Water Footprint and Life Cycle Assessment: The Complementary Strengths of Analyzing Global Freshwater Appropriation and Resulting Local Impacts

Agriculture and food manufacturing have a considerable effect on the environment emissions: holdings and farms play an important role about greenhouse gas emissions and water consumption. This study aims at evaluating the environmental impact of one of the most important Italian DOP product: organic Parmesan Cheese. Environmental performances of the whole dairy supply chain have been assessed according to the life cycle assessment approach (LCA). In this analysis Parmesan Cheese is made from an organic dairy farm in Emilia Romagna, which uses the milk from three different organic livestock productions. Organic agriculture is different from conventional; the major difference is represented by the avoidance of the use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides made in chemical industry process. Organic agriculture uses organic fertilizers to encourage the natural fertility of the soil respecting the environment and the agro-system. In this case, life cycle approach is used to assess the carbon footprint and the water footprint of organic Parmesan Cheese considering the milk and cheese production. The object at this level is investigating the environmental impact considering the situation before some improvement changes. The functional unit is represented by 1 kg of organic Parmesan Cheese; inventory data refer to the situation in year 2017 and system boundaries consider the inputs related to the cattle and dairy farm until the ripening (included). The carbon footprint is investigated using IPCC 2013 Global Warming Potential (GWP) 100a method, developed by Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, and reported in kg of CO2eq. Otherwise, water footprint allows to measure the water consumption and in this work it is assessed using AWARE method (Available Water REmaining).

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Water Footprint and Life Cycle Assessment as approaches to assess potential impacts of products on water consumption. Key learning points from pilot studies on tea and margarine

Journal of Cleaner Production ◽

10.1016/j.jclepro.2012.04.015 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 33 ◽

pp. 155-166 ◽

Cited By ~ 119

Author(s):

Donna Jefferies ◽

Ivan Muñoz ◽

Juliet Hodges ◽

Vanessa J. King ◽

Maite Aldaya ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Life Cycle Assessment ◽

Life Cycle ◽

Water Consumption ◽

Water Footprint ◽

Pilot Studies ◽

Learning Points

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Concrete Water Footprint Assessment Methodologies

Key Engineering Materials ◽

10.4028/www.scientific.net/kem.668.247 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 668 ◽

pp. 247-254 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Yazmin Lisbeth Mack ◽

Lidiane Santana Oliveira ◽

Vanderley Moacyr John

Keyword(s):

Life Cycle Assessment ◽

Life Cycle ◽

Environmental Impacts ◽

Water Consumption ◽

Assessment Tool ◽

Water Footprint ◽

High Water ◽

Iso 14044 ◽

Life Cycle Perspective ◽

Water Assessment

Concrete is the single most widely used material in the world and is only surpassed by water in terms of consumption. By 2013, 4 billion tonnes of Portland cement were produced worldwide, enough to produce about 32 billion tonnes of concrete, which represents more than 4.6 tonnes of concrete per person per year. The high water consumption and large amount of wastewater generated in the concrete industry has become a very important environmental issue. Due to the large global use of concrete, it is essential to correctly assess the environmental impacts of this material including impacts related to water consumption. Life cycle perspective is important because it allows identifying and reducing water related potential environmental impacts associated with products. In concrete life cycle assessment, these impacts are not considered mostly because of lack of data. There are several methodologies for water footprint assessment, as The Water Footprint Assessment Tool and the ISO 14046:2014 standard -that is based on life cycle assessment (ISO 14044)-, as well as sustainable reporting guidelines, which include water assessment for organizations. The aim of this paper is to evaluate existing water footprint methodologies based on life-cycle assessment, their concepts and difficulties, and link them to concrete industry. Out of at least eighteen existing water footprint methodologies, it was found that four of them are feasible for cement based materials industry, however there are differences between the definitions and criteria adopted by each methodology.

