Life cycle inventory data for the Italian agri-food sector: background, sources and methodological aspects

Abstract Purpose For the development of any life cycle assessment study, the practitioner frequently integrates primary data collected on-field, with background data taken from various life cycle inventory databases which are part of most commercial LCA software packages. However, such data is often not generally applicable to all product systems since, especially concerning the agri-food sector, available datasets may not be fully representative of the site specificity of the food product under examination. In this context, the present work investigates the background, sources and methodological aspects that characterise the most known commercial databases containing agri-food data, with a focus on four agri-food supply chains (olive oil, wine, wheat products and citrus fruit), which represent an important asset for the Italian food sector. Methods Specifically, the paper entails a review of currently available LCI databases and their datasets with a twofold scope: firstly, to understand how agri-food data is modelled in these databases for a coherent and consistent representation of regional scenarios and to verify whether they are also suitable for the Italian context and, secondly, to identify and analyse useful and relevant methodological approaches implemented in the existing LCI databases when regional data are modelled. Results Based on the aforementioned review, it is possible to highlight some problems which may arise when developing an LCI pertaining to the four Italian agri-food supply chains, namely: 1. The need for specific inventory datasets to tackle the specificities of agri-food product systems. 2. The lack of datasets, within the existing DBs, related to the Italian context and to the abovementioned supply chains. In fact, at present, in the currently available LCI DBs, there are very few (or in some cases none) datasets related to Italian wine, olive oil, wheat-based products and citrus fruit. The few available datasets often contain some data related to the Italian context but also approximate data with that of product systems representing other countries. Furthermore, the present study allowed to identify and discuss the main aspects to be used as starting elements for modelling regional data to be included in a future Italian LCI database of the abovementioned four supply chains. Conclusions The results of the present study represent a starting point for the collection of data and its organisation, in order to develop an Italian LCI agri-food database with datasets which are representative of the regional specificities of four agri-food supply chains which play an important role in the Italian economy.

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Linking Sustainability with Geographical Proximity in Food Supply Chains. An Indicator Selection Framework

Agriculture ◽

10.3390/agriculture8090130 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 8 (9) ◽

pp. 130 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Oriana Gava ◽

Francesca Galli ◽

Fabio Bartolini ◽

Gianluca Brunori

Keyword(s):

Life Cycle ◽

Supply Chains ◽

Food Supply ◽

Social Indicators ◽

Computer Assisted ◽

Geographical Proximity ◽

Food Supply Chains ◽

Holistic Approaches ◽

Standard Procedures ◽

Selection Framework

Despite policymakers’ promotion of food relocalization strategies for burden mitigation, the assumption that local food chains are more sustainable than the global ones might not hold. This literature review tries to highlight a possible framework for exploratory analyses that aim at associating sustainability with the geographical proximity of food supply chains. The purpose of the article is identifying a set of communicative and information-dense indicators for use by evaluators. Bread is the selected test food, given its importance in human nutrition and the relevance of some of its life cycle phases for land use (cereal farming) and trade (cereal commercialization). Article searching (including keyword selection, explicit inclusion/exclusion criteria, and computer-assisted screening using the NVivo® software) was carried out over the Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar databases, and returned 29 documents (refereed and non-refereed publications). The retrieved literature shows varied research focus, methods, and depth of analyses. The review highlighted 39 environmental, 36 economic, and 27 social indicators, along the food chain. Indicators’ reporting chains are heterogeneous; even the comparison of standard procedures, e.g., Life Cycle Assessment, is not straightforward. Holistic approaches are missing.

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Are Short Food Supply Chains More Environmentally Sustainable than Long Chains? A Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of the Eco-Efficiency of Food Chains in Selected EU Countries

Energies ◽

10.3390/en13184853 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 13 (18) ◽

pp. 4853

Author(s):

Edward Majewski ◽

Anna Komerska ◽

Jerzy Kwiatkowski ◽

Agata Malak-Rawlikowska ◽

Adam Wąs ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Life Cycle Assessment ◽

