Gasparatos et al. 2009; Johnson and Shaltegger et al. 2016; Mistry et al. 2014; Hörisch et al. 2015). The aims of the Special Issue are then related to respond to such challenges. In particular, the Special Issue welcomes papers able to address the following research questions:

• How does the implementation of energy-based projects for CE in agricultural SMEs impact on their strategic planning process and competitiveness?
• How does the implementation of energy-based projects for CE in agricultural SMEs impact on the construction and the implementation of management control and management accounting practices that can support these firms in monitoring their sustainability performance (environmental, social and economic/financial performance)?
• To what extent can management accounting expertise support the implementation of energy-based projects for CE in agricultural SMEs?
• Which competences and resources are needed to bolster energy-based projects for CE in agricultural SMEs?

Prof. Dr. Emidia Vagnoni
Dr. Caterina Cavicchi
Guest Editors

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• Energy management practices
• Agricultural small and medium enterprises (SMEs)
• Circular economy
• Sustainability
• Management control
• Management accounting practices
• Strategy
• Competences
• Resources