**1. Introduction**

Attention to food waste is an increasingly growing phenomenon today, especially in the context of a circular economy. Considering the entire supply chain, food waste can occur at every stage of the process: during production and processing, distribution and storage, and eventually during preparation and final consumption [1,2]. Europe's agro-food industry has an important share in the economy [3]. However, around 88 million tons of food waste is generated yearly [4].

On this premise, the InnovaEcoFood project explores the use of the outputs of the Piedmontese rice and wine production chains, which are two centuries-old production activities with a cultural and gastronomic tradition recognized and appreciated at an international level. The project aims to demonstrate that the competitiveness of companies can be improved using Systemic Design (SD) as an approach, going beyond the concept of recycling waste, by promoting the creation of value from by-products considering them as value-added raw materials. This project also applies the latest technologies to enhance the unexploited qualities of agricultural waste, production processes and transformation by-products of the two supply chains to obtain environmental, economic and social benefits.

Technological integration applied to an important sector such as grape growing and rice cultivation is an objective to pursue to increase regional and national economic resilience. InnovaEcoFood promotes industrial development and aims to create zero waste supply chains according to the principles of the circular economy, with the design purpose of aligning with EU policy, following Global Goal 12 of Agenda 2030 (responsible consumption and production), including the creation of value from waste

deriving from the production processes. The project brings together multidisciplinary skills ranging from SD to chemical engineering, from food science and technology to communication, intending to develop guidelines that can become the basis for sustainable and efficient production. Making a production chain that is historically and culturally recognized, as part of a system is essential. On the one hand, it aims to minimize the impact due to the disposal of outputs, on the other hand, it develops resilient, sustainable and competitive innovations with strong implications on the economy, society and culture by activating relationships with the territory itself.

The development of new activities and products in the food (additives and functional foods) and pharmaceutical (formulation of supplements or natural products with antioxidant activity) sectors, increase regional competitiveness, generating new revenues from waste products and the exploitation of local know-how.

Section 2 includes a literature review related to the circular economy (CE) and its connection with the SD approach to establish similarities and differences between the two approaches. The importance of using SD as an approach to address the two value chains is defined at the end of that section. In this research, SD approach is used to investigate the two traditional Piedmontese supply chains, comparing the current state of exploitation of the outputs or by-products of the production processes with the value creation obtained with the systemic approach. For this reason, Sections 3 and 4 provide an in-depth analysis of the two value chains, explaining their importance at the regional level, describing their by-products and the potential arising from their use in an SD perspective. Section 5 includes the results of the InnovaEcoFood project, which experiments the production of flours for human nutrition and the extraction of high value-added oils and molecules from the vegetable matrices of the two agricultural activities. It uses both mechanical and chemical processes, involving the fractionation and micronzation of by-products and the extraction of the active substances contained in them. Section 6 is dedicated to discussing the results, the impact at the European level, limits, and further research. In Section 7, we draw conclusions.

#### **2. Circular Economy Strategies and Systemic Design Approach**

#### *2.1. Circular Economy*

In the last few years, CE is receiving increasing attention worldwide as a way to overcome the current production and consumption model, the so-called 'take, make and dispose' [5] or linear model, based on continuous growth and increasing resource throughput. By promoting the adoption of closing-the-loop production patterns within an economic system, CE aims to increase the efficiency of resource use, to achieve a better balance and harmony between economy, environment and society [6]. Many studies have been conducted on this topic [7–9] mainly rooted in environmental and political aspects [10] as well as economic and business ones [6,9].

Generally known as the 'Reduce, Reuse, Recycle' (3R) strategy, now these strategies have extended to nine, from refuse to recover [11]: the so-called R-strategies or R-list (Figure 1).

Results evidence that CE origins are mainly rooted in ecological and environmental economics and industrial ecology (IE) [6,12–18]. Some authors attribute the origins of the CE in General System theory [19,20]. Nevertheless, more often the origins of the CE are attributed to more recent theories such as regenerative design, performance economy, cradle to cradle, biomimicry and blue economy, that contribute to the further refinement and development of the concept of CE [6,21]. In Europe, CE primarily emerged in Germany in 1976 with the Waste Disposal Act, while at European Community level CE was promoted much later, through the Waste Directive 2008/98/EC [22] and more specifically with the Circular Economy Package [6,23,24].

