The surplus food donation for retail circular economy transition: the case of Coop Alleanza 3.0
ISSN: 0007-070X
Article publication date: 6 December 2022
Issue publication date: 30 May 2023
Abstract
Purpose
This study examines the relationships between the sizes of Coop Alleanza 3.0 retail outlets and indicators (in value) of surplus food (SF), real food donation (FD) and potential food waste (FW) from 2013 to 2019.
Design/methodology/approach
Retail outlets were grouped by size class and geographic macro-area. The authors adopt a procedure composed of Kendall's tau-b coefficient with ties (ttest) and the coefficient of determination (R²). The authors studied bread, pastries, fruits and vegetables as representative food categories.
Findings
Among the hypermarket group (Emilia-Romagna Region and those in group with Apulia Region), the study found the t-test with many high negative relationship and related R2 high. Results showed that size significantly influenced the trends of the indicators for the food categories analyzed. This allowed the authors to hypothesize the presence of inefficiencies in these groups.
Originality/value
From a practical point of view, the procedure can provide Coop Alleanza 3.0, with a dashboard to analyze surplus food management (SFM) progress within its retail groups. This can provide a warning signal (WS) to trigger a management control system. If necessary, it can lead to corrective measures, such as internal optimization, by adopting appropriate work procedures. In this sense, the procedure is scalable and transferable at the international middle and micro-scales. This approach facilitates the transition to a retail circular economy transition.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank Mr. Mario Cifiello (President) and the Department of Social Policy of Coop Alleanza 3.0 for the collaboration received, who provided authors with datasets and support for clarification.
Funding: This research received no external funding.
Institutional review board statement: Ethical review and approval were waived for this study because they did not involve personally identifiable data.
Informed consent statement: Informed consent was obtained from all subjects involved in the study.
Data availability statement: Data are not publicly available although the data may be made available on request from the corresponding author and with permission of Coop Alleanza 3.0.
Author contributions: Conceptualization, Nicoletti G.M., Di Noia A. E.; Methodology, Di Noia A.E., Cappelletti G.M.; Validation, Nicoletti G.M., Cappelletti G.M.; Formal Analysis, Di Noia A.E., Cappelletti G.M.; Investigation, Di Noia A.E., Cappelletti G.M.; Writing – original draft preparation, Di Noia A.E.; Writing – review and editing, Nicoletti G.M., Di Noia A.E, Cappelletti G.M., Ioppolo G.; Visualization, Cappelletti G.M., Ioppolo G.; Supervision, Nicoletti G.M., Cappelletti G.M., Ioppolo G. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.
Conflicts of interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest.
Citation
Di Noia, A.E., Nicoletti, G.M., Cappelletti, G.M. and Ioppolo, G. (2023), "The surplus food donation for retail circular economy transition: the case of Coop Alleanza 3.0", British Food Journal, Vol. 125 No. 7, pp. 2424-2438. https://doi.org/10.1108/BFJ-10-2021-1140
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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