| 1. |
- Brunklaus, Birgit, 1970-, et al.
(author)
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The value of assessing multiple perspectives and transdisciplinary approaches in the transition to a bio-based economy : The prospect for transforming mixed food waste into bio-based chemicals
- 2017
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In: Life Cycle Management Conference. - Luxemburg : Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST).
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In line with current political and industrial ambitions for a transition into a bio-based economy, food waste can be an alternative to agro- and forest-based resources. The amount of food waste generated every year is about 1.3 billion tons globally. The vast amounts cause problems related to climate change and resource depletion, as well as economic challenges related to waste disposal. These problems could be solved by transforming food waste into valuable products like bio-based chemicals. Succinic acid (SA) is one such chemical with high market potential in its bio-based version. It is already produced commercially based on cultivated biomass. Several initiatives also exist to examine the use of food waste as feedstock for SA production. Most of these initiatives are limited to homogenous industrial waste streams, but a research project in Sweden is looking also at mixed food waste (MFW) as an alternative feedstock.The purpose of this project is to evaluate the prospect for transforming mixed food waste into bio-based chemicals, such as SA. As the prospect depends on many factors, the examination is addressed with multiple perspectives: Technical and social system structures are explored, in addition to resource- and environmental implications. Several methods are thus involved in the different types of evaluations, such as the technical evaluation (including laboratory cultivation tests, and mechanical property testing), the social evaluation (including actors analysis, policy analysis, market analysis, and societal acceptance), the resources evaluation (including waste flow analysis and material flow analysis), and the environmental evaluation (including life cycle assessment of current and future valorization techniques for mixed food waste).The project uses a transdisciplinary approach and offers as such an arena where both research partners and industrial partners meet and discuss possible options for MFW-based SA production in Sweden. Here we present the results of one possible production route, where microbial production of SA from MFW in Sweden is used as a case study.Results of the case study show that even though, from a technical and resource system perspective, production seems possible, from a social system perspective it lacks institutional support and actor commitment and alignment for realizing development in Sweden. From an environmental and life cycle perspective, the framing of the question is decisive for the results: SA production from MFW is environmentally beneficial if compared with the SA production from corn, but from a pure waste handling perspective, it is environmentally better to produce biogas than SA from MFW.The findings thus indicate that different perspectives and different methods contribute with a useful holistic perspective to the evaluation. The case study is not providing a definite answer on whether the prospects for transforming MFW into bio-based chemicals are favorable or not, but gives a nuanced evaluation that offers a more firm foundation for decision than one perspective or method in isolation. The transdisciplinary approach can inform an arena of research and industrial partners with different perspectives to facilitate discussion and more well-informed decisions. The case clearly illustrates that an efficient and sustainable transition to a bio-based economy is supported by assessing multiple perspectives and applying a transdisciplinary approach.
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| 2. |
- Brunklaus, Birgit, 1970-, et al.
(author)
-
The value of transdisciplinary perspectives duringtransition to a bio-based economy : The prospect for converting mixed food wasteinto bio-based chemicals
- 2018
-
In: Designing Sustainable Technologies, Products andPolicies. - Cham : Spinger. - 9783319669809 - 9783319669816 ; , s. 327-335
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Book chapter (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Within the current political and industrial transition to a bio-basedeconomy, food waste can be an alternative resource for biobased chemicals. Thischapter describes a case study that evaluates the prospect for Swedish production ofbiobased chemicals such as succinic acid from food waste. The evaluation isaddressed from multiple systems perspectives. From a technical and resourcesystem perspective, the results of the case study show that production seems possible.However, from a social system perspective succinic acid production currentlylacks institutional support and actor commitment and alignment for realizingdevelopment in Sweden. From an environmental and life cycle perspective, thescoping of the analysis is decisive for the results. The study shows that multipleperspectives complement each other when seeking a nuanced evaluation of technicalinnovation and give insights for the intended value chain.
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| 3. |
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| 4. |
- Ahlgren, Serina, et al.
(author)
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Review of methodological choices in LCA of biorefinery systems - key issues and recommendations
- 2015
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In: Biofuels, Bioproducts and Biorefining. - : Wiley. - 1932-1031 .- 1932-104X. ; 9:5, s. 606-619
-
Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The current trend in biomass conversion technologies is toward more efficient utilization of biomass feedstock in multiproduct biorefineries. Many life-cycle assessment (LCA) studies of biorefinery systems have been performed but differ in how they use the LCA methodology. Based on a review of existing LCA standards and guidelines, this paper provides recommendations on how to handle key methodological issues when performing LCA studies of biorefinery systems. Six key issues were identified: (i) goal definition, (ii) functional unit, (iii) allocation of biorefinery outputs, (iv) allocation of biomass feedstock, (v) land use, and (vi) biogenic carbon and timing of emissions. Many of the standards and guidelines reviewed here provide only general methodological recommendations. Some make more specific methodological recommendations, but these often differ between standards. In this paper we present some clarifications (e.g. examples of research questions and suitable functional units) and methodological recommendations (e.g. on allocation).
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| 5. |
- Andersson, Petra, et al.
(author)
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DEROCA Project finished
- 2015
-
In: Brandposten. ; :53, s. 25-
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Journal article (pop. science, debate, etc.)
