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Pere Fullana-I-Palmer
UNESCO Chair in Life Cycle and Climate Change, ESCI-UPF, 08003 Barcelona, Spain

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Review
Published: 13 August 2021 in Sustainability
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This paper gives an overview of main food supply chain stakeholders and their role in achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). As this supply chain is global, playing a significant role in feeding the world, a deeper analysis of 17 SDGs, their targets and indicators reveals numerous direct and indirect connections with various SDGs. To perform such an overview, the authors investigated the link between the main stakeholders of the chain (farmers, food processors, food traders and consumers) with UN SDGs. In parallel, the authors explored the roles of policymakers, inspection services, certification bodies and academia in supporting these SDGs. In spite of numerous papers, calculations and estimations, discussion and media coverage, the authors believe that only the tip of the iceberg has been revealed. Based on this overview, the authors emphasize SDG 2—Zero Hunger and SDG 12—Responsible Consumption and Production as the most dominant for the food supply chain. In parallel, the achievement of SDG 17—Partnerships for the Goals will enable deeper intertwining of the goals and all stakeholders in the food supply chain continuum. Additional efforts are needed to pave the way for fulfilling the targets of the UN SDGs and exceeding expectations of all stakeholders.

ACS Style

Ilija Djekic; Laura Batlle-Bayer; Alba Bala; Pere Fullana-I-Palmer; Anet Režek Jambrak. Role of the Food Supply Chain Stakeholders in Achieving UN SDGs. Sustainability 2021, 13, 9095 .

AMA Style

Ilija Djekic, Laura Batlle-Bayer, Alba Bala, Pere Fullana-I-Palmer, Anet Režek Jambrak. Role of the Food Supply Chain Stakeholders in Achieving UN SDGs. Sustainability. 2021; 13 (16):9095.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Ilija Djekic; Laura Batlle-Bayer; Alba Bala; Pere Fullana-I-Palmer; Anet Režek Jambrak. 2021. "Role of the Food Supply Chain Stakeholders in Achieving UN SDGs." Sustainability 13, no. 16: 9095.

Journal article
Published: 21 June 2021 in Science of The Total Environment
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In China, the food delivery packaging waste is increasing due to the rapid growth of the sector and the use of single-use packaging to transport the meals. In addition, the recycling rates of current municipal waste management are low. In this regard, this study aims at estimating the climate change impact of current food delivery packaging and its waste treatment, by performing a Life Cycle Assessment with a cradle-to-grave approach. In addition, this article explores the potential benefits of increasing the current recycling rates, the recycled content of the packaging as well as the use of reusable packaging. For this study, the food packaging of a typical dumpling-based meal of the popular Chinese restaurant Xijiade was selected. Based on this menu and the current Chinese consumption patterns, the food delivery packaging in China would have emitted about 13 million tons of CO2eq. Increasing current recycling rates to 35% would reduce 16% the emissions of single-use packaging, and further decrease (60%) could be found if half of the packaging was made of recycled material. In addition, if single-use packaging was replaced by reusable PP-based packaging (food container and carrier bag), the emissions would potentially be 63% lower than the current situation. In this case, doubling the recycling rates and the recycled content of the reusable food packaging would represent an extra 6 and 17% reduction of emissions, respectively.

ACS Style

Laia Camps-Posino; Laura Batlle-Bayer; Alba Bala; Guobao Song; Huimin Qian; Rubén Aldaco; Ramón Xifré; Pere Fullana-I-Palmer. Potential climate benefits of reusable packaging in food delivery services. A Chinese case study. Science of The Total Environment 2021, 794, 148570 .

AMA Style

Laia Camps-Posino, Laura Batlle-Bayer, Alba Bala, Guobao Song, Huimin Qian, Rubén Aldaco, Ramón Xifré, Pere Fullana-I-Palmer. Potential climate benefits of reusable packaging in food delivery services. A Chinese case study. Science of The Total Environment. 2021; 794 ():148570.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Laia Camps-Posino; Laura Batlle-Bayer; Alba Bala; Guobao Song; Huimin Qian; Rubén Aldaco; Ramón Xifré; Pere Fullana-I-Palmer. 2021. "Potential climate benefits of reusable packaging in food delivery services. A Chinese case study." Science of The Total Environment 794, no. : 148570.

Journal article
Published: 21 May 2021 in Sustainability
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Most existing life cycle assessment models of waste management have so far underplayed the importance of the waste collection phase, addressing it only in a simplified fashion, either by requesting the total amount of fuel used as a direct user input or by calculating it based on a set of input parameters and fixed diesel consumption factors. However, if the main purpose of the study is to improve the efficiency of the collection system itself, a more detailed analysis of the collection phase is required, avoiding oversimplified and potentially misleading conclusions. The new LCA collection model presented here relies on a large number of parameters (number and type of containers, collection frequency, distances for the various legs of transport, etc.) and allows the detailed predictive analysis of alternative collection scenarios. The results of applying this newly developed model to a number of experimental case studies in Portugal are analyzed, discussed, and compared to those produced by a selection of pre-existing, more simplified models such as ORWARE and MSW-DST. The new model is confirmed as being the most accurate and, importantly, as the only one capable of predicting the consequences of a range of possible changes in the collection parameters.

ACS Style

Alba Bala; Marco Raugei; Carlos Teixeira; Alberto Fernández; Francisco Pan-Montojo; Pere Fullana-I-Palmer. Assessing the Environmental Performance of Municipal Solid Waste Collection: A New Predictive LCA Model. Sustainability 2021, 13, 5810 .