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Water footprint assessment of gold refining: Case study based on life cycle assessment

Ecological Indicators ◽

10.1016/j.ecolind.2020.107319 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 122 ◽

pp. 107319

Author(s):

Wei Chen ◽

Jinglan Hong ◽

Chengxin Wang ◽

Lu Sun ◽

Tianzuo Zhang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Life Cycle Assessment ◽

Life Cycle ◽

Water Footprint ◽

Gold Refining

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Impacts of River Water Consumption on Aquatic Biodiversity in Life Cycle Assessment—A Proposed Method, and a Case Study for Europe

Environmental Science & Technology ◽

10.1021/es4048686 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 48 (6) ◽

pp. 3236-3244 ◽

Cited By ~ 27

Author(s):

Danielle M. Tendall ◽

Stefanie Hellweg ◽

Stephan Pfister ◽

Mark A. J. Huijbregts ◽

Gérard Gaillard

Keyword(s):

Life Cycle Assessment ◽

Life Cycle ◽

River Water ◽

Water Consumption ◽

Aquatic Biodiversity

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Replying to “Questions and Concerns Re: Blue Water Footprints Reported in “Water Footprint of Meat Analogs: Selected Indicators According to Life Cycle Assessment””

Water ◽

10.3390/w12071972 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (7) ◽

pp. 1972

Author(s):

Ujué Fresán ◽

D.L. Marrin ◽

Maximino Alfredo Mejía ◽

Joan Sabaté

Keyword(s):

Life Cycle Assessment ◽

Life Cycle ◽

Scientific Literature ◽

Water Footprint ◽

High Volume ◽

Blue Water ◽

Specific Data ◽

Secondary Sources ◽

Original Manuscript

In 2019, we published a study focused on the quantification of several indicators related to the water footprint of meat analogs. Recently, a comment requesting clarification of specific data that were reported in our study was published. The present reply addresses their questions. We justified the high volume of water consumed in the production of the meat analogs’ ingredients, the observed differences between our data and those reported for other plant-based products and the information we had reported in our original manuscript that was obtained from secondary sources in the scientific literature. We anticipate that our responses address the questions that were raised.

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Life cycle water footprint assessment of concrete production in Northwest China

Water Policy ◽

10.2166/wp.2021.009 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Chao Ding ◽

Wenxiu Dong ◽

Ailin Zhang ◽

Zhenhua Wang ◽

Na Zhao ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Life Cycle ◽

Water Resources ◽

Water Consumption ◽

Product Life Cycle ◽

Water Footprint ◽

Comprehensive Evaluation ◽

Northwest China ◽

Stress Index ◽

Moderate Pressure ◽

Concrete Production

Abstract Concrete requires a large amount of water throughout the product life cycle. This study constructs a comprehensive evaluation model of the life cycle water footprint (LCWF) of concrete production. It calculates the LCWF of concrete in Northwest China. The main conclusions are: (1) The vast water consumption of the concrete industry is closely related to VWF, which is the focus of LCWF assessment. The first three significant factors are WF of Coarse aggregate, Meals, and Cement. (2) the overproduction of cement is 15,731 × 104t, which results in the excessive consumption of water resources of 24,035 × 104m3. Excessive water consumption in the domestic cement trade is equivalent to an outflow of water resources. (3) The water stress index (WSI) of Northwest China is 0.67 (in Heavy pressure). The WSI of Qinghai (0.05) and Shaanxi (0.5) are in Mild pressure and Moderate pressure, respectively, while the WSI of Gansu is 0.67 (in Heavy pressure). It is worth noting that the WSI of Ningxia (9.01) and Xinjiang (1.28) are under Extreme pressure. The sustainable development of water resources in Northwest China is under heavy pressure, exacerbated by the growth of the concrete and cement industries.

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A Life Cycle Assessment of reprocessing face masks during the Covid-19 pandemic

10.21203/rs.3.rs-148523/v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Bart van Straten ◽

Sharina Ligtelijn ◽

Lieke Droog ◽

Esther Putman ◽

Jenny Dankelman ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Life Cycle Assessment ◽

