Circular Economy engagement in the agri-food industry during the Covid-19: evidence from the Twitter debate

The Covid-19 pandemic has exacerbated the environmental crisis in which our ecosystem is posed. In this context, the call to reorganize the production and consumption models to implement sustainable economic models is emerging. Accordingly, the Circular Economy paradigm, based on the reduction, reuse and recycling practices, has spurred as one of the best ways to manage this emergency state. The scientific literature has highlighted that, to shift from a traditional linear economic model to a circular economic one, the involvement of the whole supply chain is required, especially in the agri-food sector. In this perspective, the stakeholders’ engagement plays a pivotal role in reaching the global goal. The present research aims to explore the stakeholders’ perception of messages conveyed through social media on circular economy in agri-food, using a coding framework based on the reclassification of the “Glossary of Circular Economy” according to a 4-R paradigm (reduce, reuse, recycle and reduce). In particular, the study analyses the stakeholders’ reactions to Twitter posts focused on agri-food and circular economy from the beginning of the pandemic until now.