AMA Style

Alba Bala, Marco Raugei, Carlos Teixeira, Alberto Fernández, Francisco Pan-Montojo, Pere Fullana-I-Palmer. Assessing the Environmental Performance of Municipal Solid Waste Collection: A New Predictive LCA Model. Sustainability. 2021; 13 (11):5810.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Alba Bala; Marco Raugei; Carlos Teixeira; Alberto Fernández; Francisco Pan-Montojo; Pere Fullana-I-Palmer. 2021. "Assessing the Environmental Performance of Municipal Solid Waste Collection: A New Predictive LCA Model." Sustainability 13, no. 11: 5810.

Journal article
Published: 18 March 2021 in Sustainability
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There is a growing debate surrounding the contradiction between an unremitting increase in the use of resources and the search for environmental sustainability. Therefore, the concept of sustainable degrowth is emerging aiming to introduce in our societies new social values and new policies, capable of satisfying human requirements whilst reducing environmental impacts and consumption of resources. In this framework, circular economy strategies for food production and food loss and waste management systems, following the Sustainable Development Goals agenda, are being developed based on a search for circularity, but without setting limits to the continual increase in environmental impacts and resource use. This work presents a methodology for determining the percentage of degrowth needed in any food supply chain, by analyzing four scenarios in a life cycle assessment approach over time between 2020 and 2040. Results for the Spanish case study suggested a degrowth need of 26.8% in 2015 and 58.9% in 2040 in order to achieve compliance with the Paris Agreement targets, highlighting the reduction of meat and fish and seafood consumption as the most useful path.

ACS Style

Daniel Hoehn; Jara Laso; María Margallo; Israel Ruiz-Salmón; Francisco Amo-Setién; Rebeca Abajas-Bustillo; Carmen Sarabia; Ainoa Quiñones; Ian Vázquez-Rowe; Alba Bala; Laura Batlle-Bayer; Pere Fullana-I-Palmer; Rubén Aldaco. Introducing a Degrowth Approach to the Circular Economy Policies of Food Production, and Food Loss and Waste Management: Towards a Circular Bioeconomy. Sustainability 2021, 13, 3379 .

AMA Style

Daniel Hoehn, Jara Laso, María Margallo, Israel Ruiz-Salmón, Francisco Amo-Setién, Rebeca Abajas-Bustillo, Carmen Sarabia, Ainoa Quiñones, Ian Vázquez-Rowe, Alba Bala, Laura Batlle-Bayer, Pere Fullana-I-Palmer, Rubén Aldaco. Introducing a Degrowth Approach to the Circular Economy Policies of Food Production, and Food Loss and Waste Management: Towards a Circular Bioeconomy. Sustainability. 2021; 13 (6):3379.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Daniel Hoehn; Jara Laso; María Margallo; Israel Ruiz-Salmón; Francisco Amo-Setién; Rebeca Abajas-Bustillo; Carmen Sarabia; Ainoa Quiñones; Ian Vázquez-Rowe; Alba Bala; Laura Batlle-Bayer; Pere Fullana-I-Palmer; Rubén Aldaco. 2021. "Introducing a Degrowth Approach to the Circular Economy Policies of Food Production, and Food Loss and Waste Management: Towards a Circular Bioeconomy." Sustainability 13, no. 6: 3379.

Journal article
Published: 05 March 2021 in Sustainability
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The United Nations has adopted 17 sustainable development goals for 2030 with environmental sustainability being one of the main pillars. A key point to address this pillar is the proper management of waste generation. Within the broad spectrum of waste types, food loss and waste is produced worldwide in large quantities. In this framework, the development of composite indexes is recommended to measure the level of compliance of any context with Sustainable Development Goals. This work presents a novel composite index for food loss and waste generation and management systems, the so-called sustainable development goals-food (SDG-Food) index, aiming to determine the level of compliance of any concrete national, regional, or local context regarding five different sustainable development goals with a water-climate-food nexus thinking. The pilot case study of Spain is presented by analyzing the environmental performance between 2015 and 2040 in a context of (i) compliance and (ii) non-compliance with the Paris Agreement targets. Additionally, four different diets are assessed. Results suggested a numerical index score of 13.79, highlighting the categories of eggs, cereals, meat, and vegetables, and the stages of agricultural production and consumption, as the furthers ones for compliance with the five SDG assessed. Moreover, the scenario of compliance with the Paris agreement targets presented better values for all stages, and a vegan diet was highlighted as the one with the best index score.

ACS Style

Daniel Hoehn; María Margallo; Jara Laso; Israel Ruiz-Salmón; Laura Batlle-Bayer; Alba Bala; Pere Fullana-I-Palmer; Rubén Aldaco. A Novel Composite Index for the Development of Decentralized Food Production, Food Loss, and Waste Management Policies: A Water-Climate-Food Nexus Approach. Sustainability 2021, 13, 2839 .

AMA Style

Daniel Hoehn, María Margallo, Jara Laso, Israel Ruiz-Salmón, Laura Batlle-Bayer, Alba Bala, Pere Fullana-I-Palmer, Rubén Aldaco. A Novel Composite Index for the Development of Decentralized Food Production, Food Loss, and Waste Management Policies: A Water-Climate-Food Nexus Approach. Sustainability. 2021; 13 (5):2839.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Daniel Hoehn; María Margallo; Jara Laso; Israel Ruiz-Salmón; Laura Batlle-Bayer; Alba Bala; Pere Fullana-I-Palmer; Rubén Aldaco. 2021. "A Novel Composite Index for the Development of Decentralized Food Production, Food Loss, and Waste Management Policies: A Water-Climate-Food Nexus Approach." Sustainability 13, no. 5: 2839.

