Food waste is a global issue with significant economic, social, and environmental impacts. Addressing this problem requires a multifaceted approach; one promising avenue is using artificial intelligence (AI) technologies. This article explores the potential for AI to tackle food waste and enhance the circular economy and discusses the current state of food waste and the circular economy, highlighting specific ways that AI can be used to monitor and optimise food production and supply chains, redistribute excess food to those in need, and support circular economy initiatives. As a result, we can maximise resource efficiency and minimise environmental impact with these applications, ultimately creating a more sustainable and equitable food system.

The world’s population is expected to grow at an increasing rate, leading to increased food consumption and waste production. Even though food waste represents one of the most challenging economic and environmental issues of the 21st century, it also provides a vast array of valuable resources. To address the challenge, this study uses resource recovery from food waste to close the supply chain loop, which is the cornerstone of a circular economy. By applying the bibliometric review technique, trends and patterns in food waste and circular economy were studied. The analysis of frequent keywords in the field provided insights into further research directions. A Boolean search of the keywords in the Scopus database resulted in 288 articles, published between 2015 and 2021. Further screening of titles, keywords, and abstracts resulted in 155 journal articles. Bibliometric coupling, including authors’ co-citation data, co-occurrence, and the occurrence of keywords, was graphically mapped using VOSviewer software. From the analysis of the publications, eight broad themes emerged: (1) anaerobic digestion of food waste for circular economy creation; (2) food waste systems and life cycle assessments for circular economy; (3) bio-based circular economy approaches; (4) consumer behavior and attitudes toward circular economies; (5) food supply chains and food waste in a circular economy; (6) material flow analysis and sustainability; (7) challenges, policies, and practices to achieve circularity; and (8) circular economy and patterns of consumption. Based on the eight themes, we emphasize an urgent need to promote the collaboration of governments, the private sector, educational institutions, and researchers, who should combine efforts to promote, integrate and accelerate acceptance of circularity, which will potentially mitigate greenhouse emissions associated with food loss and waste. We also highlight an opportunity to encourage consumer acceptance of upcycled food in the food waste hierarchy. In addition, we deduce that there is a need to quantify food waste and emissions of greenhouse gases due to this waste along the food value chain; this is important as it is one pathway of examining the ‘food leaks’ along the food supply chain. This can then inform optimal strategies targeting specific areas of the food supply chain experiencing food leaks. Lastly, food wastage affects the entire globe; however, future studies and funding need to be channeled towards investigating the possibility of implementing circularity in developing countries.

Climate change results in lower agricultural outputs, disruption of food supply chains, and widening of the social gap between poor and rich in developing countries, with more vulnerable groups being pushed into untold poverty. This review aims to investigate the consequences of climate change on food insecurity in Africa in the context of environmental degradation. This review emphasizes the complexity of demands on food security systems due to changing climatic conditions under the four pillars (availability, accessibility, utilization, and stability). This review demonstrated the susceptibility of farm production to changes in temperature, precipitation, and weather patterns generated by climate change. In addition, this review investigated the factors shaping food insecurity, such as increasing population growth, poverty, inadequate early warning systems, and weak agricultural infrastructure. Furthermore, the review points out how climate change affects food prices and availability and the widening income gap, potentially leading to social unrest and political instability in Africa. Vulnerable populations, including impoverished, elderly, and physically challenged individuals, are at increased risk due to climate‐related health impacts. Women who face gender inequalities and socioeconomic limitations are particularly susceptible. We posit that there is a need for comprehensive strategies that address health disparities and consider vulnerable subgroups within society alongside broader measures to enhance food security in the face of climate change.

The emergence of new transformational technology, known as the fourth industrial revolution, has crucially opened a new window to green economic growth. The transition to low carbon, green economy, and green sustainability has gained momentum simultaneously in developed and developing countries. The greening policy echoes the pending climate change and its entrenching disruptions. Financial technology, or FinTech seems to be a promising direction in unlocking the green dilemma; to be concrete, FinTech and the green economy are separately documented in the literature. Against this background, the current study investigates the intersection between green economic growth and FinTech by conducting a systematic-cum-bibliometric analysis of published papers in the Scopus database with the goal of first examining the role and opportunities of implementing green FinTech as a stimulus for transition towards green economic growth in African countries and, second, identifying knowledge gaps and future policy and research directions by developing an integrated framework to help African countries in the transition to green economic growth and green FinTech. The results illustrate an increasing trend in research attention towards the green FinTech concept and its relationship with green economic growth, climate change, and greening rules and standards. A deep inspection of the mined papers indicates that future research trajectories are oriented into five different mainstreams: technology and instruments in digital finance; regulation, policies, and green FinTech; climate risk mitigation through FinTech; FinTech and environmental quality; green finance and climate change mitigation. Based on these research directions, an integrated framework was conceptualised that aims to deliver green economic growth using FinTech as a vehicle of transition for African countries.

The growing emphasis on sustainability has underscored the importance of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors in evaluating corporate performance. While research explores the connection between ESG scores and financial outcomes, the role of ESG disclosures in mediating this relationship remains unclear. This study bridges this gap by systematically reviewing the impact of ESG disclosures on firm value and profitability across various industries. We employed a rigorous selection process based on the PRISMA framework, searching Scopus and Web of Science databases for relevant studies. Ultimately, 52 studies were analyzed to determine the relationship between ESG disclosures and financial performance. The results reveal a nuanced dynamic. Industries like food and retail showed positive correlations between strong ESG disclosures and improved financial performance. The utility sector displayed high accounting performance linked to social metrics, with less focus on environmental disclosures. Interestingly, the connection between ESG and financial performance in developing economies was either negative or insignificant. The agriculture sector presented a unique case where governance disclosures specifically enhanced market performance. This multi-industry exploration underscores the need to move beyond a one-size-fits-all approach when analyzing ESG performance. We recommend policy measures that consider specific industry characteristics and contextual factors to enhance the quality and transparency of ESG disclosures.