scholarly journals Evaluating Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Climate Mitigation Goals of the Global Food and Beverage Sector

2022 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Megan Reavis ◽  
Jenny Ahlen ◽  
Joe Rudek ◽  
Kusum Naithani
Keyword(s):  
Greenhouse Gas ◽  
Value Chain ◽  
Ghg Emissions ◽  
Climate Mitigation ◽  
Past Century ◽  
Reporting Practices ◽  
Food Engineering ◽  
Beverage Industry ◽  
Food And Beverage ◽  
Global Food

The dramatic increase in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by humans over the past century and a half has created an urgency for monitoring, reporting, and verifying GHG emissions as a first step toward mitigating the effects of climate change. Fifteen percent of global GHG emissions come from agriculture, and companies in the food and beverage industry are starting to set climate goals. We examined the GHG emissions reporting practices and climate goals of the top 100 global food and beverage companies (as ranked by Food Engineering) and determined whether their goals are aligned with the science of keeping climate warming well below a 2°C increase. Using publicly disclosed data in CDP Climate reports and company sustainability reports, we found that about two thirds of the top 100 global food and beverage companies disclose at least part of their total company emissions and set some sort of climate goal that includes scope 1 and 2 emissions. However, only about half have measured, disclosed, and set goals for scope 3 emissions, which often encompass about 88% of a company's emissions across the entire value chain on average. We also determined that companies, despite setting scope 1, 2, and 3 emission goals, may be missing the mark on whether their goals are significantly reducing global emissions. Our results present the current disclosure and emission goals of the top 100 global food and beverage companies and highlight an urgent need to begin and continue to set truly ambitious, science-aligned climate goals.

Evaluating the Landscape of Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Climate Mitigation Goals of the Global Food and Beverage Sector

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Megan Reavis ◽  
Jenny Ahlen ◽  
Joe Rudek ◽  
Kusum Naithani
Keyword(s):  
Ghg Emissions ◽  
Climate Mitigation ◽  
Past Century ◽  
Reporting Practices ◽  
Food Engineering ◽  
The Past ◽  
Beverage Industry ◽  
Food And Beverage Industry ◽  
Food And Beverage ◽  
Global Food

Abstract The dramatic increase of emitted greenhouse gases (GHGs) by humans over the past century and a half has created an urgency for monitoring, reporting, and verifying GHG emissions as a first step towards mitigating the effects of climate change. Fifteen percent of global GHG emissions come from agriculture, and companies in the food and beverage industry are starting to set climate goals. We evaluated the GHG emissions reporting practices and climate goals of the top 100 global food and beverage companies and determined whether or not their goals are aligned with the science of reducing climate warming to less than 2 °C. We found that two thirds of the top 100 (as ranked by Food Engineering) global food and beverage companies are setting some sort of climate goals, but fewer than half included scope 3 emissions in their goals. Only four companies have goals that are aligned with the goal of the 3% Solution: a 4.3% annual emission reduction until 2050. While an increasing number of companies are disclosing and setting targets that include scope 3 emissions, many still do not disclose or report any of their emissions. Our results highlight an urgent need to develop protocols for monitoring, reporting, and verifying GHG emissions and to provide transparent information on climate goals and targets.

Greenhouse gas budget of an extensively managed grassland on drained peat soil in the Irish Midlands

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marine Valmier ◽  
Matthew Saunders ◽  
Gary Lanigan
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Source ◽  
Greenhouse Gas ◽  
Ghg Emissions ◽  
Organic Soils ◽  
Climate Mitigation ◽  
Sink Strength ◽  
Management Options ◽  
Peat Soils ◽  
Sequestration Potential ◽  
Sink Capacity