Journal article
Published: 25 February 2021 in Sustainability
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Roads with low traffic volume link rural settlements together and connect them with urban centres, mobilising goods and agricultural products, and facilitating the transportation of people. In Colombia, most of these roads are in poor conditions, causing social, economic, and environmental problems, and significantly affecting the mobility, security, and economic progress of the country and its inhabitants. Therefore, it is essential to implement strategies to improve such roads, keeping in mind technical, economic, and environmental criteria. This article shows the results of the application of the environmental life cycle assessment—LCA—to sections of two low-traffic roads located in two different sites in Colombia: one in the Urrao area (Antioquia), located in the centre of the country; and another in La Paz (Cesar), located in the northeast of the country. Each segment was stabilised with alternative materials such as brick dust, fly ash, sulfonated oil, and polymer. The analysis was carried out in three stages: the first was the manufacture of the stabiliser; the second included preliminary actions that ranged from the search for the material to its placement on site; and the third was the stabilisation process, which included the entire application process, from the stabiliser to the road. The environmental impacts are mainly found in the manufacture of stabilisers (60% of the total), for sulfonated oil or polymer, due to the different compounds used during production, before their use as stabilisers. The impact categories with the greatest influence were abiotic depletion potential (ADP), global warming potential (GWP) and terrestrial ecotoxicity potential (TETP). For the stabilisation stage (impact between 40% and 99%), ash and brick dust have the highest impacts. The impact categories most influenced in this stage were: acidification potential (AP), freshwater aquatic ecotoxicity potential (FAETP), human toxicity potential (HTP), marine aquatic ecotoxicity potential (MAETP) and photochemical ozone creation potential (POCP).

ACS Style

Alejandra Balaguera; Jaume Alberti; Gloria Carvajal; Pere Fullana-I-Palmer. Stabilising Rural Roads with Waste Streams in Colombia as an Environmental Strategy Based on a Life Cycle Assessment Methodology. Sustainability 2021, 13, 2458 .

AMA Style

Alejandra Balaguera, Jaume Alberti, Gloria Carvajal, Pere Fullana-I-Palmer. Stabilising Rural Roads with Waste Streams in Colombia as an Environmental Strategy Based on a Life Cycle Assessment Methodology. Sustainability. 2021; 13 (5):2458.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Alejandra Balaguera; Jaume Alberti; Gloria Carvajal; Pere Fullana-I-Palmer. 2021. "Stabilising Rural Roads with Waste Streams in Colombia as an Environmental Strategy Based on a Life Cycle Assessment Methodology." Sustainability 13, no. 5: 2458.

Interpretation of lca studies for decision support
Published: 25 January 2021 in The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment
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The building sector is one of the most relevant sectors in terms of environmental impact. Different functional units (FUs) can be used in life cycle assessment (LCA) studies for a variety of purposes. This paper aimed to present different FUs used in the LCA of buildings and evaluate the influence of FU choice and setting in comparative studies. As an example, we compared the “cradle to grave” environmental performance of four typical Brazilian residential buildings with different construction typologies, i.e., multi-dwelling and single dwelling, each with high and basic standards. We chose three types of FU for comparison: a dwelling with defined lifetime and occupancy parameters, an area of 1 m2 of dwelling over a year period, and the accommodation of an occupant person of the dwelling over a day. The FU choice was found to bias the results considerably. As expected, the largest global warming indicator (GWi) values per dwelling unit and occupant were identified for the high standard dwellings. However, when measured per square meter, lower standard dwellings presented the largest GWi values. This was caused by the greater concentration of people per square meter in smaller area dwellings, resulting in larger water and energy consumption per square meter. The sensitivity analysis of FU variables such as lifetime and occupancy showed the GWi contribution of the infrastructure more relevant compared with the operation in high and basic standard dwellings. The definition of lifetime and occupancy parameters is key to avoid bias and to reduce uncertainty of the results when performing a comparison of dwelling environmental performances. This paper highlights the need for adequate choice and setting of FU to support intended decision-making in LCA studies of the building sector. The use of at least two FUs presented a broader picture of building performance, helping to guide effective environmental optimization efforts from different approaches and levels of analysis. Information regarding space, time, and service dimensions should be either included in the FU setting or provided in the building LCA study to allow adjustment of the results for subsequent comparison.

ACS Style

Hugo Henrique De Simone Souza; Patrícia Pereira de Abreu Evangelista; Diego Lima Medeiros; Jaume Albertí; Pere Fullana-I-Palmer; Marc Árpád Boncz; Asher Kiperstok; Jardel Pereira Gonçalves. Functional unit influence on building life cycle assessment. The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment 2021, 26, 435 -454.

AMA Style

Hugo Henrique De Simone Souza, Patrícia Pereira de Abreu Evangelista, Diego Lima Medeiros, Jaume Albertí, Pere Fullana-I-Palmer, Marc Árpád Boncz, Asher Kiperstok, Jardel Pereira Gonçalves. Functional unit influence on building life cycle assessment. The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment. 2021; 26 (3):435-454.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Hugo Henrique De Simone Souza; Patrícia Pereira de Abreu Evangelista; Diego Lima Medeiros; Jaume Albertí; Pere Fullana-I-Palmer; Marc Árpád Boncz; Asher Kiperstok; Jardel Pereira Gonçalves. 2021. "Functional unit influence on building life cycle assessment." The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment 26, no. 3: 435-454.