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| 6. |
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| 7. |
- Barletta, Ilaria Giovanna, 1988, et al.
(author)
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Prerequisites for a high-level framework to design sustainable plants in the e-waste supply chain
- 2015
-
In: Procedia CIRP. - : Elsevier BV. - 2212-8271. ; 29, s. 633-638
-
Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Currently few attempts to properly structure knowledge that specifically supports a fully sustainable e-waste treatment system design have been proposed in literature. As a result, this paper sets up the prerequisites for a high-level framework to design sustainable plants in the supply chain of e-waste. The framework addresses production and environmental engineers mainly. The methodology grows out of literature studies, research project’s outcomes and interviews with a group of sector experts. Stemming from this, a list of prerequisites was presented for the case study of an automated plant for e-waste sorting in order to design it while considering the triple-bottom-line of sustainability.
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| 8. |
- Baumann, Henrikke, 1964, et al.
(author)
-
The Usefulness of an Actor’s Perspective in LCA
- 2011
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In: Towards Life Cycle Sustainability Management. - Dordrecht : Springer Netherlands. - 9789400718982 ; , s. 73-83
-
Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This paper is an argumentation for adding an actor’s perspective to lifecycleassessment (LCA). The need for this perspective stems from a criticismabout the usefulness of LCA interpretation methods comparing the relativecontribution of life-cycle phases of a product. Our argumentation is based on fourpreviously published studies providing practical examples of how value chainactors’ influence may be considered in an LCA and the benefit of doing so.Manufacturing sector examples show how one company's influence can beillustrated in results and how it may relate all relevant emissions to its ownprocesses. The food sector study shows how to assess several value chain actors’individual improvement potential. The final example, taken from building sector,explore how to consider the fact that actors in one part of the value chain caninfluence other actors to improve.
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| 9. |
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| 10. |
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| 11. |
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| 12. |
- Berlin, Johanna, 1971, et al.
(author)
-
A life cycle based method to minimise environmental impact of dairy production through product sequencing
- 2007
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In: Journal of Cleaner Production. - : Elsevier BV. - 0959-6526. ; 15:4, s. 347-356
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The trend of increasing the number of dairy products for sale affects their environmental impact in a life cycle perspective. During dairy processing, the production schedule is affected by more frequent product changes, hence also cleaning operations. This causes more milk waste, use of cleaning agents and water. The amount of milk waste depends on the product change technique used, which is determined by the characteristics of the product. A method was designed to calculate the sequence, which, for a given set of yoghurt products, minimises milk waste. A heuristic method, based on the strive to minimise production waste combined with production rules, was worked out. To determine whether the heuristic solution gives the best possible sequence from an environmental perspective, an optimisation was also made. The analytical method used for optimisation was able to handle 21 products and verified the heuristic method for a waste minimised sequence up to that level. It is also highly probable that for sequences including a greater number of items waste can be minimised with the same heuristic method. A successful demonstration of the possibility to make a more complete environmental assessment was fulfilled by connecting the sequencing model to conventional life cycle assessment methodology.
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| 13. |
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| 14. |
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| 15. |
- Berlin, Johanna, 1971, et al.
(author)
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Environmental improvement actions by retailers
- 2013
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In: LCM 2013. ; , s. 4-
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- As retailers´ decisions give environmental consequences both upstream and downstream the value chain, there is need of a tool for valuation of decisions and actions. This project has further developed and tested an actor based LCA methodology for retailers in case studies of egg and pork. Retailers improvement actions has been change in storage practice as well as transport practise e.g. home delivery. The result showed no environmental difference in longer storage, while there is a high environmental potential in offering home delivery. The actor based LCA methodology gives retailers better knowledge of their own environmental actions in the life cycle, as well as gives ideas for collaboration along the chain.
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| 16. |
- Berlin, Johanna, 1971
(author)
-
Environmental Improvments of the Post-Farm Dairy Chain: Production Management by Systems Analysis Methods
- 2005
-
Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The production of dairy products is becoming more centralised at the same time as the number of different products is steadily increasing. In this thesis. the environmental impact of such ongoing development trends in the post-farm dairy chain was evaluated and improvements were suggested. Methods for production management and environmental systems analysis (life cycle assessment, material flow analysis and substance flow analysis) were combined and used in the evaluations. A first assessment of potential future developments in the dairy chain showed that the least preferable scenario from an environmental point of view was the one most similar to trends in the dairy chain of today. Subsequent investigations revealed the same result. Large dairy units with long distance transports lead to a higher environmental impact than small dairy units. On the other hand, small dairy units are those for which the environmental impact is affected the most by the rising variety of cultured products. The changed consumption patterns towards more cultured products and cheese, instead of milk, cause an increased environmental impact with regard to the cultured products, whereas for cheese no clear effect was found. To enable counteraction of negative environmental effects of increased product variety, a method to sequence the production of cultured dairy products with as little environmental impact as possible was developed. The method combines production management methods and environmental systems analysis. A heuristic solution to the sequencing problem was developed and, to the extent possible, validated with an optimisation. The method was used in a case study which revealed not only the importance of a waste minimised sequence but also that of a low production frequency. Life cycle assessment was combined with an actor analysis to examine the potential of the actors in the post-farm chain (dairy, retailer and consumer) to decrease the environmental impact of dairy products. Cutting down waste of product proved to be an effective way to reduce environmental consequences. Saving energy and improving transport patterns gave in general smaller reductions. Choosing organic products decreased most environmental categories at the expense of increased eutrophication.
