Circular economy practices in the agri-food sector: awareness and maturity level in Portuguese companies

The circular economy model has drawn global interest, especially in the agri-food sector (. The food system is indeed facing the “food paradox”: it is wasteful but also unable to meet globally the food demand. Thus, it needs to explore ways to fulfil food needs without compromising future food availability. The present article is linked to a previous study that showed the maturity of the circular economy practices in the sector among scientific literature studies. Now, it is relevant to understand if such maturity is also perceived by the sector’s practitioners. Given the relevance of the agri-food sector in the Portuguese economy and its numerous circular economy projects, the study aims to explore how agri-food Portuguese companies consider and adopt circularity. For this, a survey was carried out from January to March 2023 on a convenient sample of Portuguese companies. Preliminary results reveal that: i) companies have a systemic vision of circular economy; ii) most practices are incrementally innovative. These findings allow to identify circularity best