Review
Published: 23 January 2021 in Science of The Total Environment
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The ever-increasing volume of packaging waste is widely recognised as a key global environmental challenge. Packaging is thus a central concern for advocates and analysts of circular economy (CEc), who often apply the life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology when measuring the environmental impacts of products and packaging. We undertook a systematic literature review as a research method, and in-depth analysis to ascertain the extent to which the new CEc paradigm has been integrated in LCA methodology applied to beverage packaging and reported in scientific papers. Carefully developed search strings returned 866 articles relevant to our enquiry from the databases of SCOPUS and Web of Science. Applying our selected eligibility criteria, we extracted a subset of 51 articles for in-depth analysis. The analysed literature shows the links between the quality of packaging material for recycling and the profoundness of the LCA studies. The paper provides the following set of recommendations for enhancing the future practice in development of the scientific LCAs for beverage packaging: (i) taking all direct and indirect factors into account when assessing the refillable beverage packaging system and conducting break-even analysis in order to achieve impartial comparative assessments of single-use and refillable systems; (ii) developing proxies in cases when actual data is lacking with which to model the recycling scenarios for exported secondary materials and hence improving the accuracy of recycling rate assessments in LCA models; (iii) improving the definition of the LCA function by introducing multiple loops of the packaging material and assessing qualitative changes in the material resulting from the multiple-recycling process. Thus improved practice of LCAs could better inform and improve the design of new packaging strategies aimed at prolonging the life of packaging materials in the technosphere, equally fulfilling the principles of the CEc.

ACS Style

Ilija Sazdovski; Alba Bala; Pere Fullana-I-Palmer. Linking LCA literature with circular economy value creation: A review on beverage packaging. Science of The Total Environment 2021, 771, 145322 .

AMA Style

Ilija Sazdovski, Alba Bala, Pere Fullana-I-Palmer. Linking LCA literature with circular economy value creation: A review on beverage packaging. Science of The Total Environment. 2021; 771 ():145322.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Ilija Sazdovski; Alba Bala; Pere Fullana-I-Palmer. 2021. "Linking LCA literature with circular economy value creation: A review on beverage packaging." Science of The Total Environment 771, no. : 145322.

Journal article
Published: 24 December 2020 in Sustainability
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The generation of food loss and waste (FLW) is a global problem for worldwide politics. About one-third of the food produced ends up in the rubbish before it is consumed. For this reason, it is essential to design and implement new strategies along the food supply chain (FSC) with the aim of reducing this FLW at each stage. However, not only mass quantification should be considered, but also economic and nutritional performance. The novelty of this study is the definition of a methodology based on the “distance to target” approach by means of multi-objective optimization to evaluate the economic and nutritional cost produced by this FLW. This methodology was applied to the Spanish food basket in 2015. The results revealed that 80% of the total FLW generated in economic and nutritional terms is concentrated in the agricultural production (53.3%) and consumption (26.3%) stages. In the first stages of the FSC, fruits (Dn eq.= 0.7), cereals (Dn eq.= 0.61), and vegetables (Dn eq.= 0.57) were the furthest from the distance target due to the great amount of FLW generated. Moreover, according to the normalized weighted distances obtained from the minimization of economic and nutritional cost, pulses (Dn eq. = 0.05–0.03) and eggs (Dn eq. = 0.02) were the more efficient food categories. The methodology described in this study proposes a single index to quantify the economic and nutritional cost of different food categories to facilitate the decision-making process. This index makes possible the definition of reduction strategies focused on specific food categories and depending on the FSC stage.

ACS Style

Jara Laso; Cristina Campos; Ana Fernández-Ríos; Daniel Hoehn; Andrea del Río; Israel Ruiz-Salmón; Jorge Cristobal; Ainoa Quiñones; Francisco Amo-Setién; María Ortego; Sergio Tezanos; Rebeca Abajas; Alba Bala; Pere Fullana-I-Palmer; Rita Puig; María Margallo; Rubén Aldaco; Ricardo Abejón. Looking for Answers to Food Loss and Waste Management in Spain from a Holistic Nutritional and Economic Approach. Sustainability 2020, 13, 125 .

AMA Style

Jara Laso, Cristina Campos, Ana Fernández-Ríos, Daniel Hoehn, Andrea del Río, Israel Ruiz-Salmón, Jorge Cristobal, Ainoa Quiñones, Francisco Amo-Setién, María Ortego, Sergio Tezanos, Rebeca Abajas, Alba Bala, Pere Fullana-I-Palmer, Rita Puig, María Margallo, Rubén Aldaco, Ricardo Abejón. Looking for Answers to Food Loss and Waste Management in Spain from a Holistic Nutritional and Economic Approach. Sustainability. 2020; 13 (1):125.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Jara Laso; Cristina Campos; Ana Fernández-Ríos; Daniel Hoehn; Andrea del Río; Israel Ruiz-Salmón; Jorge Cristobal; Ainoa Quiñones; Francisco Amo-Setién; María Ortego; Sergio Tezanos; Rebeca Abajas; Alba Bala; Pere Fullana-I-Palmer; Rita Puig; María Margallo; Rubén Aldaco; Ricardo Abejón. 2020. "Looking for Answers to Food Loss and Waste Management in Spain from a Holistic Nutritional and Economic Approach." Sustainability 13, no. 1: 125.

Journal article
Published: 28 November 2020 in Foods
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Food loss and waste (FLW) has become a central concern in the social and political debate. Simultaneously, using FLW as a bioenergy source could significantly contribute to closing the carbon cycle by reintroducing energy into the food supply chain. This study aims to identify best strategies for FLW management in each of the 17 regions in Spain, through the application of a Life Cycle Assessment. To this end, an evaluation of the environmental performance over time between 2015 and 2040 of five different FLW management scenarios implemented in a framework of (i) compliance and (ii) non-compliance with the targets of the Paris Agreement was performed. Results revealed savings in the consumption of abiotic resources in those regions in which thermal treatment has a strong presence, although their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in a scenario of compliance with climate change targets are higher. In contrast, scenarios that include anaerobic digestion and, to a lesser extent those applying aerobic composting, present lower impacts, including climate change, suggesting improvements of 20–60% in non-compliance and 20–80% in compliance with Paris Agreement targets, compared to the current scenarios.