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| 17. |
- Berlin, Johanna
(author)
-
Environmental life cycle assessment (LCA) of Swedish semi-hard cheese
- 2002
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In: International Dairy Journal. - 0958-6946 .- 1879-0143. ; 12:11, s. 939-953
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- An environmental life cycle assessment was performed to investigate the environmental consequences of the life cycle of Hushållsost, a semi-hard cheese. The assessment identified those activities that contribute most to the cheese's environmental impact throughout its life cycle from extraction of ingredients to waste management. Milk production at the farm was identified as having the greatest environmental impact, followed by cheesemaking at the dairy, retailing, and the production of plastic wrapping. The environmental impact could be reduced by minimising wastage of milk and cheese throughout the life cycle, without any effect on the quality of the product. Increasing the yield of cheese would also bring about substantial improvements as less milk would have to be produced on farms. © 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
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| 18. |
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| 19. |
- Berlin, Johanna, 1971
(author)
-
Environmental systems analysis of industrial dairy production
- 2004
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In: The Food 21 Symposium, Extended abstracts. - 9157666261 ; 2004:2, s. 150-154
-
Conference paper (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The offering of the number of milk products for sale has increased during recent years. In fact the dairy sector leads Europe in terms of innovative markets of the food sector, followed by ready made meals (1). This development is driven both by the industry and by customer demand. The milk produced at the farms has to be processed promptly into products at the dairy. Since changing the volume of milk production at a dairy farm is a slow process, it is not possible to adjust the amount of incoming milk to rapidly changing market requirements, nor can milk be stored for long periods of time. As the volume of incoming milk to the dairy cannot easily be adjusted, the mix of outgoing products is changed instead. A larger variety of products makes it easier to balance the outflow from the dairy with the inflow. In addition, increased dairy product diversity is driven by the industrys strive to create greater demand for its produce, and consumers demand for new types of products. At the same time environmental concern in society has grown strong. Increased product diversity potentially affects the life cycle environmental impact of dairy products in several different ways. Examples include the risk for increased waste of milk, both in dairies and in households, and consequently increased raw milk production. Another consequence with potential environmental implications is changed transportation patterns. This paper does not address all environmental changes of increased product diversity, but is focused on how adverse environmental effects may be counteracted at the dairy production unit level. The production scheduling then becomes a key activity, influencing a wide range of issues with environmental implications, such as waste of product, need for cleaning of production equipment and packaging waste. The aim of this study was to construct a model that can support dairy production units to schedule their production of multiple products with minimal environmental impact. Production of cultured products (yoghurt) was chosen as a case study.
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| 20. |
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| 21. |
- Berlin, Johanna, 1971, et al.
(author)
-
Metod för utvärdering av miljöåtgärder realiserbara genom styrmedel
- 2006
-
In: Styrmedelsanalys med livscykel- och innovationssystemperspektiv. Metod och fallstudier. Naturvårdsverkets rapport nr 2295, Stockholm. - Göteborg, Sverige : SIK Institutet för livsmedel och bioteknik.
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Book chapter (other academic/artistic)
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| 22. |
- Berlin, Johanna, 1971, et al.
(author)
-
Minimising environmental impact by sequencing cultured dairy products: two case studies
- 2008
-
In: Journal of Cleaner Production. - : Elsevier BV. - 0959-6526 .- 1879-1786. ; 16:4, s. 483-498
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The increased production of cultured milk products has environmental consequences. To counteract the environmental impact from the dairy industry, it is important to process the products in a sequence designed to minimise waste. In a previous study a model was constructed to minimise the waste caused by a sequence for a given set of products and to calculate the environmental impact of a waste minimised sequence. This study applies successfully the model in case studies at two dairies. The number of products to be sequenced varied: Dairy A had 34 products and Darry B had 16. The sequenced products were yoghurt, sour cream, cold sauce and creme fraiche, all with multiple flavours. The difference in number of products to be sequenced offered the opportunity to use both of the two model sequencing solutions: the heuristic and the optimised. The role of frequency of each product to be sequenced was investigated. Scenarios with differing frequencies were used in the case studies. The result showed clearly that the waste caused by a sequence decreased when product frequency was reduced. From a life cycle perspective, the environmental impact of processing cultured milk products can be greatly reduced by adopting sequences with fewer changes of product. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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| 23. |
- Berlin, Johanna, 1971, et al.