<p>Grassland-based agriculture in Ireland contributes over one third of national greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and the LULUCF sector is a net GHG source primarily due to the ongoing drainage of peat soils. Rewetting of peat-based organic soils is now recognised as an attractive climate mitigation strategy, but reducing emissions and restoring the carbon sequestration potential is challenging, and is not always feasible notably due to agricultural demands. Nonetheless, reducing carbon losses from drained organic soils has been identified as a key action for Ireland to reach its climate targets, and carbon storage associated with improved grassland management practices can provide a suitable strategy to offset GHG emissions without compromising productivity. However, research is still needed to assess the best practices and management options for optimum environmental and production outcomes. While grasslands have been widely studied internationally, data on organic soils under this land use are still scarce. In Ireland, despite their spatial extent and relevance to the national emission inventories and mitigation strategies, only two studies on GHG emissions from grasslands on peat soils have been published.</p><p>Here we present results from a grassland on a drained organic soil that is extensively managed for silage production in the Irish midlands. Continuous monitoring of Net Ecosystem Exchange (NEE) of carbon dioxide (CO<sub>2</sub>) using eddy covariance techniques, and weekly static chamber measurements to assess soil derived emissions of methane (CH<sub>4</sub>) and nitrous oxide (N<sub>2</sub>O) started in 2020. The seasonal CO<sub>2</sub> fluxes observed were greatly dependent on weather conditions and management events. The grassland shifted from a carbon source at the beginning of the year to a sink during the growing season, with carbon uptakes in April and May ranging from 15 to 40 µmol CO<sub>2</sub> m<sup>-2</sup> s<sup>-1</sup> and releases in the order of 5 µmol CO<sub>2</sub> m<sup>-2</sup> s<sup>-1</sup>. Following the first harvest event in early June, approximately 2.5 t C ha<sup>-1</sup> was exported, and the sink capacity took around one month to recover, with an average NEE of 10 µmol CO<sub>2</sub> m<sup>-2</sup> s<sup>-1</sup> during that period. Carbon uptake then reached a maximum of 25 µmol CO<sub>2</sub> m<sup>-2</sup> s<sup>-1</sup> in August. After the second cut in mid-September, which corresponded to an export of 2.25 t.ha<sup>-1</sup> of carbon, the grassland acted once again as a strong carbon source, losing almost 30 g C m<sup>-2</sup> in a month, before stabilising and behaving as an overall small source during the winter period.</p><p>In summary, this grassland demonstrated high rates of carbon assimilation and productivity that translate in a strong carbon sink capacity highly dependent on the management. The biomass harvest is a major component of the annual budget that has the potential to shift the system to a net carbon source. Moreover, while initial measurements of CH<sub>4</sub> and N<sub>2</sub>O fluxes appeared to be negligible, some management events were not assessed due to national COVID 19 restrictions on movement, which might have impacted the sink strength of the site studied.</p>

A review of whole farm-system analysis in evaluating greenhouse-gas mitigation strategies from livestock production systems

2018 ◽  
Vol 58 (6) ◽  
pp. 980 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Rawnsley ◽  
Robyn A. Dynes ◽  
Karen M. Christie ◽  
Matthew Tom Harrison ◽  
Natalie A. Doran-Browne ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Greenhouse Gas ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Ghg Emissions ◽  
Livestock Production ◽  
Mitigation Strategies ◽  
System Level ◽  
Food Demand ◽  
Ghg Mitigation ◽  
Farm System ◽  
Global Food

Recognition is increasingly given to the need of improving agricultural production and efficiency to meet growing global food demand, while minimising environmental impacts. Livestock forms an important component of global food production and is a significant contributor to anthropogenic greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions. As such, livestock production systems (LPS) are coming under increasing pressure to lower their emissions. In developed countries, LPS have been gradually reducing their emissions per unit of product (emissions intensity; EI) over time through improvements in production efficiency. However, the global challenge of reducing net emissions (NE) from livestock requires that the rate of decline in EI surpasses the productivity increases required to satisfy global food demand. Mechanistic and dynamic whole farm-system models can be used to estimate farm-gate GHG emissions and to quantify the likely changes in farm NE, EI, farm productivity and farm profitability as a result of applying various mitigation strategies. Such models are also used to understand the complex interactions at the farm-system level and to account for how component mitigation strategies perform within the complexity of these interactions, which is often overlooked when GHG mitigation research is performed only at the component level. The results of such analyses can be used in extension activities and to encourage adoption, increase awareness and in assisting policy makers. The present paper reviews how whole farm-system modelling has been used to assess GHG mitigation strategies, and the importance of understanding metrics and allocation approaches when assessing GHG emissions from LPS.

scholarly journals Medium-run projections for greenhouse gas emissions arising from agriculture: the case of milk production in Estonia

2015 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jelena Ariva ◽  
Ants Hannes Viira ◽  
Reet Põldaru ◽  
Jüri Roots
Keyword(s):  
Greenhouse Gas ◽  
Milk Production ◽  
Agricultural Production ◽  
Ghg Emissions ◽  
Market Model ◽  
Ghg Emission ◽  
Medium Term ◽  
National Economic ◽  
Model Context ◽  
Global Food

In order to respond to increasing global food demand and provide for national economic growth, the Estonian Dairy Strategy for 2012−2020 aims to achieve a 30% growth in milk production. At the same time, there is a global attempt to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This paper analyses the medium-term (2015−2020) projections for milk production and associated GHG emissions from dairy cows in Estonia. The FAPRI-GOLD type market model of Estonian agriculture, which is used for projections of agricultural production, was supplemented with a module that helps project GHG emissions. The paper demonstrates the endogenisation of GHG emission factors in a relatively general agricultural market model context. The results imply that increasing milk production by 30% by 2020 would jeopardise Estonia’s commitments with regard to agricultural GHG emissions. However, the average GHG emission per tonne of produced milk will decline, thus reducing the “carbon footprint” of milk production.