ACS Style

Daniel Hoehn; Jara Laso; Jorge Cristóbal; Israel Ruiz-Salmón; Isabela Butnar; Aiduan Borrion; Alba Bala; Pere Fullana-I-Palmer; Ian Vázquez-Rowe; Rubén Aldaco; María Margallo. Regionalized Strategies for Food Loss and Waste Management in Spain under a Life Cycle Thinking Approach. Foods 2020, 9, 1765 .

AMA Style

Daniel Hoehn, Jara Laso, Jorge Cristóbal, Israel Ruiz-Salmón, Isabela Butnar, Aiduan Borrion, Alba Bala, Pere Fullana-I-Palmer, Ian Vázquez-Rowe, Rubén Aldaco, María Margallo. Regionalized Strategies for Food Loss and Waste Management in Spain under a Life Cycle Thinking Approach. Foods. 2020; 9 (12):1765.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Daniel Hoehn; Jara Laso; Jorge Cristóbal; Israel Ruiz-Salmón; Isabela Butnar; Aiduan Borrion; Alba Bala; Pere Fullana-I-Palmer; Ian Vázquez-Rowe; Rubén Aldaco; María Margallo. 2020. "Regionalized Strategies for Food Loss and Waste Management in Spain under a Life Cycle Thinking Approach." Foods 9, no. 12: 1765.

Journal article
Published: 16 November 2020 in Foods
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Current food consumption patterns must be revised in order to improve their sustainability. The nutritional, environmental, and economic consequences of these dietary patterns must be taken into consideration when diet guidelines are proposed. This study applied a systematic optimization methodology to define sustainable dietary patterns complying with nutritional, environmental, and economic issues. The methodology was based on a multi-objective optimization model that considered a distance-to-target approach. Although the three simultaneous objectives (maximal nutritional contribution, minimal greenhouse gas emissions, and minimal costs) could be divergent, the proposed model identified the optimal intake of each food product to achieve the maximal level of nutritional, environmental, and economic diets. This model was applied to six different eating patterns within the Spanish context: one based on current food consumption and five alternative diets. The results revealed that dietary patterns with improved nutritional profiles and reduced environmental impacts could be defined without additional costs just by increasing the consumption of vegetables, fruits, and legumes, while reducing the intake of meat and fish.

ACS Style

Ricardo Abejón; Laura Batlle-Bayer; Jara Laso; Alba Bala; Ian Vazquez-Rowe; Gustavo Larrea-Gallegos; María Margallo; Israel Ruiz-Salmón; Jorge Cristobal; Rita Puig; Pere Fullana-I-Palmer; Rubén Aldaco. Multi-Objective Optimization of Nutritional, Environmental and Economic Aspects of Diets Applied to the Spanish Context. Foods 2020, 9, 1677 .

AMA Style

Ricardo Abejón, Laura Batlle-Bayer, Jara Laso, Alba Bala, Ian Vazquez-Rowe, Gustavo Larrea-Gallegos, María Margallo, Israel Ruiz-Salmón, Jorge Cristobal, Rita Puig, Pere Fullana-I-Palmer, Rubén Aldaco. Multi-Objective Optimization of Nutritional, Environmental and Economic Aspects of Diets Applied to the Spanish Context. Foods. 2020; 9 (11):1677.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Ricardo Abejón; Laura Batlle-Bayer; Jara Laso; Alba Bala; Ian Vazquez-Rowe; Gustavo Larrea-Gallegos; María Margallo; Israel Ruiz-Salmón; Jorge Cristobal; Rita Puig; Pere Fullana-I-Palmer; Rubén Aldaco. 2020. "Multi-Objective Optimization of Nutritional, Environmental and Economic Aspects of Diets Applied to the Spanish Context." Foods 9, no. 11: 1677.

Journal article
Published: 17 September 2020 in Journal of Cleaner Production
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Quantifying the carbon footprint (CF) of food-demand can aid in mitigating the effects of global climate change, especially in the context of urbanisation, which enriches urban diets with animal products. Urbanisation also attracts large numbers of people migrating from rural areas and even across provinces in China. Migrants gradually shift from the dietary patterns of their hometowns, toward those of their destinations, a process known as “dietary acculturation.” However, few studies have explored the dietary CF resulting from such migrations. Here, we compared the dietary patterns of rural vs. urban households in 31 Chinese provinces, and quantified the CF of dietary acculturation by overlaying interprovincial migrant populations with geographically varied dietary patterns. Our results show that the mean net dietary CF increased by 21 Mt CO2e yr-1 due to dietary acculturation. The increased intakes of aquatic products and beef jointly contributed 75% of this CF growth, while declined cereal intake offset ∼44%. The wealthy province of Guangdong, which has the largest immigrant population, accounts for ∼30% of growth in the dietary CF. Regression analyses revealed that the Engel coefficient had a strong marginal effect on the variations in CF attributable to dietary acculturation. Additionally, the dietary CF of migrant populations was positively correlated with the virtual environmental flows (e.g., carbon, water, and energy) that are embedded in regional commodity trades. This quantification of the CF of dietary acculturation provides novel insights that may be used to further quantify the carbon emissions of food demand.