(author)
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Product Chain Actors’ Potential for Greening the Product Life Cycle The Case of the Swedish Postfarm Milk Chain
- 2008
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In: Journal of Industrial Ecology. - : Wiley. - 1530-9290 .- 1088-1980. ; 12:1, s. 95-110
-
Journal article (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The challenge in working with environmental improvementsis to select the action offering the most substantial progress.However, not all actions are open to all actors in a productchain. This study demonstrates how life cycle assessment(LCA) may be used with an actor perspective in the Swedishpostfarm milk chain. The potential measures were identified,applied by the dairy, retailer, and household, that gave themost environmental improvement in a life cycle perspective.Improved energy efficiency, more efficient transport patterns,reduced milk and product losses, and organic labeling wereinvestigated. Milk, yogurt and cheese were considered. AfterLCAs of the products were established, improvement potentialsof the actors were identified and quantified. The quantificationwas based mostly on literature studies but also onassumptions. Then the LCAs were recalculated to include theestimated improvement potential. To find the action with thegreatest potential, the environmental impacts of the modifiedand original LCAs were compared for each actor. No actionwas superior to any other from the dairy perspective, but reducedwastage lowered most impacts for all three products.For retailers, using less energy is the most efficient improvement.From the household perspective, reducing wastage givesunambiguously positive results. When households choose organicproducts, reductions in energy use and greenhouse gasesare even larger, but eutrophication increases. Overall, householdshave greatest potential for improvement while yogurt isthe product offering the most improvement potential.
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| 24. |
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| 25. |
- Brunklaus, Birgit, 1970, et al.
(author)
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Ecological food waste - comapring small and large food retailers
- 2013
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In: LCM 2013. ; , s. 4-
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Green efforts and collaboration in the food chain vary as well as how retailers handle ecological products. The ongoing study shows that small retailers care for their products and inform consumers specifically about each individual product: the season, the quality and how to handle each individual product, to reduce waste. Large retailers inform the consumer generally on products and how the retailer is handling waste e.g. food to needy. The question is: does the “caring” handling and communicating of ecological food products lead to less waste and environmental impacts? Further observational studies on waste and handling of food products at retailers will be made and combined with an environmental assessment, LCA. This new interdisciplinary methodology is called actor based LCA.
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| 26. |
- Brunklaus, Birgit, 1970, et al.
(author)
-
Extended actor based LCA – a method that include external actors
- 2015
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In: ISIE Industrial Ecology conference 2015.
-
Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The broader field of LCA, industrial ecology is dominated by a normative approach to the modelling of flows of energy and materials in the industrial system. To include social aspects have led researchers use an agent based modelling based on a micro perspective (Axtell et al 2002). A different approach is the descriptive approach to include actors. Examples for that can be found in the field of supply chain management, or in social shaping perspective based on Actor Network Theory, or in organisational perspective based on Actor Network Theory, more specifically the theory of action nets (Baumann 2004). Here we present a new actor based LCA method using a descriptive approach of the product chain. The recognition that LCA can help actors see the indirect consequences of their actions are long established. We have started to study the direct consequences of actors on organic milk and dairy products (Berlin et al 2008), and indirect consequences of actors in the building chain (Brunklaus et al 2010), and we continued to study the direct and indirect consequences of actors in organic food chains such as egg, pork, and cucumber. Here we also present an extension of the actor based LCA method to analyse actors external to the product chain, which include an analysis of agencies and policy actors, industrial organisations and market actors, as well as NGOs based on innovation analysis. An initial study combines a study on innovation analysis on organic milk (Jacobsson 2006) and actor based LCA on organic milk (Berlin et al 2008). With this combination we can explain agents and roles, and their effect on the product chain. We can analytically link internal and external actors to analyse barriers and opportunities in the product chain. Future studies will analyse each actor and effect in relation to LCA.
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| 27. |
- Brunklaus, Birgit, 1970, et al.
(author)
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Green products need green actor chains – The assessment of passive housing and organic food
- 2011
-
In: The Adlerbert Research Foundation Jubilee Conference 2011. ; , s. 19-
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Conference paper (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Sustainable development is interpreted in many ways by business and industry as over 30 definitions of corporatesocial responsibility shows, all including social, economic and environmental aspects. At the same time business unitsand products supply chains become multinational and environmental concerns are rising in industry, such as energy,climate change or waste reduction. The presented research here involves environmental aspects and business aspects inform of product chains and the overall research question is: How do organising product chains effect the environment?In other words: How green are product chains, especially of green products, such as passive housing or organic food.The question is answered within a concept and methods based on an interdisciplinary approach, combining LCA(engineering/natural science tool) and environmental management/organisation theory (social science) – Environmentalassessment of organising (EAO).A number of qualitative pre-studies and complete quantitative case studies based on this method have been usedin close contact to industrial actors in different sectors, including the building sector, the food sector, as well as themanufacturing sector, service sector, transport sector, and leisure.The study of food reveals the importance of industry and consumers, especially on reducing waste. The study ofgreen buildings reveal that passive housing are only green product when consumer choosing eco-labeled electricity. Theongoing study of green food chains indicates so far that the organising of short and local chains might not only reducetransport, but also reduce waste within the chain due to the caring handling of the product.The main conclusion of this interdisciplinary research shows that green products need green actor chains. Thestudies show that including actors in LCA helps to describe these green actor chains.
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| 28. |
- Brunklaus, Birgit, 1970, et al.
(author)
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Lean and green management along the food life cycle
- 2015
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In: Life Cycle Management LCM conference 2015.
