GREEN-AGRICHAINS

Innovation Capacity Building by Strengthening Expertise and Research in the Design, Planning and Operations of Green Agrifood Supply Chains

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 Obiettivo del progetto (Objective)

GREEN-AgriChains aims at improving the research capacity of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (A.U.Th.), Greece in order to establish the University as a prominent stakeholder of innovation in the areas of Green Supply Chain Management (SCM) and Logistics, focused on the Agrifood sector. All aspects of supply chain design and planning that support green image will be tackled, including sustainable farming, reverse logistics, green procurement and sourcing, waste management and packaging reuse, transportation, energy consumption efficiency, green marketing, green accounting, and corporate social responsibility. To that effect, strategic partnerships with seven well-established research institutions will be developed and additional twinning with four industry stakeholders and policy-makers will be facilitated, while the focused recruitment of eleven experienced researchers will add the missing pieces to the existing portfolio of researchers of the project partners. Furthermore, synergies between leading SCM and Logistics practices and the Agrifood sector are expected to act catalytically in unleashing innovation and opportunities for added-value products and services in the sector. Dissemination activities such as organization of five workshops/seminars, and one conference will contribute to the spreading of best practices and the exploitation of the project results and knowledge in particular throughout the Agrifood Industry. All stated activities will sustain the progress of real integration and cohesion of the Greek Agrifood sector into the EU Framework logistics-oriented Programmes and promote Green Development for the regional economy. Finally, an ex-post evaluation of the research potential of the applicant will provide valuable feedback to the research team and the national authorities for the validation and sustainability of the project.

Introduzione (Teaser)

A major Greek university is entering the green/sustainable supply chain management (SCM) field, and sustainable agrifood in particular. The project has recruited 11 senior researchers and established relationships with sector players via a set of secondments.

Descrizione progetto (Article)

The Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTh), established in 1926, is one of the oldest and largest modern universities in Greece and the Balkans region. The University plans to expand into green SCM research.

With EU funding, the http://www.green-agrichains.eu (GREEN AGRICHAINS) project aims to improve the University's research capacity in the above field, focusing on the Greek agrifood sector. The undertaking unites three AUTh research groups. The research addresses aspects of the subject, including sustainable farming, green procurement and sourcing, waste management and packaging reuse, corporate social responsibility plus several business-related topics. The project was inaugurated in October 2012 and runs until March 2016.

Group members recruited and hosted 11 experienced researchers, all at the post-doctorate level, thus developing the University's capability. The team also established synergistic relationships with agrifood sector players, leading to new opportunities for value-added products. The relationships include a total of 40 knowledge transfer secondments with 11 partner organisations.

The project drafted a dissemination plan including internal and external events. To date, the project has achieved knowledge transfer via hosting of 4 workshops and 5 information days, while an International Conference will be held May 27-30, 2015. Moreover, the project team has presented papers in 38 international and 9 national conferences. All 47 were further published in the corresponding conference proceedings. In addition, 30 research papers have been published in peer-reviewed journals and books. Additionally, a book covering the central theme of the conference edited by the project coordinator and team members will be published by Wiley within the summer 2015. The project also developed printed dissemination materials and a web portal. Finally, the project has led to at least five spin-off research activities with EU and Greek industrial/research partners, while several project proposals has been submitted or are under preparation in conjunction with an impressive set of EU partners.

Other achievements include helping Mediterranean agrifood sector small and medium-sized enterprises become more competitive through the adoption of new added-value SCM techniques. By promoting state of the art supply chain management strategies, the project is facilitating a comprehensive approach to the agrifood supply chain. The work raises the overall capacity of the Mediterranean region to participate in agrifood research, and is advancing business awareness of green logistics, sustainable supply chains management, and corporate social responsibility (CSR).

The GREEN-AGRICHAINS project has created and extended the University's research linkages in the field of green/sustainable SCM. The end result will be a greening of the sector's business practices leading to its increased competitiveness while promoting regional economic and social welfare.