ACS Style

Jiaojiao Li; Guobao Song; Shuming Ma; Bingyu Wan; Laura Batlle-Bayer; Dan Zhang; Linghui Zhang; Pere Fullana-I-Palmer; Shushen Zhang. Dietary acculturation generates virtual carbon flow: The overlaid effects of geographically varied dietary patterns and population migration in urban and materials-flowing China. Journal of Cleaner Production 2020, 276, 124283 .

AMA Style

Jiaojiao Li, Guobao Song, Shuming Ma, Bingyu Wan, Laura Batlle-Bayer, Dan Zhang, Linghui Zhang, Pere Fullana-I-Palmer, Shushen Zhang. Dietary acculturation generates virtual carbon flow: The overlaid effects of geographically varied dietary patterns and population migration in urban and materials-flowing China. Journal of Cleaner Production. 2020; 276 ():124283.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Jiaojiao Li; Guobao Song; Shuming Ma; Bingyu Wan; Laura Batlle-Bayer; Dan Zhang; Linghui Zhang; Pere Fullana-I-Palmer; Shushen Zhang. 2020. "Dietary acculturation generates virtual carbon flow: The overlaid effects of geographically varied dietary patterns and population migration in urban and materials-flowing China." Journal of Cleaner Production 276, no. : 124283.

Journal article
Published: 03 September 2020 in Polymers
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Leather buffing dust (BF) is a waste from tannery which is usually disposed on landfills. The interest in using wastes as fillers or reinforcements for composites has raised recently due to environmental concerns. This study investigates the potential use of BF waste as filler for a high density polyethylene matrix (HDPE). A series of HDPE-BF composites, containing filler concentrations ranging from 20 to 50wt%, were formulated, injection molded and tested. The effect of filler contents on the mechanical properties of the composites were evaluated and discussed. Composites with BF contents up to 30wt% improved the tensile strength and Young’s modulus of the matrix, achieving similar mechanical properties to polypropylene (PP). In the case of flexural strength, it was found to be proportionally enhanced by increasing reinforcement content, maintaining high impact strength. These composites present great opportunities for PP application areas that require higher impact resistance. The materials were submitted to a series of closed-loop recycling cycles in order to assess their recyclability, being able to maintain better tensile strength than virgin HDPE after 5 cycles. The study develops new low-cost and sustainable composites by using a waste as composite filler.

ACS Style

Eylem Kiliç; Quim Tarrés; Marc Delgado-Aguilar; Xavier Espinach; Pere Fullana-I-Palmer; Rita Puig. Leather Waste to Enhance Mechanical Performance of High-Density Polyethylene. Polymers 2020, 12, 2016 .

AMA Style

Eylem Kiliç, Quim Tarrés, Marc Delgado-Aguilar, Xavier Espinach, Pere Fullana-I-Palmer, Rita Puig. Leather Waste to Enhance Mechanical Performance of High-Density Polyethylene. Polymers. 2020; 12 (9):2016.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Eylem Kiliç; Quim Tarrés; Marc Delgado-Aguilar; Xavier Espinach; Pere Fullana-I-Palmer; Rita Puig. 2020. "Leather Waste to Enhance Mechanical Performance of High-Density Polyethylene." Polymers 12, no. 9: 2016.

Short communication
Published: 01 August 2020 in Science of The Total Environment
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The COVID lockdown has affected food purchases and eating habits. In this regard, this short communication assesses the nutritional and environmental impacts of these changes during the COVID lockdown in Spain, by applying Life Cycle Assessment and an energy- and nutrient-corrected functional unit. Three environmental impacts were studied (Global Warming Potential, Blue Water Footprint and Land Use) and a total of seven weekly diet scenarios were designed: two pre-COVID diets for March and April in 2019 (MAR19, APR19), one COVID diet (COVID) and two alternative diets, one based on the National Dietary Guidelines (NDG) and another one on the Planetary Health Diet (PHD). Results show that the COVID diet had larger energy intake and lower nutritional quality, as well as higher environmental impacts (between 30 and 36%) than the pre-COVID eating patterns. Further research is needed to account for food affordability within this assessment, as well as to analyze how eating patterns will evolve after the COVID lockdown. Finally, the definition of short guidelines for sustainable food behaviors for future possible lockdowns is suggested, as well as the introduction of sustainable indicators within NDGs.

ACS Style

Laura Batlle-Bayer; Rubén Aldaco; Alba Bala; Rita Puig; Jara Laso; María Margallo; Ian Vázquez-Rowe; Josep Maria Antó; Pere Fullana-I-Palmer. Environmental and nutritional impacts of dietary changes in Spain during the COVID-19 lockdown. Science of The Total Environment 2020, 748, 141410 -141410.

AMA Style

Laura Batlle-Bayer, Rubén Aldaco, Alba Bala, Rita Puig, Jara Laso, María Margallo, Ian Vázquez-Rowe, Josep Maria Antó, Pere Fullana-I-Palmer. Environmental and nutritional impacts of dietary changes in Spain during the COVID-19 lockdown. Science of The Total Environment. 2020; 748 ():141410-141410.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Laura Batlle-Bayer; Rubén Aldaco; Alba Bala; Rita Puig; Jara Laso; María Margallo; Ian Vázquez-Rowe; Josep Maria Antó; Pere Fullana-I-Palmer. 2020. "Environmental and nutritional impacts of dietary changes in Spain during the COVID-19 lockdown." Science of The Total Environment 748, no. : 141410-141410.

