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

KEYNOTE SESSION 8 th Int. Conference on LCA in the
Agri-Food Sector, 1-4 Oct 2012
ENVIFOOD Protocol: launch of the collectively-agreed sectorial
methodology for assessing the environmental performance of food and
drink products in Europe
Camillo De Camillis 1,* , Jean-Christophe Bligny 2 , David Pennington 1 , Balázs Pályi 3 , Christian Bauer 4 , Urs
Schenker 5 , Henry King 6 , Lars Lundquist 5 , Nicolas Martin 7 , Nicole Unger 6 , Laura Draucker 8 , Øyvind Vessia 9 ,
Coen Blomsma 10 , Nathan Pelletier 1 , Hans Blonk 11 , Rudi Sueys 12 , Anna Papagrigoraki 13 , Pascal Gréverath 14 ,
Herbert Aichinger 15 , Jean-Pierre Rennaud 16
1 European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC), Institute for Environment and Sustainability (IES), via Enrico Fermi 2749,
21027 Ispra (Va), Italy
2 Danone, 11 Avenue Géneral Dupas, 74500 Evian, France
3 FoodDrinkEurope, Avenue des Arts 43, 1040 Brussels, Belgium
4 SIG Combibloc, Rurstrasse 58, 52441 Linnich, Germany
5 Nestec Ltd, Nestlé Research Center, Vers-chez-les-Blanc, 1000 Lausanne 26, Switzerland
6 Unilever Safety and Environmental Assurance Centre, Colworth Park, Sharnbrook, MK44 1LQ Bedford, UK
7 FEFAC, Rue de la Loi, 223, Bte 2 B-1040 Bruxelles, Belgium
8 World Resources Institute (WRI), 10 G St. NE, Suite 800, 20002 Washington, DC, USA
9 European Commission, DG Energy, BRU-DM24 04/109, 1040 Brussels, Belgium
10 FEDIOL, Avenue de Tervuren 168, 1150 Bruxelles, Belgium
11 Blonk Milieu Advies, Gravin Beatrixstraat 34, 2805 PJ Gouda, The Netherlands
12 Coca-Cola Europe, Bergense Steenweg 1424, 1070 Brussels, Belgium
13 CEFS, Avenue de Tervuren 182, B-1150 Brussels, Belgium
14 Nestlé, Avenue Nestlé 55, 1800 Vevey, Switzerland
15 European Commission, DG Environment, Avenue de Beaulieu 5, 1049 Brussels, Belgium
16 Danone Institute, Route Départementale 128, 91767 Palaiseau, France
Corresponding author. E-mail: camillo.de-camillis@jrc.ec.europa.eu
The views expressed in this paper are personal and do not necessarily reflect an official position of the European Commission.
ABSTRACT
Lack of consistency in both the substance and application of methodologies and guidelines for assessing and communicating the
environmental performance of food and drink products has the potential to confuse consumers and other stakeholders involved in the
food and drink supply chains. Furthermore, it poses an unnecessary burden on those organisations requested to evaluate the environmental
performance of their product according to several different methodologies.
In order to address this issue, business associations and other food supply chain partners have involved the European Commission in
establishing the European Food Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP) Round Table. Since 2009, Round Table members
have been working together on a commonly-agreed and science-based framework for assessment and communication of the environmental
performance of food and beverage products in Europe. The first milestone was reached in 2010 when Round Table members
agreed on a set of principles to guide working groups in harmonizing relevant approaches for assessment and communication.
On this basis, the Round Table Working Group 1 reached agreement on key methodological aspects for environmental assessment at
a scientific workshop in 2010. A detailed analysis of relevant data, methodologies and guidelines for assessing the environmental
performance of foods and drinks was conducted following the 2010 workshop. This analysis identified aspects of Life Cycle Assessment
(LCA) practice where existing methodologies agree, as well as inconsistencies among existing approaches. A second workshop
was organized in 2011 to reach consensus on the outstanding inconsistencies. Remaining unresolved issues were further discussed
within Working Group 1, leading to the release of an advanced draft of what will be the future Round Table methodology for
environmental assessment named the ENVIFOOD Protocol. A public consultation scheduled during the last quarter of 2012 will be
followed by the publication of the ENVIFOOD Protocol in 2013. In conjunction with its publication, the ENVIFOOD Protocol will
be tested through a range of pilot studies and the feedback used for refining the guidance.
The ENVIFOOD Protocol provides guidance to support those environmental assessments of food and drink products in Europe
conducted in the context of:
Business-to-business as well as business-to-consumer communication (focus of the Round Table Working Group 2);
The identification of environmental improvement options (focus of the Round Table Working Group 3).
This paper gives a general overview of the process to arrive at the ENVIFOOD Protocol. The paper also illustrates possible next
steps of the Round Table Working Group 1. Round Table members are, in fact, discussing how to develop and adopt Product Category
Rules (PCR) in line with the ENVIFOOD Protocol. In parallel, Round Table members are also discussing how to obtain adequate
data for assessment and streamlined tools. The establishment of the ENVIFOOD Protocol and PCRs will allow the development
of user-friendly and affordable tools for assessment and communication of environmental impacts, thus reducing the burdens of
undertaking such assessments, in particular for SME’s.
Keywords: Round Table, sustainable consumption and production, harmonisation, assessment methodology, ENVIFOOD Protocol
1. Introduction
Members of the European Food Sustainable Consumption and Production Round Table (SCP Round Table)
are committed to helping consumers and other stakeholders make informed choices by providing them
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