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

PARALLEL SESSION 7C: FOOD CHAIN AND FOOD WASTE 8 th Int. Conference on LCA in the
Agri-Food Sector, 1-4 Oct 2012
Kg CO 2- equivalents per kg product
1,6
1,4
1,2
1,0
0,8
0,6
0,4
0,2
0,0
500 ml cup 8*125 g pack Duo cup 195 g Drink bottle 300 g
Farm and dairy Packaging Distribution Retail food waste Packaging waste Total
Figure 3. Emission of GHG from 1 kg of yoghurt throughout its life cycle
4. Discussion
The case studies focus on global warming throughout the products' life cycle, the packaging system and
loss through product waste. The life cycles of both sliced cheese and a whole piece of cheese are used as
examples to show the issues of optimal packing. The largest difference between the two product systems is
the production of the packaging and consumer waste. Production of packaging for sliced cheese has about 5
times the global warming potential for that of cheese in a whole piece due to a higher packaging weight per
kg of cheese. The waste among consumers is significantly higher for the whole piece of cheese than sliced
cheese. In total, sliced cheese has a slightly lower impact on global warming compared with cheese in a
whole piece. This shows how the increased use of packaging materials can be compensated if the packaging
solution reduces product waste.
The result for yoghurt shows that the largest product unit has the lowest global warming potential. This
corresponds to another LCA study of yoghurt and its packaging solutions (Busser and Jungbluth, 2009). The
duo cup has lower global warming potential from the farm and dairy, as part of the product is muesli, which
in itself has a lower impact on global warming.
Reduction of waste is often the most important action in packaging optimisation. The study also shows
that packaging optimisation should be based on the packaging function, and focus on the entire value chain,
not just on the packaging itself. This case study is an example of how packaging can affect the amount of
food loss. It will not be possible to apply this as a generalisation for all product types, but it provides a good
documentation of how a new product and packaging system can, in some cases, reduce the impact on global
warming. It is important to use the results of further product development, but also to increase understanding
among consumers in order to reduce food waste.
5. Conclusion
The carbon footprint study shows the effects on global warming of products and packaging systems, focusing
on packaging and food waste. The results of the study support the existing research (Williams et al.,
2008 and Johansson, 2002) but are now made more robust by the use of specific data for product waste. A
packaging system with a larger packaging consumption can be justified with reduced global warming potential
if it avoids product waste. Reduction of waste is often the most important action in packaging optimisation.
6. References
Büsser, S., Jungbluth, N.,2009, The role of flexible packaging in the life cycle of coffee and butter. Presentasjon på 15th SETAC
Case Studies Symposium. www.esu-services.ch
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