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PARALLEL SESSION 4A: CARBON FOOTPRINT 8 th Int. Conference on LCA in the
Agri-Food Sector, 1-4 Oct 2012
Application of PAS 2050-1 supplementary requirements for
horticultural products: carbon footprint of pumpkin and asparagus
Michael Blanke * , Florian Schaefer
INRES - University of Bonn, Auf dem Hügel 6, D-53121 Bonn, Germany
* Corresponding author. E-mail: mmblanke@uni-bonn.de
ABSTRACT
This contribution provides information on the new PAS 2050-1 supplementary requirements (formerly ‘Product Category Rules –
PCRs) for horticultural products released in March 2012. This is one of the first supplementary requirements and may be used as a
guideline for industries other than horticulture such as the food industry. The data presented originate from one of the five international
pilot projects. In the German application trial, asparagus, strawberry, rhubarb and pumpkin were employed. The new PAS
2050-1 includes recommendations for a "cradle to gate" or "business to business" approach. It provides an Excel tool for both land
use change (LUC) and the nitrogen balance within a crop rotation. Examples will be given for issues to be excluded such as Capital
goods or included such as biogenic carbon of the horticultural product. The objective of this contribution was to determine experiences
(pro and cons) of the implementation of these new supplementary requirements (‘SRs’) for horticultural products to the PAS
2050: 2011 as part of this pilot study, while calculating the carbon footprint for the four crops, including autumn pumpkin and asparagus
in Germany.
Three pumpkin farms with different pumpkin cultivation were chosen: a) a small scale organic (50 kg N/ha), b) a small scale integrated
production (IP) (120 kg N/ha), and c) a large scale business enterprise (70 kg N/ha). Area viz. hectare was chosen as the first
and mass i.e. kg saleable product as the second functional unit. System boundaries ranged from plantlet or seed acquisition to sale.
The carbon footprint at the cultivation level (FCF) ranged between 157 kg CO2eq/ha (organic) and 251 kg CO2eq/ha (small scale
(IP)). Taking the yield into account the mass specific Carbon Footprint was from 8 g CO2eq/kg saleable pumpkin to 20 g CO2eq/kg
saleable pumpkin. The nitrous oxide emissions, which originated from the nitrogen fertilisation, were calculated based on 0.7% N2O
per kg applied N. They were the most relevant source of GHG emissions in the cultivation phase. Neither the form (organic or inorganic)
nor the amount of applied nitrogen (2.5-fold difference) influenced the carbon footprint. However, carbon reduction potentials
include use of nitrification inhibitors such as DMPP and DCD, which reduce the nitrous oxide emissions by ca. 47 or 40%, respectively,
or the CULTAN fertilisation system. Plant protection (methiocarb in the IP) contributed less than 1% to the carbon footprint.
The large specialised farm showed the best carbon footprint of 8 g CO2eq/kg pumpkin due to the use of potassium fertiliser and 3fold
larger yields (18 t/ha versus 5.8 t/ha in the organic) and, to a lesser extent, its sheer scale. On the other two farms, cultivation is
more extensive with the main income not from pumpkin; any increase in farm size or their pumpkin acreage would not improve their
efficacy and cradle-to-gate carbon footprint.
The farm carbon footprint of asparagus (FCF), also corrected for biogenic carbon (0.198 t CO2-e/ha/a), was 2.8 t CO2-e/ha. The
product carbon footprint for asparagus (PCF – B2C), calculated over an 11-year life-span of the orchard in Germany including the
first unproductive years, was 801 g CO2eq/kg saleable asparagus.
In conclusion, the present application trial led to 3-17% less product carbon footprints (PCF) due to the offset of the biogenic carbon
in the harvested produce and confirmed the benefits and suitability of PAS 2050-1 for the horticultural industry.
Keywords: carbon footprint, PAS 2050-1, horticultural products, application trial, land use change (LUC)
1. Introduction
The PAS 2050-1 ‘Assessment of life cycle greenhouse gas emissions from horticultural products‘ was
developed as one of the first product category rules (PCR) and for the agri-food sector. Other sectors may
develop their own PCRs and use or modify the PAS 2050-1 in full or in part. The authors were part of the
steering group for the development of this PAS 2050-1 and hosted one out of five pilot projects for its potential
implementation in horticulture (Table1). This included pumpkin, asparagus, rhubarb and strawberry in
Germany (BSI, 2012).
Table 1. Pilot projects for the PAS 2050-1 (horticulture) during winter 2011/2012
Pilot project institution Country Crop
Food Research New Zealand Kiwi (open cultivation)
Karen Fisher Great Britain Orange juice (product)
IRTA , Lleida Spain Protected apple under hailnet
Productshap Tuinbouw, Gouda Netherlands Greenhouse vegetables and flowers, nursery trees and container plants
University of Bonn, INRES –
Horticultural Science
Germany Pumpkin, rhubarb, asparagus, strawberry (all field production)
2. Materials and Methods
2.1 Features of PAS 2050-1 (March, 2012)
The PAS 2050-1 is now designated as ‘Supplemental Requirements’ (SR) to PAS 2050 rather than as
‘PCR- Product Category Rule(s)’. It is the first, freely and publicly available guideline for all horticultural
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