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

GROUP 1, SESSION A: ANIMAL PRODUCTION SYSTEMS 8 th Int. Conference on LCA in the
Agri-Food Sector, 1-4 Oct 2012
35. Mainstreaming Life Cycle Management in the seafood sector:
using a sector based and regional approach in Northern France
Catherine Beutin 1,* , Jodie Bricout 2 , Naeem Adibi 2 , Christelle Demaretz 3
1 Aquimer competitivity cluster 16 rue du Commandant Charcot - 62200 Boulogne-sur-Mer, France, 2 cd2e –
Plateforme [avniR], Rue de Bourgogne, Base du 11/19 62750 Loos en Gohelle, France, 3 Direction de
l’environnement du Conseil Régional Nord-Pas de Calais, 141 rue Berthe Morisot, Lille, France, Corresponding
author. E-mail: catherine.beutin@poleaquimer.com
Whilst Life Cycle Management (LCM) is becoming commonplace in larger corporations, or forward thinking
governments, it is far from mainstream. To achieve sustainable production and consumption patterns,
LCM needs to be taken up by whole supply chains that include many small and medium enterprises. These
businesses typically lack the financial capacity or human resources to implement LC tools on their own, and
are wary of working with support organisations outside of their sector or local area.
The French competitively cluster Aquimer is piloting an innovative study to develop a strategic action plan
to integrate Life Cycle Approaches (including eco-design and product environmental labelling) into businesses,
education and research organisations in the seafood sector. Supported by the Nord Pas de Calais Regional
Council and the ADEME (French Environment and Energy Management Agency), the study for the
seafood sector is being undertaken in parallel with the textile, packaging and mechanical sectors.
The general process consists of four steps: benchmark, sector maturity assessment, needs identification, action
plan development and Implementation.
The benchmark identifies life cycle based initiatives and tools relevant to seafood sector, focussing on, but
not limited to North West Europe. The maturity of businesses, education bodies and research centres in the
region with in relation to LCM practices is undertaken via interviews with key stakeholders. Stakeholder
engagement is a key aspect of the needs identification and action plan development phases, not only to ensure
that the proposed LCM action plan “fits” the needs of the sector, but to create ownership for the implementation
phase.
The paper will also explain how we develop an inventory and a multi criteria matrix to measure the environmental
maturity level of the seafood industry considering a life cycle vision in Nord Pas de Calais based
on two main criteria: Maturity and willingness of key actors for life cycle assessment and eco-design.
This innovative approach to mainstreaming LCM leverages sectorial and regional networks to help overcome
barriers to implementation. From a business perspective, integration with existing professional organisations
means that SMEs access advice and tools through organisations that they already know and trust.
References
UNEP/SETAC. 2009. Life Cycle Management: How business uses it to decrease footprint, create opportunities
and make value chains more sustainable.
European Commission. 2003. COM Integrated Product Policy Building on Environmental Life-Cycle Thinking
Boeglin. 2011. L’expérimentation nationale de l’affichage des caractéristiques environnementales in Proceedings
LCA Conference 2011, 3-4 November Lille, France
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