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Ghana is an important cocoa producer and exporter and this production is of high economic importance. Increasing interest in the sustainable productions of cocoa/chocolate necessitated the need to assess the environmental impacts associated with the production of different chocolate variants (extra dark (EDC), dark (DC), milk (MC) and flavoured milk (FMC) in Ghana, including the identification of environmental hotspots for improvement. The life cycle assessment tool was used following the CML_IA and CED impact assessment methods. EDC had the lowest scores for most of the impact categories while FMC was most impactful. For Global Warming Potential (GWP), EDC and FMC were estimated to be 1.61 kg CO2 eq. and 4.21 kg CO2 eq., respectively. CED ranged from 1.44 × 102 to 1.50 × 102 MJ-eq. Chocolate manufacturing phase was generally more impactful than cocoa cultivation due to high emissions from milk and sugar production. The impact scores for 100 g packaged chocolate bar were the lowest in comparison to 300 g chocolate pouches and 12.5 g packaged chocolate strips. GWP for 100 g and 12.5 g were 0.20 kg CO2 eq. and 0.39 kg CO2 eq., respectively. Comparing different destination points for the manufactured chocolate, impact scores for the international destination were similar to those recorded for local destinations. Improvement options are suggested for all phases to ensure more sustainable chocolate production and distribution.
Kofi Boakye-Yiadom; Daniele Duca; Ester Foppa Pedretti; Alessio Ilari. Environmental Performance of Chocolate Produced in Ghana Using Life Cycle Assessment. Sustainability 2021, 13, 6155 .
AMA StyleKofi Boakye-Yiadom, Daniele Duca, Ester Foppa Pedretti, Alessio Ilari. Environmental Performance of Chocolate Produced in Ghana Using Life Cycle Assessment. Sustainability. 2021; 13 (11):6155.
Chicago/Turabian StyleKofi Boakye-Yiadom; Daniele Duca; Ester Foppa Pedretti; Alessio Ilari. 2021. "Environmental Performance of Chocolate Produced in Ghana Using Life Cycle Assessment." Sustainability 13, no. 11: 6155.
Agricultural activities in Europe cover half of the total area of the continent and are simultaneously a cause of environmental impact and victims of the same impact. Horticultural or fruit crops are considered highly intensive and often employ many crop inputs such as fertilizers, pesticides, and various materials. Strawberry falls into this group, and it has grown in acreage and production more than others globally. The aim of this study is to compare the environmental impact of two strawberry cultivation systems in central Italy, a mulched soil tunnel and a soilless tunnel system. The method used to assess the impact is LCA, widely applied in agriculture and supported by international standards. The data used are mainly primary, related to 2018, and representative of the cultivation systems of central Italy. For impact assessment, the method selected was the CML_IA baseline version. From the results obtained, the two systems show a similar impact per kg of strawberries produced (e.g., for global warming: 0.785 kg CO2 eq for soilless, 0.778 kg CO2 eq for mulched soil tunnel). Reduced differences can be observed for the use of crop inputs (greater for the tunnel) and the use of materials and technology (greater for soilless). The mitigation measures considered concern the replacement of the packaging (excluding plastic) and the growing medium of the soilless using perlite and compost from insect breeding.
Alessio Ilari; Giuseppe Toscano; Kofi Boakye-Yiadom; Daniele Duca; Ester Foppa Pedretti. Life Cycle Assessment of Protected Strawberry Productions in Central Italy. Sustainability 2021, 13, 4879 .
AMA StyleAlessio Ilari, Giuseppe Toscano, Kofi Boakye-Yiadom, Daniele Duca, Ester Foppa Pedretti. Life Cycle Assessment of Protected Strawberry Productions in Central Italy. Sustainability. 2021; 13 (9):4879.
Chicago/Turabian StyleAlessio Ilari; Giuseppe Toscano; Kofi Boakye-Yiadom; Daniele Duca; Ester Foppa Pedretti. 2021. "Life Cycle Assessment of Protected Strawberry Productions in Central Italy." Sustainability 13, no. 9: 4879.