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Conference paper (other academic/artistic)abstract
- As industries´ decisions give environmental consequences both upstream and downstream the value chain, there is need of a tool for valuation of decisions and actions. The lean concept is one of those actions that have been used for a long time by several industries, while green lean is a relatively new concept. The question is: How green is lean along the life cycle? In our research project we have developed an actor based LCA methodology for the food industry, and will evaluate the environmental consequences of applying the lean concept along the food life cycle in a case study of pork. This paper presents scenarios on lean farming, lean industry, and lean life cycle, as well as gives ideas for lean collaboration along the value chain.
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| 29. |
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| 30. |
- Brunklaus, Birgit, 1970, et al.
(author)
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The future of Swedish food waste : An environmental assessment of existing and prospective valorization techniques
- 2018
-
In: Journal of Cleaner Production. - : Elsevier BV. - 0959-6526 .- 1879-1786. ; 202, s. 1-10
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In Sweden, the current dominant valorization of food waste is the production of biogas. However, as current production has low profitability, other options are sought to find more valuable uses of food waste, e.g. as the feedstock for bio-based chemicals. One example is the use of food waste in the production of bio-based succinic acid. In this paper, a LCA study is presented in order to highlight whether biogas production or the production of succinic acid has the lowest environmental impact as valorization option for mixed food waste, and if mixed food waste could be an environmentally preferable feedstock to succinic acid production. The LCA study shows that the environmental results depend on the perspective. From a valorization perspective, food waste has the lowest environmental impact the biogas production. From a feedstock perspective, mixed food waste is an environmentally preferable feedstock to succinic acid production. Although many uncertainties exist because production processes are still being developed, it can be concluded that mixed food waste seems to be a promising feedstock for bio-based chemicals from an environmental point of view, and is of interest to be included in future assessments of bio-based chemicals for the emerging bio-economy. © 2018
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| 31. |
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| 32. |
- Brunklaus, Birgit, 1970-, et al.
(author)
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What can LCA learnfrom service design : User integration?
- 2017
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Conference paper (other academic/artistic)abstract
- In a sustainable society, the use of resources and climate issues needs to be reduced, and the introduction of services seems to be the solution in the new “service” economy. Similar to products, services are designed to fulfill costumer needs. However, customers are seldom involved in the design of products, while they are in the process of service design. Here we look at the leisure service sector to find method concepts for sustainable analysis (Berlin & Brunklaus 2016).So far, a literature study and LCA studies on services (Brunklaus 2016) like the opera and theatre (Algehed et al 2010), tourist (Brunklaus et al 2015), and film (Brunklaus et al 2015) has been performed using a producer and consumer perspective, which led to discussion about the reuse of scenes at the opera, and discussion about tourist packages and discussion about film production design. To get this even further, we have looked into the area of service design.The purpose of this project is to further develop the various LCA based methods (E-LCA, S-LCA, LCC) in order to integrate user into the design process. The questions are: What can the life cycle methodology learn from service design? What are the similarities and differences?The service design includes several parts: Prepare and define the problem, capture the service and user through ethograpichly oriented research tools, Understand the employee and the user, Improve the working process, and Renew the user function (SP service LABs 2016). The life cycle methodology includes also several parts: Goal and scope including the problem and the system of study, the Inventory includes the technical system and environmental or social or economic data, the Impact Assessment includes indicators, and the Interpretation includes technical solutions and hot spot analysis of various kinds (Bauman and Tillman 2004).The results show that the service design is developed close to the customer, including study visits and observation, which the life cycle methodology seems to lack. On the other hand the life cycle methodology gains in the well-structured goal and scope. In order to develop the life cycle methodology further we therefore recommend integrating the user more and focusing on the implementation and visualization, similar to Service design.
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| 33. |
-
Environmental Assessment and Management in the Food Industry : Life Cycle Assessment and Related Approaches
- 2010
-
Book (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Life cycle assessment (LCA) of production and processing in the food industry is an important tool for improving sustainability. Environmental assessment and management in the food industry reviews the advantages, challenges and different applications of LCA and related methods for environmental assessment, as well as key aspects of environmental management in this industry sector. Part one discusses the environmental impact of food production and processing, addressing issues such as nutrient management and water efficiency in agriculture. Chapters in Part two cover LCA methodology and challenges, with chapters focusing on different food industry sectors such as crop production, livestock and aquaculture. Part three addresses the applications of LCA and related approaches in the food industry, with chapters covering combining LCA with economic tools, ecodesign of food products and footprinting methods of assessment, among other topics. The final part of the book concentrates on environmental management in the food industry, including contributions on training, eco-labelling and establishing management systems. With its international team of editors and contributors, Environmental assessment and management in the food industry is an essential reference for anyone involved in environmental management in the food industry, and for those with an academic interest in sustainable food production. Reviews the advantages, challenges and different applications of LCA and related methods for environmental assessment. Discusses the environmental impact of food production and processing, addressing issues such as nutrient management and water efficiency in agriculture. Examines environmental management in the food industry, including contributions on training, eco-labelling and establishing management systems.
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| 34. |
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| 35. |
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| 36. |
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| 37. |
- Johansson, Björn, 1975, et al.
