Modern food production is very diverse with high levels of specialisation and complexity. These features inevitably reflect on methods in the application of LCA to food products and agro-systems. System boundaries, functional units, allocation procedures and several other aspects contribute to there being substantial differentiation in the structure of LCA applications in fruit production systems, leading to significantly different results. Indeed, although scientific literature on the topic is recent and not particularly extensive, there are already many different ways of conducting LCAs in orchards. The aim of this paper is to propose a framework for selecting the best parameters for an LCA application in fruit production systems according to the objective of the study. This has been achieved by reviewing the scientific and technical literature on the topic. In particular papers from international journals and conference proceedings have been considered and the review has covered all main aspects for conducting an LCA in fruit production systems. The particular characteristics considered were objectives, system boundaries, the product considered, the functional unit, data origin and the environmental impact assessment method used. A substantial part of the paper is devoted to the modelling of the orchard, as this is key to a reliable application of any impact assessment approach. Rather than merely describing the theoretical model, this paper presents concrete recommendations about how to build the orchard system for LCA application avoiding over or under-estimations of the different orchard stages.

LCA application in the fruit sector: State of the art and recommendations for environmental declarations of fruit products

CERUTTI, ALESSANDRO KIM;BECCARO, GABRIELE LORIS;DONNO, DARIO;BOUNOUS, Giancarlo
2014-01-01

Abstract

Modern food production is very diverse with high levels of specialisation and complexity. These features inevitably reflect on methods in the application of LCA to food products and agro-systems. System boundaries, functional units, allocation procedures and several other aspects contribute to there being substantial differentiation in the structure of LCA applications in fruit production systems, leading to significantly different results. Indeed, although scientific literature on the topic is recent and not particularly extensive, there are already many different ways of conducting LCAs in orchards. The aim of this paper is to propose a framework for selecting the best parameters for an LCA application in fruit production systems according to the objective of the study. This has been achieved by reviewing the scientific and technical literature on the topic. In particular papers from international journals and conference proceedings have been considered and the review has covered all main aspects for conducting an LCA in fruit production systems. The particular characteristics considered were objectives, system boundaries, the product considered, the functional unit, data origin and the environmental impact assessment method used. A substantial part of the paper is devoted to the modelling of the orchard, as this is key to a reliable application of any impact assessment approach. Rather than merely describing the theoretical model, this paper presents concrete recommendations about how to build the orchard system for LCA application avoiding over or under-estimations of the different orchard stages.
2014
Inglese
Esperti anonimi
73
125
135
11
DANIMARCA
1 – prodotto con file in versione Open Access (allegherò il file al passo 6 - Carica)
262
7
Cerutti A.K.; Beccaro G.L.; Bruun S.; Bosco S.; Donno D.; Notarnicola B.; Bounous G.
info:eu-repo/semantics/article
partially_open
03-CONTRIBUTO IN RIVISTA::03A-Articolo su Rivista
File in questo prodotto:
File Dimensione Formato  
Journal of Cleaner Production_3.pdf

Accesso riservato

Tipo di file: PDF EDITORIALE
Dimensione 934.41 kB
Formato Adobe PDF
934.41 kB Adobe PDF   Visualizza/Apri   Richiedi una copia
Cerutti_6.pdf

Open Access dal 02/10/2015

Tipo di file: POSTPRINT (VERSIONE FINALE DELL’AUTORE)
Dimensione 728.97 kB
Formato Adobe PDF
728.97 kB Adobe PDF Visualizza/Apri

I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.

Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/2318/138813
Citazioni
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.pmc??? ND
  • Scopus 160
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.isi??? 149
social impact