Life Cycle ◽

Environmental Impact ◽

Water Consumption ◽

Circular Economy ◽

Financial Burden ◽

Monte Carlo Model ◽

Rejection Rate ◽

Medical Products ◽

Circular Design

Abstract Introduction/background: The COVID-19 pandemic has led to threatening shortages in the healthcare of medical products such as face masks. Due to this major impact on our healthcare society, an initiative was conducted between March and July 2020 for reprocessing face masks from 19 different hospitals. This exceptional opportunity was used to study the cost impact and the effects of the CO2 footprint of reprocessed face masks relative to new disposable face masks.Aim: The aim of this study is to conduct a life cycle assessment (LCA) to assess and compare the environmental impact of disposed versus reprocessed face masks.Methods: In total, 18,166 high-quality medical FFP2 face masks were reprocessed through steam sterilization between March and July 2020. CO2 emissions equivalent (kg CO2 eq) and other impact categories, such as water consumption during production, transport, sterilisation and end-of-life processes, were assessed. A Monte Carlo model was used to predict the sensitivity of different factors in the whole process on the kg CO2 eq.Results: The average kg CO2 eq appears to be 42% lower for reprocessed face masks based on a rejection rate of 20% than new ones. The sensitivity analysis indicated that the loading capacity of the autoclave and rejection rate of face masks have a large influence on kg CO2 eq. The estimated cost price of a reprocessed mask was €1,40 against €1.55.Discussion: The life cycle assessment (LCA) demonstrates that reprocessed FFP2 face masks from a circular economy perspective have a lower environmental impact on kg CO2 eq and water usage than new face masks. For policymakers, it is important to realize that the CO2 footprint of medical products such as face masks may be reduced by means of circular economy strategies.Conclusion: This study demonstrated a lower environmental impact and financial burden for reprocessed medical face masks than for new face masks without compromising qualifications. Therefore, this study may serve as an inspiration for investigating the reprocessing of other medical products that may become scarce. Finally, this study advocates that circular design engineering principles should be taken into account when designing medical devices. This may lead to more sustainable products that require less CO2, have less water consumption and lower costs.

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Life Cycle Assessment of Water in Sport Equine Production in Argentina: A Case Study

Agriculture ◽

10.3390/agriculture11111084 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (11) ◽

pp. 1084

Author(s):

Mariana M. Vaccaro ◽

Alberto García-Liñeiro ◽

Alicia Fernández-Cirelli ◽

Alejandra V. Volpedo

Keyword(s):

Life Cycle Assessment ◽

Life Cycle ◽

High Performance ◽

Water Footprint ◽

Assessment Method ◽

Life Cycle Approach ◽

Quality Of Water ◽

Place Of Origin ◽

Management Alternatives ◽

First Time

The application of life cycle assessment method (LCA) to animal production is a methodological option to assess the potential impact of products, services, or production processes in a comprehensive way as it considers both the quantity and quality of water in the life cycle approach. In this paper, the water footprint of jumping sport horses’ production has been determined using the LCA methodology for the first time ever. The results of this paper show that the production of medium- and high-performance sport horses uses a large amount of water. However, modifications to the diet (type and percentage of oils in the supplement, place of origin of feed, etc.) and in the management and destination of waste (animal box beds) can result in a reduction of the water requirement and the environmental impact of production. This type of studies should be developed in different farms in the future in order to give producers management alternatives that improve the sustainability of productions.

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Contribution of Life Cycle Knowledge towards Environmental Performance of ISO 14001 Certified Malaysian Companies: Analysis of ISO 14001 and Selected Life Cycle Management Tools

Pertanika Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities ◽

10.47836/pjssh.29.4.05 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 29 (4) ◽

pp. 2189-2205

Author(s):

Natasha Ashvinee Rajendran ◽

Quiena Lia Anak Jimi ◽

Amir Hamzah Sharaai

Keyword(s):

Life Cycle Assessment ◽

Life Cycle ◽

Environmental Performance ◽

Material Flow ◽

Water Footprint ◽

Life Cycle Management ◽

Iso 14001 ◽

Management Tools ◽

Flow Cycle ◽

Firm Owners

The ability to enhance environmental performance has emerged as a pivotal corporate strategy for businesses in Malaysia. While the ISO 14001:2015 has been promoted extensively by the Malaysian Department of Standards, its adoption remains low and at a slow pace. There is scarce research to demonstrate the linkage between environmental knowledge, the implementation of life cycle management tools and environmental performance. Therefore, the first aim of this study is to assess the different knowledge levels of respondents on ISO 14001:2015 and four assessment methodologies (i.e., Life Cycle Assessment, Carbon Footprint, Water Footprint, and Material Flow Cycle Accounting). The second aim is to determine whether these knowledge bases contribute to the firms’ environmental performance. A total of 157 ISO-certified firm owners responded to the self-administered questionnaires. A One-Way ANOVA test revealed a difference in knowledge levels, with Life Cycle Assessment having the highest score and Material Flow Cycle Accounting having the lowest. Multiple regression revealed ISO 14001, Material Flow Cycle Accounting, and Carbon Footprint knowledge to contribute to environmental performance significantly. Counterintuitively, Life Cycle Assessment and Water Footprint exerted no significance on environmental performance. Policy implications include information dissemination and training by governmental officials for firm owners and exposure to life cycle management tools.

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