Journal article
Published: 10 June 2020 in Materials
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Circular economy comes to break the linear resource to waste economy, by introducing different strategies, two of them being: using material from renewable sources and producing biodegradable products. The present work aims at developing polylactic acid (PLA), typically made from fermented plant starch, and polycaprolactone (PCL) blends, a biodegradable polyester, to study their potential to be used as substitutes of oil-based commodity plastics. For this, PLA/PCL blends were compounded in a batch and lab scale internal mixer and processed by means of injection molding. Tensile and impact characteristics were determined and compared to different thermoplastic materials, such as polypropylene, high density polyethylene, polystyrene, and others. It has been found that the incorporation of PCL into a PLA matrix can lead to materials in the range of 18.25 to 63.13 megapascals of tensile strength, 0.56 to 3.82 gigapascals of Young’s modulus, 12.65 to 3.27 percent of strain at maximum strength, and 35 to 2 kJ/m2 of notched impact strength. The evolution of the tensile strength fitted the Voigt and Reuss model, while Young’s modulus was successfully described by the rule of mixtures. Toughness of PLA was significantly improved with the incorporation of PCL, significantly increasing the energy required to fracture the specimens. Blends containing more than 20 wt% of PCL did not break when unnotched specimens were tested. Overall, it was found that the obtained PLA/PCL blends can constitute a strong and environmentally friendly alternative to oil-based commodity materials.

ACS Style

Marc Delgado-Aguilar; Rita Puig; Ilija Sazdovski; Pere Fullana-I-Palmer. Polylactic Acid/Polycaprolactone Blends: On the Path to Circular Economy, Substituting Single-Use Commodity Plastic Products. Materials 2020, 13, 1 .

AMA Style

Marc Delgado-Aguilar, Rita Puig, Ilija Sazdovski, Pere Fullana-I-Palmer. Polylactic Acid/Polycaprolactone Blends: On the Path to Circular Economy, Substituting Single-Use Commodity Plastic Products. Materials. 2020; 13 (11):1.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Marc Delgado-Aguilar; Rita Puig; Ilija Sazdovski; Pere Fullana-I-Palmer. 2020. "Polylactic Acid/Polycaprolactone Blends: On the Path to Circular Economy, Substituting Single-Use Commodity Plastic Products." Materials 13, no. 11: 1.

Journal article
Published: 20 May 2020 in Resources, Conservation and Recycling
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This study assesses the environmental impacts associated with current regional-average diets in Spain, and it evaluates the environmental benefits of adopting a diet based on the National Dietary Guidelines (NDG). To establish a fair method for diets’ comparison among the different regions, a novel functional unit (FU), that considers both the nutritional and the socio-economic dimensions, was developed. Diets in north–western regions have larger impacts due to the high caloric energy and ruminant meat intake, as well as for being less affordable. The adoption of the NDG-based diet can potentially reduce the environmental impacts (GHG emissions, blue water footprint and land use) between 15 and 60% of current regional eating patterns. This study highlights the importance of properly selecting the FU, and integrating the concept of food affordability within the FU in diet LCAs.

ACS Style

Laura Batlle-Bayer; Alba Bala; Jaume Albertí; Ramon Xifré; Rubén Aldaco; Pere Fullana-I-Palmer. Food affordability and nutritional values within the functional unit of a food LCA. An application on regional diets in Spain. Resources, Conservation and Recycling 2020, 160, 104856 .

AMA Style

Laura Batlle-Bayer, Alba Bala, Jaume Albertí, Ramon Xifré, Rubén Aldaco, Pere Fullana-I-Palmer. Food affordability and nutritional values within the functional unit of a food LCA. An application on regional diets in Spain. Resources, Conservation and Recycling. 2020; 160 ():104856.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Laura Batlle-Bayer; Alba Bala; Jaume Albertí; Ramon Xifré; Rubén Aldaco; Pere Fullana-I-Palmer. 2020. "Food affordability and nutritional values within the functional unit of a food LCA. An application on regional diets in Spain." Resources, Conservation and Recycling 160, no. : 104856.

Journal article
Published: 01 February 2020 in Current Opinion in Environmental Science & Health
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ACS Style

Laura Batlle-Bayer; Rubén Aldaco; Alba Bala; Pere Fullana-I-Palmer. Toward sustainable dietary patterns under a water–energy–food nexus life cycle thinking approach. Current Opinion in Environmental Science & Health 2020, 13, 61 -67.

AMA Style

Laura Batlle-Bayer, Rubén Aldaco, Alba Bala, Pere Fullana-I-Palmer. Toward sustainable dietary patterns under a water–energy–food nexus life cycle thinking approach. Current Opinion in Environmental Science & Health. 2020; 13 ():61-67.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Laura Batlle-Bayer; Rubén Aldaco; Alba Bala; Pere Fullana-I-Palmer. 2020. "Toward sustainable dietary patterns under a water–energy–food nexus life cycle thinking approach." Current Opinion in Environmental Science & Health 13, no. : 61-67.

Journal article
Published: 07 January 2020 in Resources, Conservation and Recycling
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Food packaging is an important industrial sector that has great influence on food loss and waste. The search of optimal conditions to minimize the negative impacts of food packaging on the environment must promote the selection of the best available packages. This work has evaluated the environmental impact of the distribution of fruit and vegetables in the Spanish peninsular context using reusable plastic crates and single-use cardboard boxes. Discussion and decision at each phase and step of the methodology were provided, being an example to follow for similar studies in the future. For the analysis, five different impact categories were considered: global warming potential, acidification potential, eutrophication potential, ozone depletion potential and photochemical oxidant creation potential. In addition, energy and water consumption were taken into account. According to the results of the analysis, the use of reusable plastic crates should be selected, since the values of all impact categories and energy consumption indicators were higher in the case of single-use cardboard boxes. The sensitivity analysis revealed a robust preference for plastic crates in comparison with cardboard boxes even in alternative scenarios, and only the hypothetic reduction of the quality of the cardboard resulted in significant lower impacts for cardboard boxes in comparison to plastic crates in photochemical oxidant creation potential, acidification potential, and energy consumption. This work demonstrates that plastic packaging should not be totally excluded or banned, since it can be the most environmentally friendly option in certain applications.