**Figure 1.** Circularity strategies within the production chain in order of priority (credit).

'Reduce, Reuse and Recycle' are three principles that, with some modifications, are also included in the waste hierarchy of European Waste Directive 2008/98/EC [25] since 1989 as well as in United States solid waste Agenda [6,26–28]. It must be pointed out that the CE in the European Union is a tool to design bottom-up environmental and waste managemen<sup>t</sup> policies [6]. According to Ghisellini and colleagues [6] "CE implies the adoption of cleaner production patterns at company level, an increase of producers' and consumers' responsibility and awareness, the use of renewable technologies and materials (wherever possible) as well as the adoption of suitable, clear and stable policies and tools".

CE principles and limits have been widely discussed [5–8,10,22,26–49], and this is not the space to give further evidence. This short preamble is, instead, instrumental in pointing out similarities and differences between the principles and aims of the CE and the SD.

#### *2.2. Systemic Design: Similarity and Di*ff*erences with CE*

The growing interest of the EU in CE has renewed interest in the SD as an approach that can lead to new business models. SD approach applies mainly to the industrial sector and is particularly suitable and declinable on value chains in the agri-food field. A systemic vision requires designing radically alternative solutions, as well as growing attention towards the interaction between the processes involved and the environment and the actor of a specific area. This way, the regeneration does not consist solely to material or energy recovery but, instead, it becomes an improvement of the entire living and economic model compared to previous business-as-usual economy and resource managemen<sup>t</sup> [6]. Moreover, treating the productive systems as complex systems of complementary and symbiotic activities rather than disconnected entities is fundamental to share resources, know-how and technologies. It means there is no longer any reason for the growth of the single reality to the detriment of another. The relationships generated within the system make it becomes autopoietic [50–52], i.e., a system that produces itself and tends to evolve autonomously on the onset of change.

Regarding productive organizations as complex adaptive systems allows a new managemen<sup>t</sup> model to generate economic, social and environmental benefits [53]. It is interesting to notice how complex entities interact openly with their environments and evolve continually by acquiring new, 'emergent' properties [54]. Complex systems are generally dynamic, nonlinear and capable of self-organization to sustain their existence. This approach is patterned after the self-organizing behavior of living systems. These systems show inherent 'resilience' by taking advantage of fundamental properties such diversity (existence of multiple forms and behaviors), e fficiency (performance with modest resources consumption), adaptability (flexibility to change in response to new pressures) and cohesion (existence of unifying forces or linkages) [55,56].

While CE proved to be rather rigidly linked to product manufacturing and the concept of the life cycle of industrial processes, SD seems to accommodate the concept of value chains better, also introducing the idea of material and energy flows.

Therefore, the five principles for the application of SD are the following [57]:


Rather than focusing on waste, the SD treats by-products as outputs that become input for other processes, mainly new processes, so rather than closing the loop like the CE, the SD connects di fferent loops and creates open systems made of relationships and connections between local realities.

Although biological nutrients, that in general are nontoxic, "can return safely to the biosphere or in a cascade of consecutive uses" [6] SD intends to generate as much value as possible from these by-products, before returning them to the ground and closing the loop. InnovaEcoFood project, indeed, will go further from the current CE methodology as it opens a collaboration between knowledge from diverse sources. Moreover, di fferent flows will be considered in a proximity environment, making a profit from local partners and easing materials and information exchange. The SD is also responsible for granting the sustainability of the circular value chain model around Piedmont. Furthermore, this will boost bio-economy in the Piedmontese territory.

SD theory is rooted in the General System Theory, the generative science [56] and cybernetics [56,58], sharing a similar multidisciplinary approach. SD also derives from other eco-managemen<sup>t</sup> theories, such as the open living systems [56], Cluster Theory [14,59], IE [60] and Industrial Symbiosis [14,61–63]. Among the pioneers of this approach, we counted the Austrian biologist Karl Ludwig von Bertalan ffy and the physicist Fritjof Capra. The theories about complexity help the managemen<sup>t</sup> of the entire food systems and the design approaches help the planning of di fferent divergent elements. Those theories are the lens that SD research team at Politecnico di Torino applies to value chains' analysis, including them in complex systems made of people, resources and relationship among the activities. It is

interesting to note that the CE and SD have common roots [21,33,39,64–70] like IE and according to some authors [6] also the General Systems Theory [19,20].

To summarize, CE and SD share several principles and goals, despite the existence of some differences:


Furthermore, SD is very close to the IE [60] and industrial symbiosis [61], even if SD considers some more flows (like information) and acts in open systems instead of just in a closed loop. SD aims to redesign human production systems to imitate natural ones, efficient par excellence [57]. The geographic proximity is neither necessary nor sufficient; turn waste in business opportunities reduces demands on the earth's resources and provides a stepping-stone towards creating a CE [64].

