Global Journal of Science Frontier Research, H: Environment & Earth Science, Volume 23 Issue 5

Assessing the Sustainability Performance, the Food-Processing Industry through Causal Loop: A Mauritian Case Study Abstract- Sustainability has emerged as one of the megatrends in the food processing industries prevails as one of the most important items on the agenda of many companies. The major sustainability domains: environmental, social and economic aspects are topics that companies are called to focus on nowadays for achieving success. These include, utilisation of resources such as water, energy, working conditions, safety at work, and investments, among others. This research work aims at assessing the sustainability performance of food processing organisations and propose sustainable practices with a focus on environmental, social and economic. The interactions of the sustainable practices from the causal loop diagrams have shown the importance of recycling and reusing of solid wastes, water treatment, investment in renewable energy and continuous improvement of practices and policies through audits. Sustainable consumption and production campaigns through sustainability initiatives is very effective to reduce production intensity, thus, the use of resources. Keywords: sustainability, sustainability indicators, food processing industries, causal loop diagrams. I. I ntroduction ver the years, more and more emphasis is being given to environmental issues which have evolved from pollution and the depletion of natural resources towards global issues such as climate change. The most crucial milestones have so far been the identifications of chlorinated pesticides as major pollutants in “Silent spring’ (Carson, 1962), the notion that non-renewable natural resources can become depleted (Meadows, 1962), the introduction of the sustainability concept in the ‘Bruntland report’ (World Commission on Environment and Development, 1987) and the Marrakech Climate Change Conference (UN, 2016), among other initiatives by world leaders. The last conference was identified as the next crucial step for governments looming at ope the Worldwide population has grown to more than 7 billion today, from about 5 billion people in 1990’s and it is estimated that the population will hike more than 9 billion by 2050 (OECD, 2016). Global CO2 emissions accounts about 3.6 billion tonnes in 2014 which contributes to global warming (PBL, 2015) thus causing environmental degradation such as climate change, ocean acidification, loss of biodiversity, scarcity of fresh water, ozone depletion amongst others. If the current trend of human activities continues, the planet would not be able to support the continuously growing world population. In addition, human population and economic growth have amplified demand on natural resources, which is becoming scarce. It is obvious that business as usual is not adequate as the world is presently consuming the equivalent of 1.5 planets to back human activities (WWF, 2014). Therefore, at this unsustainable rate, it would require the equivalent of two planets by 2050 (Randers, 2012). The international agreements impose strict environmental regulations on the human activities in order to push industries to find ways to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions, utilise raw materials efficiently and move towards renewable energies. The rapid development in telecommunication technologies invigorated global sensitisation about the upcoming global crisis, thus, encouraging the mass for demanding green product and services. Therefore, there needs to be a radical change in the ways most industries operate in order to meet demand, abide by regulations and even have a competitive edge amongst competitors. Therefore, eco-efficiency, that is, the practice of lean, cleaner production and eco-design is becoming a major trend in industries. Under these circumstances, it is highly important to develop new business concepts whereby value creation from waste through recycling or reuse forms part of the new wave. The new practices will consume less raw materials, be less dependent on fossils, use more renewable energies, be more eco friendly, also economically and socially equitable. The emergence of the increasing middle class population in the coming years will prove to be detrimental to the current production and consumption pattern, thus, emphasis must be laid on sustainable practices by industries to cope with the upcoming challenges. Svensson (2007) posits that the expectations on adopting and improving sustainability practice were constantly increasing and that both public and private institutions would impose such practices on different business sectors. One of the sectors where significant questions were raised about sustainability practices was the O © 2023 Global Journals 1 Year 2023 1 Global Journal of Science Frontier Research Volume XXIII Issue ersion I VV ( H ) Author α σ : Mechanical & Production Engineering Department Faculty of Engineering, University of Mauritius. e-mail: d.callychurn@uom.ac.mu Yuktishaan Sharma Sumessur α & Devkumar S Callychurn σ