Life Cycle ◽

Supply Chains ◽

Environmental Impacts ◽

Food Supply ◽

Food Distribution ◽

Large Variability ◽

Food Supply Chains ◽

Short Food Supply Chains ◽

Efficiency Indicators

Improving the eco-efficiency of food systems is one of the major global challenges faced by the modern world. Short food supply chains (SFSCs) are commonly regarded to be less harmful to the environment, among various reasons, due to their organizational distribution and thus the shortened physical distance between primary producers and final consumers. In this paper, we empirically test this hypothesis, by assessing and comparing the environmental impacts of short and long food supply chains. Based on the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) approach, we calculate eco-efficiency indicators for nine types of food distribution chains. The analysis is performed on a sample of 428 short and long food supply chains from six European countries. Our results indicate that, on average, long food supply chains may generate less negative environmental impacts than short chains (in terms of fossil fuel energy consumption, pollution, and GHG emissions) per kg of a given product. The values of eco-efficiency indicators display a large variability across analyzed chains, and especially across different types of SFSCs. The analysis shows that the environmental impacts of the food distribution process are not only determined by the geographical distance between producer and consumer, but depend on numerous factors, including the supply chain infrastructure.

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Economic sustainability of food supply chains: Life cycle costs and value added in the confectionary and frozen desserts sectors

The Science of The Total Environment ◽

10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.03.274 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 670 ◽

pp. 902-914 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Antonios Konstantas ◽

Laurence Stamford ◽

Adisa Azapagic

Keyword(s):

Life Cycle ◽

Supply Chains ◽

Food Supply ◽

Value Added ◽

Life Cycle Costs ◽

Economic Sustainability ◽

Food Supply Chains

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Framing the transition towards sustainable agri-food supply chains

IOP Conference Series Earth and Environmental Science ◽

10.1088/1755-1315/899/1/012003 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 899 (1) ◽

pp. 012003

Author(s):

G T Tsoulfas ◽

Y Mouzakitis

Keyword(s):

Sustainable Development ◽

Supply Chain ◽

Environmental Economic ◽

Supply Chains ◽

Food Supply ◽

Food Sector ◽

Chain Management ◽

Food Supply Chains ◽

Sustainable Supply Chains ◽

Shed Light

Abstract The connection of the agri-food sector with the agenda of sustainable development comes naturally, as the chain from production to processing, trading, distribution and consumption is directly connected with significant issues in environmental, economic, and social realms. Today’s challenge for businesses is not whether to embrace sustainability, but rather how to effectively establish sustainable supply chains. Therefore, a solid grasp of the move from “conventional” to “sustainable” supply chains is necessary. In this paper, we focus on the supply chain management of the agri-food sector, seeking to shed light on practices which may contribute to the transition of the sector towards sustainability. In this vein, we extend the conceptual framework which was proposed by Beske and Seuring (2014) so that it accommodates the contemporary particularities of agri-food supply chains.

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The environmental impact of packaging in food supply chains—does life cycle assessment of food provide the full picture?

The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment ◽

10.1007/s11367-018-1500-6 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 24 (1) ◽

pp. 37-50 ◽

Cited By ~ 34

Author(s):

Katrin Molina-Besch ◽

Fredrik Wikström ◽

Helén Williams

Keyword(s):

Life Cycle Assessment ◽

Life Cycle ◽

Environmental Impact ◽

Supply Chains ◽

Food Supply ◽

Food Supply Chains ◽

Full Picture

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Short food supply chains for local food: a difficult path

Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems ◽

10.1017/s174217051800039x ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 35 (2) ◽

pp. 182-191 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Thais Rucabado-Palomar ◽

Mamen Cuéllar-Padilla

Keyword(s):

Supply Chains ◽

Food Supply ◽

Food Product ◽

Social Recognition ◽

Special Importance ◽

Family Farms ◽

Current Case ◽

Food Supply Chains ◽

Small Producers ◽

Short Food Supply Chains

AbstractAgri-food globalization is having a serious adverse impact on small- and medium-sized family farms in the province of Málaga (southern Spain), 43% of which have disappeared over the last 10 years. Short food supply chains (SFSCs) are emerging as a potential option for this type of farm, but as a strategy it is apparently not being implemented strongly enough over the region as a whole. The current case study sought to explore the initiatives carried out by local producers to date in implementing SFSCs throughout the province and to examine, from the standpoint of the production sector, the constraints hindering its development and the strategies currently being adopted with a view to addressing them. The analyses carried out under local producers perspective shows us that although SFSCs are interesting for family farms, in terms of prices, economic profit and social recognition, the abilities and capacities these channels require to producers, jointly with technical, flexibility and time demands, make these channels to be not that successful and attractive. Small producers interested in SFSCs must be aware of the special importance of social linkages and the need to take care of them; as well as of the need of establishing synergies and cooperation with other producers and stakeholders, in order to facilitate the tasks associated and that not every food product suit SFSCs.

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