scholarly journals A Worldwide Hotspot Analysis on Food Loss and Waste, Associated Greenhouse Gas Emissions, and Protein Losses

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (18) ◽  
pp. 7488 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xuezhen Guo ◽  
Jan Broeze ◽  
Jim J. Groot ◽  
Heike Axmann ◽  
Martijntje Vollebregt
Keyword(s):  
Greenhouse Gas ◽  
Fruits And Vegetables ◽  
Sustainable Consumption ◽  
Ghg Emissions ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Hotspot Analysis ◽  
Food Loss ◽  
Food Items ◽  
Versus Protein ◽  
Global Food

Reducing food loss and waste (FLW) is prioritized in UN sustainable development goals (SDG) target 12.3 to contribute to “ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns”. It is expected to significantly improve global food security and mitigate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Identifying “hotspots” from different perspectives of sustainability helps to prioritize the food items for which interventions can lead to the largest reduction of FLW-related impacts. Existing studies in this field have limitations, such as having incomplete geographical and food commodity coverage, using outdated data, and focusing on the mass of FLW instead of its nutrient values. To provide renewed and more informative insights, we conducted a global hotspot analysis concerning FLW with its associated GHG emissions and protein losses using the most recent data (the new FAO Food Balance Sheets updated in 2020). The findings of this research are that there were 1.9 Gt of FLW, 2.5 Gt of associated GHG emissions, and 0.1 Gt of associated protein losses globally in 2017. The results of the FLW amounts, GHG emissions, and protein losses per chain link are given on the scale of the entire world and continental regions. Next to this, food items with relatively high FLW, GHG emissions, and protein losses are highlighted to provide the implications to policymakers for better decision making. For example, fruits and vegetables contribute the most to global FLW volumes, but the product with the highest FLW-associated GHG emissions is bovine meat. For bovine meat, FLW-associated GHG emissions are highest at the consumer stage of North America and Oceania. Oil crops are the major source of protein losses in the global food chain. Another important finding with policy implications is that priorities for FLW reduction vary, dependent on prioritized sustainability criteria (e.g., GHG emissions versus protein losses).

scholarly journals Corporate social responsibility in a local subsidiary: internal and external stakeholders’ power

2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 377-393 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pilar Marques ◽  
Merce Bernardo ◽  
Pilar Presas ◽  
Alexandra Simon
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Social Responsibility ◽  
Social Responsibility ◽  
Value Chain ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Beverage Industry ◽  
External Stakeholders ◽  
Food And Beverage ◽  
Local Company ◽  
Corporate Social

Purpose Using a theoretical and empirical focus on the power stakeholders exert, the purpose of this paper is to provide a better understanding of the factors that influence the subsidiaries of multinationals’ participation in corporate social responsibility (CSR) under the pressures (expectations and demands) their complex system of internal and external stakeholders’ places upon them. Design/methodology/approach Using an in-depth case study, the relationship a local subsidiary in the food and beverage industry has with its stakeholders as regards CSR is analyzed. Findings The findings illustrate three main aspects: how the local company is affected by and how it affects its stakeholders (an example of the multidirectionality of power and influence); the direct and indirect practices that are adopted to address challenges; and the importance of the role the local subsidiary plays as an implementer and diffuser of its parent organization’s responsible practices across the industry value chain. Originality/value To the best of authors’ knowledge, the focus is on analyzing the power stakeholders have in the context of multinational companies that has not been applied before, and the outcome of using this approach is that the authors have uncovered gaps in the literature for future research.

University leadership in climate mitigation: reducing emissions from waste through carbon pricing

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Suyeon Lee ◽  
Seyeon Lee
Keyword(s):  
Waste Management ◽  
Emission Reduction ◽  
Ghg Emissions ◽  
Climate Mitigation ◽  
Past Century ◽  
Emission Data ◽  
Carbon Pricing ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Carbon Neutrality ◽  
Sustained Reduction

Purpose This paper aims to investigate potential impact of internal carbon pricing in emission reduction in Higher education institutions (HEIs). Over the past century, human activities have increased greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the atmosphere. If GHG emissions continue their upward trend, this will disturb the natural balance and trigger abrupt changes in all components of the climate system. Limiting climate change would require a substantial and sustained reduction in GHG emissions from all sectors. HEIs, as major emitters, indeed need to respond to the demand to become more sustainable by making practical changes to the way their institution is run. Design/methodology/approach Using emission data associated with campus waste, this study describes how HEIs can take the lead on emission reduction through the implementation of carbon pricing. Findings Specifically, this study estimates the cost of emissions from campus waste to illustrate the primary benefits of internal carbon pricing for scaling up campus carbon neutrality initiatives and describes practical implications for enhancing sustainable waste management in a university setting. This study will contribute to identifying the potential for emissions reduction through waste management using a carbon pricing mechanism in university settings. Originality/value While carbon pricing has long been regarded as an alternative approach to tackling carbon pollution, it has not been thoroughly explored with regard to waste management.

