LCA Food 2012 in Saint Malo, France! - Manifestations et colloques ...

PARALLEL SESSION 1C: ECODESIGN AND ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT 8 th Int. Conference on LCA in the
Agri-Food Sector, 1-4 Oct 2012
Table 2. Contributions to impact categories for: (2a) tomato crop in a multi-tunnel greenhouse, (2b) tomato
crop in a Venlo glass greenhouse and (2c) rose crop in a Venlo glass greenhouse. Values are impact category
indicators for the reference situation (Ref) and percentage variation versus the reference situation for each
case study (CS). Results are by functional unit, tonne tomato for tomato crops and 1000 stems for rose crop.
2a)
Auxiliary Climate control
Waste
Impact Total Structure equipment system Fertilisers Pesticides management
category
ADP,
Ref C Ref C Ref C Ref Ref C Ref C Ref C
kg Sb eq
AAP,
kg SO2
1.3E+00 -14 6.4E-01 -9 4.7E-01 -19 0.0E+00 1.5E-01 -24 1.8E-02 -18 1.1E-02 3
eq
EUP,
kg PO4
9.4E-01 -18 3.3E-01 -6 2.2E-01 -18 0.0E+00 3.7E-01 -30 1.2E-02 -18 5.5E-03 5
-3
eq
GWP,
kg CO2
5.0E-01 -37 1.3E-01 -2 8.3E-02 -18 0.0E+00 2.8E-01 -59 7.9E-03 -18 1.5E-03 4
eq
POP,
kg C2H4
2.0E+02 -17 7.5E+01 -6 6.2E+01 -18 0.0E+00 6.2E+01 -29 2.3E+00 -18 1.3E+00 0
eq
CED,
3.3E-02 -13 1.7E-02 -7 1.0E-02 -18 0.0E+00 4.1E-03 -27 8.7E-04 -18 2.0E-04 4
MJ 3.1E+03 -14 1.6E+03 -8 1.2E+03 -18 0.0E+00 3.0E+02 -24 4.4E+01 -18 2.5E+01 3
2b) 2c)
102
Total Climate control system
Impact categories Ref C Ref C
ADP, kg Sb eq 1.5E+01 -32 1.4E+01 -33
AAP, kg SO2 eq 3.3E+00 -24 2.6E+00 -29
EUP, kg PO4 -3 eq 8.5E-01 -18 7.0E-01 -22
GWP, kg CO2 eq 1.9E+03 -31 1.8E+03 -33
POP, kg C2H4 eq 2.1E-01 -29 2.0E-01 -32
CED, MJ 3.1E+04 -31 3.0E+04 -33
Total Structure
Impact category Ref C Ref C
ADP, kg Sb eq 1.3E+01 -4 6.0E-02 11
AAP, kg SO2 eq 5.9E+00 -4 5.7E-02 5
EUP, kg PO4 -3 eq 3.4E+00 -4 1.8E-02 16
GWP, kg CO2 eq 1.7E+03 -4 9.6E+00 8
POP, kg C2H4 eq 2.6E-01 -4 2.6E-03 4
CED, MJ 3.4E+04 -4 1.4E+02 14
4. Discussion
In this section we discuss the main results achieved in the study, the methodology used and the benefits
and drawbacks of the environmental calculator. Additionally, we propose several points that could be improved
with future research.
The main objective of this study was achieved with the development of an easy-to-use environmental
software tool to evaluate the environmental performance of protected horticultural production systems. We
consider this calculator to be a useful contribution for decision making for a mix of users involved in horticulture.
LCA was appropriate to evaluate the potential impacts of protected crops objectively and transparently.
The simplification of LCA in the design of this tool was done following international standards and guidelines
(ISO-14040, 2006 and ILCD, 2010) to justify the inclusion or exclusion of processes. As a result, the
tool includes a justified representation of the most significant processes in a greenhouse production system.
Users can easily simulate their crops and evaluate the effect on the environment of alternatives by reducing
inputs and improving waste management practices. The calculator provides approximate but good quality
results to compare different scenarios and follow the evolution of cleaner agricultural practices. Different
damage to the environment can be studied, as six midpoint impact categories were included. The analysis of
these very different structures, multi-tunnel and Venlo greenhouses, was adequately resolved by the development
of specific spreadsheets and formulas to calculate their structural materials.
Simplicity is one of the main advantages of this calculator, but it was also the cause of some limitations.
Many variables that affect agricultural systems could not be implemented in the calculator, such as geography,
climate, soil characteristics, water availability and management practices such as conventional and organic
farming. The regional variation of electricity production was not considered and consequently a more
precise calculation of emissions is not possible (Torrellas, submitted). Many of these issues could be solved
by including more spatial datasets or by designing open-source software. Fertiliser and pesticide results
could be more detailed and pesticide toxicity could be included. Therefore, the tool should be able to update
the characterisation models with more recent ones such as USEtox (Rosenbaum et al., 2008) and ReCiPe
(Goedkoop et al., 2009).