In order to reduce GHG emissions, the Kyoto Protocol identifies several activities that are closely related to land use, included into the category called Agriculture, FOrestry and Land Uses (AFOLU). In this framework, a multidisciplinary study has been performed about the carbon footprint of extra virgin olive oil in Italy, aimed to promote process innovation by implementing eco-friendly techniques and technologies along a more sustainable production chain. Life Cycle Assessment approach was used to quantify the environmental impacts during the entire life cycle, starting from olive cultivation up to transformation processes and packaging. Each operation was monitored in terms of energy and materials flows; the collected data were normalized on the basis of 1 liter of olive oil, chosen as functional unit. Arboreal methodologies were applied to estimate the biomass and the respective carbon stocks in permanent and non-permanent components. Biological method of cultivation results in a lower carbon footprint if compared with the conventional one; therefore no-chemical fertilization and/or organic phytosanitary treatments were found as sustainable management options to decrease the environmental impact of olive oil. Added value of this study was coupling the resulting impacts with carbon sequestrations in order to: estimate the net balance between the CO2eq emissions and absorptions; identify the break-even point, after which the amount of sequestered carbon exceeds the energy investments linked to human activities. Moreover this study gives important contributions towards the preliminary assessment of potential benefits in terms of avoided CO2eq in agriculture.
ECO2LIO: carbon footprint of extra virgin olive oil for a sustainable production chain
PROIETTI, Stefania;SDRINGOLA, PAOLO;EVANGELISTI, NICOLA;REGNI, LUCA;BRUNORI, ANTONIO MARIA ENRICO;ILARIONI, LUANA;NASINI, Luigi;PROIETTI, Primo
2015
Abstract
In order to reduce GHG emissions, the Kyoto Protocol identifies several activities that are closely related to land use, included into the category called Agriculture, FOrestry and Land Uses (AFOLU). In this framework, a multidisciplinary study has been performed about the carbon footprint of extra virgin olive oil in Italy, aimed to promote process innovation by implementing eco-friendly techniques and technologies along a more sustainable production chain. Life Cycle Assessment approach was used to quantify the environmental impacts during the entire life cycle, starting from olive cultivation up to transformation processes and packaging. Each operation was monitored in terms of energy and materials flows; the collected data were normalized on the basis of 1 liter of olive oil, chosen as functional unit. Arboreal methodologies were applied to estimate the biomass and the respective carbon stocks in permanent and non-permanent components. Biological method of cultivation results in a lower carbon footprint if compared with the conventional one; therefore no-chemical fertilization and/or organic phytosanitary treatments were found as sustainable management options to decrease the environmental impact of olive oil. Added value of this study was coupling the resulting impacts with carbon sequestrations in order to: estimate the net balance between the CO2eq emissions and absorptions; identify the break-even point, after which the amount of sequestered carbon exceeds the energy investments linked to human activities. Moreover this study gives important contributions towards the preliminary assessment of potential benefits in terms of avoided CO2eq in agriculture.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