Preferable CE strategies such as reuse, repair, refurbish, remanufacturing, repurpose, find no agri-food application. In the project, we will detail later on, by-product valorization seems to fall along with the guideline 'recycle' rather than 'reuse', which is considered one of the less preferable strategies for products [11,71] according to the R-list (Figure 1), in which it is the penultimate strategy listed.

Unlike other sectors, in agri-food, recycling is not meant to be a downcycling, as waste generates economic value. In the systemic processes implemented, recycling is not comparable to recycling materials that either remain unchanged or lose performance. Indeed, it implies the creation of value from agricultural or process waste that cannot be framed within the rigid CE grid. It is a matter of transforming value chains and building systems able to consolidate relationships between companies in the reuse of outputs. Therefore, it is not correct to consider this kind of strategy as mere recycling. For this reason, for the InnovaEcoFood project, we proposed the SD theoretical framework, which is more complex because it follows the logic of complex systems, deals with open loop, and leaves room for creating relationships between companies and the dynamics managed at a local level.

#### **3. Case Study: The Rice Supply Chain**

Italy, with an annual rice consumption per capita of about 5.5 kg, is the largest rice producer in Europe. In Italy, rice cultivation covers about 220,000 hectares. It is mainly located in the lower Po Valley and the narrow strip reaching as far as the Pre-Alps between Lombardy and Piedmont. It that areas, large quantities of water are available for irrigation. The provinces of Vercelli, Pavia, Novara, Milano, which alone account for 90% of the total Italian area invested in rice, are the most rice-growing provinces. Sporadic traces of rice cultivation are also present in central Italy (Siena, Grosseto) and on the islands (mainly Sardinia), which means that rice can be grown anywhere, provided there is plenty of water. However, Piedmont is the first rice-producer in Italy with a wide selection of rice varieties due to its wide range of paddy fields covering about 217,195 hectares in the territory (all data on production and cultivation of rice, grapes and wine come from the Istat database (http://dati.istat.it), regarding the year 2018) and with nearly 2,000 companies involved in its production, which amounts to several million quintals (1 quintal = 100 kilos) per year. The Piedmontese province of Novara and Vercelli alone cover 52.7% of Italian production. Vercelli is the capital of rice production and alone produces more than a third of the national total and the entire province accounts for three million quintals of cultivated, produced and processed rice. The history of rice in Piedmont is linked to two main factors. One is the need to exploit clayey soils, which are sterile. The other is the possibility of using the water resources of the large glacial snowy rivers that flow down from the Aosta Valley, Monte Rosa and several smaller rivers of resurgen<sup>t</sup> or mountain origin.

#### *3.1. Analysis of Rice Supply Chain Waste*

Rice production generates large quantities of waste, co-products and by-products (about 40%) compared to the total raw material entering the supply chain, which are not currently valorized. The cultivation of rice and its processing thus results in a series of by-products that are considered waste for the food industry.

This analysis, performed in the Piedmont region (Italy), shows in detail the process of rice transformation and the characteristics of every output. In detail:


(**a**) (**b**)

**Figure 2.** (**a**) Hull (right) (**b**) Rice middlings. Source: Agrindustria.

It should be noted that, in the literature, the terms hull and husk are often confused and used one in place of the other.

#### Applications and Critical Issues

In this contribution, we will focus on post-threshing by-products from what is called paddy rice (or rice in the husk). Therefore, from the data obtained during the field visit to the Vercelli farm 'Gli Aironi' (http://www.gliaironi.it/) and supported by literature evidence [86–88], we derive that the production of 1 kg of rice generates 200 g of husk, 50–70 g of hulls, and up to 60 g of broken rice that can be valorized. The inadequate disposal of these by-products generates negative environmental impacts, as well as an important cost for the companies, even though some of these by-products have a minimum economic recognition when used as feed.

If we consider 100% of paddy rice, the percentages of products and by-products are detailed as follows:


The main critical points of the process can be summarized as follows:


In this paper, we will deal with the last point in detail.

#### *3.2. Potential and Scalability*

Currently, the outputs deriving from the rice transformation are resold and reused, but not fully exploited. Indeed, they are very rich in nutrients and chemical-physical characteristics that could be valorized for other uses in sectors where they would acquire greater value (food, bioplastics, building materials, ... ). Considering that Italian rice production is about 14.7 million quintals, the total amount of residues can be estimated at 0.7 million quintals of hulls and 2.94 million quintals of husks. Hull is a seasonal by-product obtained in the post-harvest period of rice, which goes from October to June of the following year, through various processes that divide the rice into various parts (husks, hull and rice). Hull is listed on the feed market with a price of 170.00 €/ton (2018). This residue, however, represents a significant source of organic matter, gamma-oryzanol and lipid substances.

