Agri-food and environmental impacts

by Editorial Staff | Apr 23, 2020 | Food law, Quality & operational procedures, Sustainability | 0 comments

The agri-food industry is one of the most significant economic sectors in Europe in terms of environmental impacts and resource consumption. It accounts for about 6% of final energy consumption in industry and about 2% of water consumption. The energy needed to grow, process, package and distribute products to consumers ranges from 20–30% of total European energy consumption, of which about one third comes from cultivation and livestock farming. In addition, over the last decade, greenhouse gas emissions from the sector have represented about one fifth of global emissions.

These reasons, combined with the growing scarcity of food resources on the planet, identify agri-food as one of the priority sectors to address for implementing sustainable production and consumption strategies.

Strategies that can also be implemented on a smaller scale, individually, by every consumer.

The product life cycle

One might think that the short life cycle of a plastic water bottle begins at the supermarket and ends in the trash bin. In reality, its story neither starts on a shelf nor ends in the bin.

The product has already gone through many stages in its life cycle, and many more await it after consumption. For example, the energy used to make the plastic bottle, its transport to industry, and, once consumed, its disposal (hopefully recycling).

To understand how these and other processes take place and what their impacts are, there is an effective tool: Life Cycle Assessment (LCA).

What is LCA

LCA provides a rigorous analysis of the environmental impact of all stages of a given product’s production process.

This analysis is a system for identifying critical areas on which a company can focus to reduce its environmental footprint: it evaluates the energy and environmental loads of a process or activity across the entire product life cycle, from raw material extraction and processing, manufacturing, transportation, distribution and use, to reuse, recycling and final disposal.

The reference standard UNI EN ISO 14040 defines LCA as “The compilation and evaluation of the inputs, outputs and potential environmental impacts of a product system throughout its life cycle.” The same standard defines 4 typical phases for conducting an LCA:

• Goal and scope definition: intended application, motivation, type of target audience;
• Inventory analysis: Collection and quantification of inputs and outputs, and their organization;
• Impact assessment: Selection and classification of impact categories and normalization of results;
• Interpretation: How can these results be translated into concrete actions? How should the company act?

The environmental impact categories currently measurable include 10 key areas: climate change (CO2 eq.), ozone depletion, photochemical smog creation, human toxicity, ecotoxicity, eutrophication, acidification, radiation, heat release, land use and water consumption.

Why adopt LCA

LCA is a tool designed to help food companies make strategic decisions to implement sustainability in terms of process efficiency and production flows, with potential related economic benefits.

Consumption trends show growing consumer attention to environmental issues, and in the near future, in addition to comparing products by price, ingredients and nutritional values, we will also compare “environmental labels,” favoring companies with the lowest environmental footprint.

The emergence of certifications linked to food sustainability (Global G.A.P., M.S.C. and A.S.C., Friend of the Sea, Friend of the Earth, to name a few), along with other more environment-focused certifications (Ecolabel, Environmental Product Declaration (EPD), ISO 14001), highlights how the market is already moving in this direction.

Conclusion

Every element of the universe, including ourselves, has a life cycle.

Understanding the life cycles of the elements around us allows us to compare them and make conscious decisions accordingly.

Davide Banfi
Food Science and Technology Specialist