(author)
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Discrete Event Simulation with Lifecycle Assessment Data at a Juice Manufacturing System
- 2008
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In: 2008 5th International Conference on Simulation and Modelling in the Food and Bio-Industry, FOODSIM 2008; Dublin; Ireland; 26 June 2008 through 28 June 2008. ; , s. 165-169
-
Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In order to measure and evaluate productivity and environmental parameters simultaneously and in consideration to each other, they need to be presented on the same basis and put up on the same table, at the same time. Otherwise, while considering only parts of the relevant parameters at a time, there is a great risk for sub-optimisation. The study presented in this paper shows one way of putting productivity parameters such as batch size, batch frequency, production planning, and resource management on the same table as environmental parameters such as emissions, waste and energy consumption. This is done through the use of lifecycle assessment in combination with discrete event simulation. The result gives an example of a sound basis for decision-making when changes are to be made in the juice production system at hand. The presented case study gives information on energy consumption, waste and pollutants such as CO2, NOx, SO2, and ethene generated from production of juice. Results show that some changes of the system improves both environment and productivity, others improves one and worsens the other!
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| 38. |
- Keskitalo, E. Carina H., 1974-, et al.
(author)
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Adaptation to Climate Change in Swedish Forestry
- 2016
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In: Forests. - Basel : MDPI AG. - 1999-4907. ; 7:2
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Adaptation to climate change in forestry has become a growing concern, in part due to the impact of storms and other events that have raised the awareness of such risks amongst forest owners. Sweden is one of Europe's most densely-forested countries, with this sector playing a major role economically. However adaptation has, to a large extent, been limited to the provision of recommendations to forest managers, most of which have only been partially implemented. This paper summarizes research with direct implications for adaptation to climate change within the forestry sector in Sweden. The focus is based in particular on providing examples of adaptations that illustrate the specific Swedish orientation to adaptation, in line with its relatively intensive forest management system. The paper thus illustrates a specific Swedish orientation to adaptation through active management, which can be contrasted with approaches to adaptation in other forestry systems, in particular those with limited management or management based on maintaining natural forests in particular.
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| 39. |
- Peñaloza, Diego, et al.
(author)
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Future scenarios for climate mitigation of new construction in Sweden : Effects of different technological pathways
- 2018
-
In: Journal of Cleaner Production. - : Elsevier BV. - 0959-6526 .- 1879-1786. ; 187, s. 1025-1035
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- A variety of climate mitigation strategies is available to mitigate climate impacts of buildings. Several studies evaluating the effectiveness of these strategies have been performed at the building stock level, but do not consider the technological change in building material manufacturing. The objective of this study is to evaluate the climate mitigation effects of increasing the use of biobased materials in the construction of new residential dwellings in Sweden under future scenarios related to technological change. A model to estimate the climate impact from Swedish new dwellings has been proposed combining official statistics and life cycle assessment data of seven different dwelling typologies. Eight future scenarios for increased use of harvested wood products are explored under different pathways for changes in the market share of typologies and in energy generation. The results show that an increased use of harvested wood products results in lower climate impacts in all scenarios evaluated, but reductions decrease if the use of low-impact concrete expands more rapidly or under optimistic energy scenarios. Results are highly sensitive to the choice of climate impact metric. The Swedish construction sector can only reach maximum climate change mitigation scenarios if the low-impact building typologies are implemented together and rapidly.
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| 40. |
- Peñaloza, Diego, 1981-
(author)
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The role of biobased building materials in the climate impacts of construction : Effects of increased use of biobased materials in the Swedish building sector
- 2017
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- A significant share of the global climate change impacts can be attributed to the construction sector. One mitigation strategy is increasing the use of biobased materials. Life cycle assessment (LCA) has been used to demonstrate the benefits of this, but forest complexities create uncertainty due to omission of key aspects. The aim of this thesis is to enhance understanding of the effects of increasing use of biobased materials in climate change mitigation of construction works with a life cycle perspective. Non-traditional LCA methodology aspects were identified and the climate impact effects of increasing the use of biobased materials while accounting for these was studied. The method applied was dynamic LCA combined with forest carbon data under multi-approach scenarios. Diverse case studies (a building, a small road bridge and the Swedish building stock) were used. Most scenarios result in impact reductions from increasing the use of biobased materials in construction. The inclusion of non-traditional aspects affected the results, but not this outcome. Results show that the climate mitigation potential is maximized by simultaneously implementing other strategies (such as increased use of low-impact concrete). Biobased building materials should not be generalised as climate neutral because it depends on case-sensitive factors. Some of these factors depend on the modelling of the forest system (timing of tree growth, spatial level approach, forest land use baseline) or LCA modelling parameters (choice of the time horizon, end-of-life assumptions, service life). To decrease uncertainty, it is recommended to use at least one metric that allows assessment of emissions based on their timing and to use long-term time horizons. Practitioners should clearly state if and how non-traditional aspects are handled, and study several methodological settings. Technological changes should be accounted for when studying long-term climate impacts of building stocks.
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| 41. |
- Redondo, Miguel Angel, et al.