#### **4. Case Study: Wine Supply Chain**

In Italy, the cultivation of wine grapes is widespread in almost all regions of the country, but is mainly concentrated in the following regions: Puglia, Tuscany, Piedmont. With about 44 thousand hectares of vineyards, Piedmont is the sixth largest region by extension, and annually about 2.6 million hectoliters of wine are produced from the roughly 20,000 wineries in the area. It has a wide selection of varieties (more than 60) and it produces 17 DOCG and 42 types of DOC wines recognized as Piedmontese products [89]. As regards the value of wine production, Piedmont is the fourth region with almost 460 million euros in 2018, after Veneto (900 million euros), Puglia (600 million) and Tuscany (500 million) [90].

The geography of the Piedmontese territory, e.g., orography and morphological feautures, are fundamental factors for the identity of the wine and the production of numerous types of wine, thanks in particular to the creation of microclimates in the di fferent production areas (hills, Alpine and pre-alpine regions). Piedmontese wines, with few exceptions, are monovarietal, i.e., produced with a single grape. In Piedmont, the first examples of zoning of wine-growing areas began, defining concepts such as terroir and cru: a specific wine is produced exclusively with grapes from a single vineyard or parcel whose name appears on the label.

It is convenient to state a di fference between the process of making red wine and the process of white and rosé wines. There are little di fferences among these processes, which generate di fferent by-products in the process. In white and rosé winemaking process, the pressing operation is taken before the alcoholic fermentation. However, in red winemaking process the pressing is taken after alcoholic fermentation, thus the marc is fermented and alcoholic, while for white and rosè processes, marcs are non-alcoholic and sugar-rich. Through this process, wineries generate a large amount of solid waste, estimated around 30% of the material used. Wine production entails the generation of large amounts of by-products mainly consisting of organic matter (grape pomace containing seeds, pulp and skins, stalks, vine pruning and grape leaves) and wastewater.

The implementation of waste managemen<sup>t</sup> and its subsequent by-products valorization is a pending task in the Wine Industry. Disposal of such amount of waste induces significant environmental effects similar to all food-processing waste.

#### *4.1. Analysis of the Wine Supply Chain Waste*

Composition of grapes is variable depending on its variety and climatic or vinicultural factors. Still, it is important to consider in nature and composition on the organic by-products and waste generated during the winery process, to understand the potential added value of innovative technologies in the process. The outputs of the wine production chain can be divided into:


Wooden residues from vineyards are often burnt to avoid the transmission of diseases from year to year. Waste from the winery is usually destined for distillation or pressed and disposed of in landfills. The components of wastewater are easily biodegradable elements, except for polyphenols [91].

#### Applications and Critical Issues

Organic matter is generated from the vineyard until the end of the process when the wine is bottled. First, when grapes are collected, approximately 2–3% of the total weight is lost in branches, stems and stalks. In detail:


elements such as nitrogen and potassium. They are primarily used for composting [92–94] and are subsequently spread in the soil. The resulting compost can also be used as a substrate for the cultivation of Agaricus Bisporus, the most widely used species of mushroom in traditional cooking [95]. Another similar waste is obtained through thinning, i.e., the pruning of some ripe bunches that are abandoned in the field to reduce fruit production in favor of a higher quality finished product, wine.


**Figure 3.** (**a**) Grape marc from crushing (right) (**b**) Solid by-products. Source: Deta webpage [111]. The composition of organic waste from wine is shown in Table 1.


**Table 1.** Composition of organic waste from wine.

Moreover, as mentioned before, water is used in several steps of the winery process: in cleaning operations (of harvesting tools, trucks, hoppers, boxes and destemmers, presses, deposits, boots and barrels), but also in the clarification process. Wastewater in winery processes is also rich in organic and inorganic matter. This is a problem when organic matter's natural decomposition process takes place, as it consumes the dissolved oxygen in water a ffecting the aquatic biota. The large volume of wastewater generated, and its seasonality is also a problem for its management.