scholarly journals Beverages-Food Industry Cluster Development Based on Value Chain in Indonesia

2014 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 84
Author(s):  
Lasmono Tri Sunaryanto ◽  
Gatot Sasongko ◽  
Ira Yumastuti
Keyword(s):  
Development Strategy ◽  
Value Chain ◽  
Food Industry ◽  
Industry Cluster ◽  
Cluster Development ◽  
Beverage Industry ◽  
Food And Beverage Industry ◽  
Industry Value Chain ◽  
Food And Beverage ◽  
Food And Drink

This study wants to develop the cluster-based food and beverage industry value chain that corresponds to the potential in the regions in Java Economic Corridor. Targeted research: a description of SME development strategies that have been implemented, composed, and can be applied to an SME cluster development strategy of food and beverage, as well as a proven implementation strategy of SME cluster development of food and beverage. To achieve these objectives, implemented descriptive methods, techniques of data collection through surveys, analysis desk, and the FGD. The data will be analyzed with descriptive statistics. Results of study on PT KML and 46 units of food and drink SMEs in Malang shows that the condition of the SME food-beverage cluster is: not formal, and still as the center. As for the condition of the existence of information technology: the majority of SMEs do not have the PC and only 11% who have it, of which only 23% have a PC that has an internet connection, as well as PC ownership is mostly just used for administration, with WORD and EXCEL programs, and only 4% (1 unit SMEs) who use the internet marketing media.

scholarly journals Hydroponic fodder and greenhouse gas emissions: a potential avenue for climate mitigation strategy and policy development

FACETS ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 334-357
Author(s):  
Robert Newell ◽  
Lenore Newman ◽  
Mathew Dickson ◽  
Bill Vanderkooi ◽  
Tim Fernback ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Energy Consumption ◽  
Carbon Sequestration ◽  
Greenhouse Gas ◽  
Policy Development ◽  
Ghg Emissions ◽  
Sensitivity Analyses ◽  
Climate Mitigation ◽  
No Tillage ◽  
Sequestration Potential ◽  
Hydroponic Systems

This research explores the potential hydroponic systems have for contributing to climate mitigation in fodder agriculture. Using British Columbia (BC) and Alberta as case studies, the study compares greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and carbon sequestration potential of hydroponically grown sprouted barley fodder to conventional barley grain fodder. GHG emissions were examined through scenarios that assumed Alberta to be the main barley producer, while exploring different situations of BC and Alberta as consumers, distributed/centralized hydroponic systems, and renewable/nonrenewable energy. Carbon sequestration opportunities were examined through scenarios that explored the land sparing potential of transitioning from conventional to hydroponic barley and shifts from tillage to no-tillage practices. Sensitivity analyses were done to examine how changes in hydroponic seed-to-fodder output and energy consumption affect the systems’ climate mitigation potential. The results indicated that incorporating hydroponic systems into barley production has the potential to reduce GHG emissions, given seed-to-fodder output and energy consumption are maintained at certain levels and the systems are powered by renewable energy. Results also showed that hydroponic farming can provide greater carbon sequestration opportunities than simply shifting to no-tillage farming. The research indicates that hydroponic fodder farming could contribute to climate mitigation objectives if complemented with effective energy and land use policies.

scholarly journals A harmonised systems-wide re-analysis of greenhouse gas emissions from sunflower oil production

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas D Alcock ◽  
David E Salt ◽  
Stephen J Ramsden
Keyword(s):  
Greenhouse Gas ◽  
Sunflower Oil ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Ghg Emissions ◽  
Oil Production ◽  
Life Cycle Inventory Data ◽  
Oil Crops ◽  
Fertiliser Use ◽  
Global Food

AbstractSunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) is the largest source of vegetable oil in Europe and the fourth largest globally. Intensive cultivation and post-harvest steps contribute to global food-systems’ greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. However, variation between production systems and reporting disparity have resulted in discordance in previous emissions estimates. To assess systems-wide GHG implications of meeting increasing edible oil demand using sunflower, we performed a unified re-analysis of primary life cycle inventory data, representing 995 farms in 11 countries, from a saturating search of published literature. Total GHG emissions varied from 1.1 to 4.2 kg CO2-equivalent per kg oil across systems, 62% of which originated from cultivation. Major emissions sources included diesel- and fertiliser-use, with irrigation electricity contributing most to between-systems variation. Our harmonised, cross-study re-analysis not only enabled robust comparisons and identification of mitigation opportunities across sunflower oil production systems, but also lays the groundwork for comparisons between alternative oil crops.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document