Achieving the circular economy through environmental policies: Packaging strategies for more sustainable business models in the wine industry

Abstract

The environmental and economic benefits of adopting a circular economy (CE) approach could be significant for firms. The CE and packaging constitute a fundamental binomial for our economy, yet there are still few studies of the advantages for food value chains, especially in the wine sector. Therefore, in this paper, we address this research gap by measuring the environmental and economic performance of a circular business model (CBM) adopting the wine industry as a reference. We apply a combination of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Life Cycle Costing (LCC) methods to a small Italian winemaking firm, which implements a circular strategy through the take‐back and refurbishment of wine packaging components. Results show that by implementing this sustainable and CBM, a firm can reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from 8 to 90% and save from 6 to 63% of its economic costs.