(author)
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Host genotype interacts with aerial spore communities and influences the needle mycobiome of Norway spruce
- 2022
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In: Environmental Microbiology. - : Wiley. - 1462-2912 .- 1462-2920. ; 24, s. 3640-3654
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The factors shaping the composition of the tree mycobiome are still under investigation. We tested the effects of host genotype, site, host phenotypic traits, and air fungal spore communities on the assembly of the fungi inhabiting Norway spruce needles. We used Norway spruce clones and spore traps within the collection sites and characterized both needle and air mycobiome communities by high-throughput sequencing of the ITS2 region. The composition of the needle mycobiome differed between Norway spruce clones, and clones with high genetic similarity had a more similar mycobiome. The needle mycobiome also varied across sites and was associated with the composition of the local air mycobiome and climate. Phenotypic traits such as diameter at breast height or crown health influenced the needle mycobiome to a lesser extent than host genotype and air mycobiome. Altogether, our results suggest that the needle mycobiome is mainly driven by the host genotype in combination with the composition of the local air spore communities. Our work highlights the role of host intraspecific variation in shaping the mycobiome of trees and provides new insights on the ecological processes structuring fungal communities inhabiting woody plants.
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| 42. |
- Redondo, Miguel Angel, et al.
(author)
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Vegetation type determines spore deposition within a forest–agricultural mosaic landscape
- 2020
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In: FEMS Microbiology Ecology. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0168-6496 .- 1574-6941. ; 96
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Predicting fungal community assembly is partly limited by our understanding of the factors driving the composition of deposited spores. We studied the relative contribution of vegetation, geographical distance, seasonality and weather to fungal spore deposition across three vegetation types. Active and passive spore traps were established in agricultural fields, deciduous forests and coniferous forests across a geographic gradient of similar to 600 km. Active traps captured the spore community suspended in air, reflecting the potential deposition, whereas passive traps reflected realized deposition. Fungal species were identified by metabarcoding of the ITS2 region. The composition of spore communities captured by passive traps differed more between vegetation types than across regions separated by >100 km, indicating that vegetation type was the strongest driver of composition of deposited spores. By contrast, vegetation contributed less to potential deposition, which followed a seasonal pattern. Within the same site, the spore communities captured by active traps differed from those captured by passive traps. Realized deposition tended to be dominated by spores of species related to vegetation. Temperature was negatively correlated with the fungal species richness of both potential and realized deposition. Our results indicate that vegetation may be able to maintain similar fungal communities across distances, and likely be the driving factor of fungal spore deposition at landscape level.
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| 43. |
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| 44. |
- Røyne, Frida, et al.
(author)
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Climate impact assessment in life cycle assessments of forest products : Implications of method choice for results and decision-making
- 2016
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In: Journal of Cleaner Production. - : Elsevier. - 0959-6526 .- 1879-1786. ; 116, s. 90-99
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- As life cycle assessments are often conducted to provide decision support, it is important that impact assessment methodology is consistent with the intended decision context. The currently most used climate impact assessment metric, the global warming potential, and how it is applied in life cycle assessments, has for example been criticised for insufficiently accounting for carbon sequestration, carbon stored in long-lived products and timing of emission. The aim of this study is to evaluate how practitioners assess the climate impact of forest products and the implications of method choice for results and decision-making. To identify current common practices, we reviewed climate impact assessment practices in 101 life cycle assessments of forest products. We then applied identified common practices in case studies comparing the climate impact of a forest-based and a non-forest-based fuel and building, respectively, and compared the outcomes with outcomes of applying alternative, non-established practices. Results indicate that current common practices exclude most of the dynamic features of carbon uptake and storage as well as the climate impact from indirect land use change, aerosols and changed albedo. The case studies demonstrate that the inclusion of such aspects could influence results considerably, both positively and negatively. Ignoring aspects could thus have important implications for the decision support. The product life cycle stages with greatest climate impact reduction potential might not be identified, product comparisons might favour the less preferable product and policy instruments might support the development and use of inefficient climate impact reduction strategies.
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| 45. |
- Røyne, Frida, et al.
(author)
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Environmental Evaluation of Industry Cluster Strategies with a Life Cycle Perspective : Replacing Fossil Feedstock with Forest-Based Feedstock and Increasing Thermal Energy Integration
- 2018
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In: Journal of Industrial Ecology. - : Wiley. - 1088-1980 .- 1530-9290. ; 22:4, s. 694-705
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Symbiotic linkages in industry clusters in the form of interconnected materials, energy and information flows, and close proximity provide unique opportunities to develop efficient environmental strategies. The purpose of our study is to examine the practical potential of applying a life cycle approach in strategy evaluations, as the environmental impact caused by industrial symbiosis systems outside the company gates has been scarcely addressed. This is done by evaluating two strategies for an industry cluster in Sweden: (1) to replace a share of the fossil feedstock used in the industry cluster with forest-based feedstock and (2) to improve energy efficiency through thermal energy integration. The environmental impact reduction potential of the strategies is evaluated using life cycle assessment. The ratio between investment cost and reduced global warming potential is used as an indicator to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of the strategies. Results demonstrate the importance of applying a life cycle perspective as the assessment outcome depends heavily on whether only on-site consequences are assessed or if upstream and downstream processes are also included. 20% of the greenhouse gas emission reduction of the energy integration strategy occurs off-site, whereas the forest strategy has the largest reduction potential off-site, >80%.