Sewage sludge from wastewater can contain many nutrients, including nitrogen and phosphorus. As with civil sewage sludge, composting in combination with other substrates of wine origin is the most common use [92]. The Italian legislation also allows its direct use in agriculture if it complies with the limits [112]. The sludge has also been used as a co-substrate in anaerobic co-digestion, together with wine lees, under both mesophilic and thermophilic conditions, to produce biogas and bio-stabilized effluent [113]. The list of products that can be obtained from the by-products of winemaking is very rich:


In this paper, we will focus on the by-products of winemaking, without considering the residues from the field. Therefore, from the analysis carried out through field visits at the Asti winery Bocchino (www.vinibocchino.it) and supported by some evidence in the literature [86–88] the production of 1 kg of wine grapes generates about 100 g of marc and up to 60 g of grape seeds that can be exploited.

As reported above, the inadequate disposal of these by-products generates negative environmental impacts, as well as a relevant cost for companies. From 100% fresh grapes, the percentages of products and by-products are detailed as follows:


• 4% of stalks.

The main critical points of the process can be summarized as follows:


• the lees, a residue deposited after the fermentation of the wine, is currently disposed of. During the InnovaEcoFood project, we dealt with the second point, focusing on the marc.

#### *4.2. Potential and Scalability*

These residues represent a significant source of organic matter, polyphenols, nitrogen, macroand trace elements. According to current legislation, the by-products of winemaking are subjected to managemen<sup>t</sup> methods that, with defined timeframes, provide for the obligation of total or partial delivery to the distillery, or their controlled reuse for alternative uses, mainly in the feed sector. In fact, at present, grape marc is usually sold to the large distilleries that store the product. Then they perform classifications, separations and distillations. After distillation, the remaining (grape skin) has a market for feed use of about 200 €/ton, while the grape seeds can reach 500.00 €/ton. The grape marc or pomace is a seasonal by-product. It is produced from the end of August to the end of September, after pressing. The pomace is conferred to distillation companies from September onwards; it is stored and processed throughout the year. The pomace obtained from winery can be 'fermented' or 'virgin' (the latter also called 'sweet'). In fermented grape pomace, yeasts have transformed sugars into alcohol. Usually, fermented grape pomace is obtained during the production of red wine, as the grape pomace remains in contact with the must for at least 5/6 days. The virgin (or sweet) grape pomace has not ye<sup>t</sup> undergone fermentation. It comes from white/rosè wine processing, in which the skins and grape seeds are separated from the must before alcoholic fermentation. A completely di fferent type of marc is obtained after distillation, which varies considerably, especially in organoleptic properties.

Innovative and sustainable systems for the managemen<sup>t</sup> of this kind of waste as valuable resources are an opportunity for Europe in terms of reduction of environmental impacts and the creation of new jobs. Moreover, the reduction of waste production and the managemen<sup>t</sup> of it as resources is part of the path towards sustainability defined in the Europe 2020 Resource-e fficient Europe Flagship.

Italian production is approximately 75 million quintals of wine grape or 54 million hectoliters of wine. Based on an estimation performed in the Piedmont region, 5% of Italian wine comes from wineries that produce annually no more than 25 hL. In this case, they are not required to deliver the marc to distillery nor alternative use. The national quantity of residues can be estimated about 7.5 million quintals of marc and 2.5 million quintals of grape seeds. The Piedmont Region potential of marc and lees available every year, instead, can be estimated at 0.4 million quintals of marc and 0.2 million quintals of grape seeds. The EU is a leading global producer of wine, producing 167 million hectolitres every year (https://ec.europa.eu/info/food-farming-fisheries/plants-and-plant-products/ plant-products/wine\_en). Waste, coproducts and by-products of these productions are rarely valued, and their improper disposal generates negative environmental impacts, as well as an important cost for EU. Besides, the application of this strategy in this specific agri-food system o ffers a high potential of replicability. Moreover, other value chains (e.g., olive oil industry) could be suitable for applying this approach, but it can also be applied in a wide variety of territories. Waste and by-products represent about 20% in weight of the produced wine.

#### **5. InnovaEcoFood Project**

The project took place in Piedmont, an important wine and rice producer region. Rural areas have grea<sup>t</sup> potential to include new and interesting business models that create new opportunities and quality jobs, including social and economic aspects, and tackle Europe's limited resources. InnovaEcoFood project will upgrade two current value chains to a more circular value chain that expands to other sectors revalorizing agriculture and process by-products. This multi-actor approach can reach other sectors like food, textile, polymers, or bioactive compounds, diversifying and revitalizing the economy, considering the reality of local needs. In general, the agri-food sector and agri-communities are integrated systems requiring a holistic approach to face major current challenges and avoid economic and social decadence. At the same time, Italian producers are still not benefitting from the untapped potential of agri-food by-products valorization.
