The production and distribution of food are among the hot topics debated in the context of sustainable development. Short food supply chains (SFSCs) are now widely believed to be more sustainable in comparison to mass food delivery systems. To date, very little quantitative evidence exists on the impacts of various types of food supply chains. Using a cross-sectional quantitative approach, this study assesses the sustainability of distribution channels in short and long food supply chains based on 208 food producers across seven countries: France, Hungary, Italy, Norway, Poland, the United Kingdom, and Vietnam. Ten distribution channel types are used in this study. To provide a comprehensive sustainability assessment, a set of economic, social, and environmental indicators are applied. Indicators commonly used in the literature are used, supported by original indicators constructed specifically for the present study. In total, 486 chains are examined and the study confirms that individual producers participate simultaneously in several, short and long chains. Participation in SFSCs is beneficial for producers from an economic perspective. SFSCs allow producers to capture a large proportion of margin otherwise absorbed by different intermediaries. It appears, however, that ’longer’ supply channels generate lower environmental impacts per unit of production when measured in terms of food miles and carbon footprint. Finally, ambiguous results are found regarding social dimension, with significant differences across types of chains.

Improving the eco-efficiency of food systems is one of the major global challenges faced by the modern world. Short food supply chains (SFSCs) are commonly regarded to be less harmful to the environment, among various reasons, due to their organizational distribution and thus the shortened physical distance between primary producers and final consumers. In this paper, we empirically test this hypothesis, by assessing and comparing the environmental impacts of short and long food supply chains. Based on the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) approach, we calculate eco-efficiency indicators for nine types of food distribution chains. The analysis is performed on a sample of 428 short and long food supply chains from six European countries. Our results indicate that, on average, long food supply chains may generate less negative environmental impacts than short chains (in terms of fossil fuel energy consumption, pollution, and GHG emissions) per kg of a given product. The values of eco-efficiency indicators display a large variability across analyzed chains, and especially across different types of SFSCs. The analysis shows that the environmental impacts of the food distribution process are not only determined by the geographical distance between producer and consumer, but depend on numerous factors, including the supply chain infrastructure.

The challenges related to climate policy and the energy crisis caused the search for alternative ways of obtaining energy, one of the essential tasks faced by scientists and political decision-makers. Recently, much attention has been paid to biomethane, which is perceived as a substitute for natural gas. Compared to the traditional combustion of biogas in cogeneration units (CHP), upgrading it to the form of biomethane can bring both environmental benefits (reduction in GHG emissions) and economic benefits (higher efficiency of energy use contained in biomass). The purpose of this review was a comprehensive assessment of the conditions and opportunities for developing the biomethane sector in the EU in the face of challenges generated by the energy and climate crisis. The article reviews the condition of the biomethane market in the European Union, focusing on such issues as biomethane production technologies, current and future supply and demand for biomethane, and biomethane production costs with particular emphasis on upgrading processes and financial support systems used in the EU countries. The review showed that the market situation in biomethane production has recently begun to change rapidly. However, the share of biomethane in meeting the needs for natural gas remains small. Moreover, the available expert studies indicate a significant development potential, which is desirable because of the need to increase energy security and environmental and economic reasons. However, this will require organizing the legal environment and creating a transparent system of incentives.

The consequence of the current economic development model is the generation of large amounts of waste and energy losses. One way to change this negative trend is a more rational use of raw materials reducing the amount of generated wastes. Biowaste, which may be divided into garden and kitchen waste, constitutes the main part of municipal waste. At the household level, it can be managed through composting—the most sustainable way of biowaste management. In this context, this paper aims to assess the economic and environmental effects of implementing the home composting incentive program introduced by one of the municipalities near Warsaw (Poland). The study is based on the estimation of the amount of biowaste generated in the commune, as well as on the number of households with the potential to compost biowastes. The effects of implementing the composting program were evaluated at different participation levels. The cartographic-based methods (GIS) were used in the analyses. Additionally, willingness to accept home composting by residents and its main determinants were examined. The results of the study indicate that the changes in the current household biodegradable waste management model are practicable and generate positive economic and environmental effects. However, the promotion of home composting requires active support from the local authorities, both in the financial dimension and by increasing residents’ environmental awareness.

The Baltic Sea Action Plan (BSAP) requires tools to simulate effects and costs of various nutrient abatement strategies. Hierarchically connected databases and models of the entire catchment have been created to allow decision makers to view scenarios via the decision support system NEST. Increased intensity in agriculture in transient countries would result in increased nutrient loads to the Baltic Sea, particularly from Poland, the Baltic States, and Russia. Nutrient retentions are high, which means that the nutrient reduction goals of 135 000 tons N and 15 000 tons P, as formulated in the BSAP from 2007, correspond to a reduction in nutrient loadings to watersheds by 675 000 tons N and 158 000 tons P. A cost-minimization model was used to allocate nutrient reductions to measures and countries where the costs for reducing loads are low. The minimum annual cost to meet BSAP basin targets is estimated to 4.7 billion €.

The negative impact of agriculture on the natural environment is not a new issue. One of the ideas to overcome this problem is the eco-efficiency concept, analyzing the agricultural output in relation, not only to traditional inputs, but to the environmental impact, as well. This paper aims at calculating the eco-efficiency of Polish commercial farms, based on a representative sample of 601 farms participating in the Polish Farm Accountancy Data Network (FADN). To assess the eco-efficiency of the farms, variables illustrating traditional inputs (land, labor, capital), as well as variables reflecting the environmental pressure of the surveyed farms (greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and nitrogen and phosphorus surpluses) were used. Data envelopment analysis (DEA) revealed that, on average, farms could reduce their inputs by almost a quarter without reducing their outputs. Additionally, it was revealed that incorporating externalities of agricultural production into analyses decreases the diversity of the farm population in terms of efficiency measures. According to the analyses, more eco-efficient farms are characterized by larger utilized agricultural area (UAA), higher production value, and higher intensity of chemical inputs per 1 ha, but at the same time by lower amounts of inputs used per production unit. Moreover, more eco-efficient farms achieved higher farm incomes in many terms: total, per 1 ha of UAA, and per 1 EUR of production value.