ACS Style

R. Abejón; A. Bala; I. Vázquez-Rowe; R. Aldaco; P. Fullana-I-Palmer. When plastic packaging should be preferred: Life cycle analysis of packages for fruit and vegetable distribution in the Spanish peninsular market. Resources, Conservation and Recycling 2020, 155, 104666 .

AMA Style

R. Abejón, A. Bala, I. Vázquez-Rowe, R. Aldaco, P. Fullana-I-Palmer. When plastic packaging should be preferred: Life cycle analysis of packages for fruit and vegetable distribution in the Spanish peninsular market. Resources, Conservation and Recycling. 2020; 155 ():104666.

Chicago/Turabian Style

R. Abejón; A. Bala; I. Vázquez-Rowe; R. Aldaco; P. Fullana-I-Palmer. 2020. "When plastic packaging should be preferred: Life cycle analysis of packages for fruit and vegetable distribution in the Spanish peninsular market." Resources, Conservation and Recycling 155, no. : 104666.

Journal article
Published: 21 November 2019 in Science of The Total Environment
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Annually, around 7.7 billion passengers travel by plane. The menus served during the flight are quite similar between different airlines and are composed of the food itself, packaging (paper envelopes, film, etc.) and tableware (mainly trays, plates, glasses, cups and cutlery). In 2016, 1522 tonnes of tourist class menus were served in Iberia aircrafts landing at Madrid Barajas airport in Spain. From this amount, 51% by weight was packaging and tableware, and the remaining 49% food. As changes in the food has little room for maneuver, since the same amount would be delivered regardless how it is served, this study focus on the possibilities of packaging and tableware to reduce GHG emissions. The assessment has been done using life cycle assessment methodology (LCA) in order to identify the hotspots along the whole life cycle of packaging and tableware items. The case study chosen was the catering service of Iberia, the national airline of Spain. The functional unit used was “the service of 1,000 tourist class menus on Iberia flights that landed in Madrid in 2016”. The results show that the impacts of reusable and single use items take place at different stages of their life cycles. For reusable ones, 76% of the impact is produced during the flight phase, meanwhile, for single use ones, 53% of the impact comes from the production stage. Variables such as material, weight and the number of reuses can greatly influence greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. From the results of the analysis some eco-design strategies has been proposed and analysed. The paper reveals that the lighter single-use packaging and tableware for airline catering are less harmful under a life cycle perspective become.

ACS Style

Gonzalo Blanca-Alcubilla; Alba Bala; Nieves de Castro; Rosa Colomé; Pere Fullana-I-Palmer. Is the reusable tableware the best option? Analysis of the aviation catering sector with a life cycle approach. Science of The Total Environment 2019, 708, 135121 .

AMA Style

Gonzalo Blanca-Alcubilla, Alba Bala, Nieves de Castro, Rosa Colomé, Pere Fullana-I-Palmer. Is the reusable tableware the best option? Analysis of the aviation catering sector with a life cycle approach. Science of The Total Environment. 2019; 708 ():135121.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Gonzalo Blanca-Alcubilla; Alba Bala; Nieves de Castro; Rosa Colomé; Pere Fullana-I-Palmer. 2019. "Is the reusable tableware the best option? Analysis of the aviation catering sector with a life cycle approach." Science of The Total Environment 708, no. : 135121.

Journal article
Published: 01 November 2019 in Science of The Total Environment
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One-way packaging can represent up to half the environmental impacts of the food value chain and thus optimising its management is essential. Collective selective waste collection managed by authorised organisations (Extended Producer Responsibility, EPR), with or without Deposit-Refund Systems (DRS) are alternatives implemented at European level to handle this problem. Since there is no single simple formula that can be applied to every waste management system, this case study is focused on the entire Spanish model of one-way food packaging waste management, from collection of each fraction in specific containers to final treatment, considering eight different materials. For the analysis, six different impact categories were considered: abiotic depletion potential, global warming potential, acidification potential, eutrophication potential, ozone depletion potential and photochemical ozone formation. Results reveal that the recycling stage is the main stage contributing to the environmental impacts, but the environmental savings related to the recovery of materials in this stage compensates these loads and the system must be considered advantageous for the environment. By contrast, sorting plants present the lowest contributions and is the least significant stage. Significant environmental improvements (close to 10%) would be achieved by addressing the total bulk collection flow to mechanical-biological treatment and increasing the selective collection of light and glass packaging waste. This study can serve to identify common drivers that contribute significantly to the development of an integrated approach to waste packaging management and as baseline for comparison studies with alternative waste recovery technologies and systems.

ACS Style

A. Bala; J. Laso; R. Abejón; M. Margallo; P. Fullana-I-Palmer; R. Aldaco. Environmental assessment of the food packaging waste management system in Spain: Understanding the present to improve the future. Science of The Total Environment 2019, 702, 134603 .

AMA Style

A. Bala, J. Laso, R. Abejón, M. Margallo, P. Fullana-I-Palmer, R. Aldaco. Environmental assessment of the food packaging waste management system in Spain: Understanding the present to improve the future. Science of The Total Environment. 2019; 702 ():134603.

Chicago/Turabian Style

A. Bala; J. Laso; R. Abejón; M. Margallo; P. Fullana-I-Palmer; R. Aldaco. 2019. "Environmental assessment of the food packaging waste management system in Spain: Understanding the present to improve the future." Science of The Total Environment 702, no. : 134603.