Absolute Sustainability‐Based Life Cycle Assessment (ASLCA): A Benchmarking Approach to Operate Agri‐food Systems within the 2°C Global Carbon Budget

Abstract

Given the increasing environmental impacts associated with global agri-food systems, operating and developing these systems within the so-called absolute environmental boundaries has become crucial, and hence the absolute environmental sustainability concept is particularly relevant. This study introduces an approach called absolute sustainability-based life cycle assessment (ASLCA) that informs the climate impacts of an agri-food system (on any economic level) in absolute terms. First, a global carbon budget was calculated that is sufficient to limit global warming to below 2°C. Next, a share of the carbon budget available to the global agri-food sector was estimated, and then it was shared between agri-food systems on multiple economic levels using four alternative methods. Third, the climate impacts of those systems were calculated using life cycle assessment methodology and were benchmarked against those carbon budget shares. This approach was used to assess a number of New Zealand agri-food systems (agri-food sector, horticulture industries and products) to investigate how these systems operated relative to their carbon budget shares. The results showed that, in 2013, the New Zealand agri-food systems were within their carbon budget shares for one of the four methods, and illustrated the scale of change required for agri-food systems to perform within their carbon budget shares. This method can potentially be extended to consider other environmental impacts with global boundaries; however, further development of the ASLCA is necessary to account for other environmental impacts whose boundaries are only meaningful when defined at a regional or local level. Keywords:absolute environmental sustainability agri-food carbon budget climate change industrial ecology life cycle assessment Supporting information is linked to this article on the JIE website

Environmental sustainability of European production and consumption assessed against planetary boundaries

“…In fact, food gained major interest in the current literature asa key driver of environmental impacts (e.g. Springmann et al, 2018 ; Chandrakumar et al, 2019 ). At global level, the food system represented the main driver of climate change, land use, and impacts on terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, e.g.…”

Absolute environmental sustainability assessment of a Danish utility company relative to the Planetary Boundaries

“…This has led to the development of absolute environmental sustainability assessments (AESAs), where, environmental impacts, quantified using LCA, are related to absolute environmental boundaries, such as the PBs. AESA is an emerging field of environmental sustainability assessments (Bjørn et al., 2020) and only a few practical case studies exist (e.g., Algunaibet et al., 2019; Brejnrod, Kalbar, Petersen, & Birkved, 2017; Chandrakumar, McLaren, Jayamaha, & Ramilan, 2019; Ryberg et al., 2018; Wolff, Gondran, & Brodhag, 2017). Nevertheless, results of AESAs offer important added value about the sustainability of the assessed activities relative to absolute environmental boundaries.…”

Towards better circular economy and life cycle assessment through systems thinking and examining the interrelationships among sustainability, food systems and diet

“…The UN has reported that, by 2050, in order to meet the food demand of a projected global population of 9.6 billion, global food production will need to increase by 70 per cent (UN 2013). However, studies have pointed out that, on the global scale, the current food production system is transgressing the environmentally safe operating boundaries in terms of nitrogen use, phosphorus use, biodiversity and land use, and is compromising the global capacity of producing sufficient and nutritious food for the growing population (Willett et al 2019;Springmann et al 2018;Chandrakumar et al 2019;EU 2015;Steffen et al 2015;Rockström et al 2009;Bjørn et al 2020;Poore & Nemecek 2018 halved, and food losses along production and supply chains need to be reduced (UNGA 2015). Also, Goals 14 and 15 are related to our study in terms of calling for sustainable use of terrestrial and marine resources (UNGA 2015).…”

“…As mentioned in the previous section that covers the research rationale, this thesis has demonstrated its major significance in the following aspects: First, this study helps by promoting research methods that could more accurately analyse the energy and material inputs and outputs and environmental impacts of the food systems, and thus helps societies to achieve environmental sustainability goals under the pressure of providing enough nutritiously balanced food for the growing population (Willett et al 2019;Springmann et al 2018;Chandrakumar et al 2019;Steffen et al 2015;Rockström et al 2009). Second, this study addresses the knowledge gap of the interrelationships among environmental sustainability, food systems and diet in the field of sustainability studies.…”

“…transgressions are compromising the global capacity of producing sufficient and nutritious food for the growing human population(Willett et al 2019;Springmann et al 2018;Poore & Nemecek 2018;Chandrakumar et al 2019;Bjørn et al 2020;Steffen et al 2015;Rockström et al 2009). The circumstance is projected to worsen as an increasing population is shifting to diets of higher consumptions of calories and protein than they need (IFPRI 2016).…”