Enhancing economic-social sustainability through a closed-loop citrus supply chain: A life cycle cost analysis

Abstract

The focus on food supply chain (FSC) sustainability has grown due to demand, food loss and waste, and environmental impacts. This study aims to quantify citrus life cycle costs (LCC) and determine the main drivers and their contributions. LCC was used to assess the cradle-to-grave cost of 1 kg of citrus sold to consumers at the retailer stage. A comparison was made between an existing citrus supply chain (SC) and a proposed closed-loop structure. In addition to the current citrus SC, four different cases were analyzed and evaluated: the centralized linear citrus SC, the centralized linear citrus SC with a 33 % increase in labor income, the centralized closed-loop citrus SC, and the centralized closed-loop citrus SC with a 33 % increase in labor income. The results showed significant reductions in functional unit's (FU) costs of 48 %, 38 %, 54 %, and 44 %, respectively, compared to the current citrus SC. Labor accounted for 47–62 % of the FU costs, while agriculture inputs and transportation contributed 15–28 % and 12–16 %, respectively. The study revealed that a centralized citrus closed-loop SC improves economic viability, especially when recycling citrus waste as compost for farms. Transportation currently contributes the most to FU costs (45 %), but in the closed-loop citrus SC, labor becomes the highest contributor (62 %). This cradle-to-grave citrus SC approach identifies drivers and contributions to the FU's costs, showcasing differences when integrating a circular economy. Future research may explore the impact of other byproducts on FU costs.