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| 46. |
- Røyne, Frida, 1985-
(author)
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Exploring the relevance of uncertainty in the life cycle assessment of forest products
- 2016
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The role of forest biomass as a replacement for fossil fuels and products is becoming increasingly prominent as a means to mitigate climate change. To guide a sustainable transition towards a forest-based bio-economy, it is important that advantages and disadvantages of forest products are assessed, to ensure that the products deliver environmental impact reduction. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) has become heavily relied upon for assessing the environmental impact of bio-based products. However, LCAs of similar product systems can lead to results that differ considerably, and the method is, thus, associated with uncertainties. It is, therefore, necessary to explore the relevance of uncertainties, to build knowledge about enablers and challenges in using LCA for assessing forest products.Three important challenges in the context of uncertainty in LCA are the focus of this thesis: 1) system boundaries, 2) climate impact assessment practice, and 3) allocation. More specifically, the relevance of a) including and excluding life cycle phases, b) potentially important climate aspects, and c) applying different allocation methods, was assessed. Case studies involved a chemical industry cluster, a biorefinery, and single product value chains for a plastic box, a fuel, and a building.In summary, the thesis demonstrates that:A major share of the environmental impact related to the production of an industry cluster can occur outside the cluster gates, so when strategies involving a transition to forest biomass feedstock are developed and evaluated, a life cycle perspective reveals the full environmental impact reduction potential.For bio-based products differing in functional properties from the fossil products they are meant to replace, material deterioration in the use phase can contribute substantially to overall environmental performance. This is acknowledged if all life cycle phases are regarded.As climate aspects commonly not assessed in forest product LCAs could influence results greatly, and even affect the outcome of comparisons between forest and non-forest products, the climate impact of forest products is uncertain. It is, therefore, important that this uncertainty is acknowledged and communicated, and that appropriate methods and guidelines are developed.The choice of allocation method in the LCA of biorefinery products can have a major influence on results, especially for physically non-dominant products and in consequential studies. In these cases, scenario analysis is especially valuable to show the possible range of results.LCA provides useful guidance for forest product development and production as the life cycle approach reveals causes of environmental impact throughout the product value chain. Proper identification, estimation, and management of uncertainties strengthen the provision of reliable decision support.
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| 47. |
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| 48. |
- Røyne, Frida, et al.
(author)
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Life cycle perspective in environmental strategy development on the industry cluster level : A case study of five chemical companies
- 2015
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In: Journal of Cleaner Production. - : Elsevier BV. - 0959-6526 .- 1879-1786. ; 86, s. 125-131
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The scale of industry clusters and their significant environmental impact make addressing environmental strategies on the cluster level an intriguing task. Although several studies indicate that upstream processes contribute significantly to the total environmental impact of the system, few studies assess how environmental strategy development can be approached from a life cycle perspective. The aim of this paper was to investigate the practical significance of life cycle-based environmental strategy development using a chemical industry cluster in Sweden as the case study. To assess the environmental impact, a cradle-to-gate life cycle assessment (LCA) was chosen as the method, with the total annual production of the cluster in 2011 as the functional unit. To cover the whole value chain, the global warming potential for downstream processes was also estimated. The findings were linked to the cluster vision, which aims to reduce environmental impact by 2030. The results indicate that the cluster must focus on the whole value chain when pursuing the aim of producing sustainable products as environmental impact both upstream and downstream of the cluster accounts for a larger share than on-site processes. The assessment also enables distribution of environmental impact among incoming material streams, thus providing the cluster with decision support when introducing renewable and recycled materials. Additionally, the assessment supports strategy comparison and serves as a base case against which strategy opportunities can be evaluated. This study demonstrates that the life cycle approach has interesting potential to support industry cluster companies in their mutual effort to improve environmental performance.
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| 49. |
- Røyne, Frida, et al.
(author)
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The importance of including service life in the climate impact comparison of bioplastics and fossil-based plastics
- 2018
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Reports (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Bioplastics are gaining attention as a means of reducing fossil resource dependence. Most bioplastics differ from fossil-based plastics in molecular structure, and therefore in terms of properties and durability. Still, the life cycle environmental performance of bioplastics has attracted limited attention in research. The purpose of this study is therefore to examine the importance of applying a life cycle perspective and identify key considerations in the environmental evaluation of bioplastics and bioplastic products under development.The climate impact of the life cycle of an engine component storage box currently made of the fossil-based plastic acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) is compared to a hypothetical case study, based on laboratory observations, of the same box produced from a blend of polycarbonate and the bioplastic polylactic acid (PC/PLA) and a box made of biopolyamide (PA1010). The comparison is conducted with a cradle-to-grave attributional life cycle assessment. The functional unit of the study is five years of service life, which reflects the required function of the storage box.Whereas the climate impact of the production of the different plastic materials differ only slightly, the PC/PLA engine component storage box was found to have a significantly higher climate impact that the ABS and PA1010 boxes when the whole life cycle is taken into account. The dominant contributor to climate impact is premature material deterioration due to humidity and heat during service life, which prevents the product from fulfilling the required function. Two other influential aspects are the possibility of material reuse and the share of fossil or biogenic carbon in the product. Production of plastic materials and boxes, and transport distances, are of less importance.Results demonstrate the high significance of including service life and potential material deterioration when bioplastics and fossil-based plastics are compared. Our findings underline the importance of applying a life cycle perspective and taking into account the intended application and function of bioplastics as part of their development and environmental assessment.
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| 50. |
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