Browsing by Subject "elinkaariarviointi"

The environmental impacts of food production and consumption are substantial, and therefore, it’s important that their impacts are investigated and communicated. Life cycle assessment (LCA) is one promising method to assess the environmental impacts of products, like food products. It’s a process to assess products' environmental impacts through their life-cycle, and it’s used, for example, in policy making, companies’ strategic decision making and when communicating products’ environmental impacts. LCA is used actively nowadays, for example, over the past year few Finnish food companies have decided to calculate and communicate their products’ carbon footprints using LCA. LCA methodology has clearly developed during the past decades. However, there isn’t a shared view on all of the methodological issues. In fact, one essential methodological challenge is allocation situation. In allocation situation all inputs and outputs, such as, green house gas emissions produced in the product system are to be distributed between the studied product and its co-products. For instance, when the studied product is milk it should be determined how the inputs and outputs produced in the dairy cattle farm are to be divided between the farm’s products: beef and raw milk. Furthermore, in the dairy factory it needs to be decided how the inputs and outputs are to be divided between the further processed milk and other dairy products produced in the factory. The aim of the thesis is to investigate the allocation situations in the LCAs of food, as well as, to present, compare and find weaknesses and strengths of different ways of handling allocation situations and ways of guiding them. This is done in a literature study and in a LCA case-study made for Finnish farmed rainbow trout. It was calculated that the choice of how to handle the allocation situation has a major impact on the environmental impacts directed to the product under investigation. For example, climate change impacts and eutrophication of water bodies caused by production of a trout fillet can halve or double depending on the choice of the allocation method. Several different allocation methods were indentified, including ways to avoid allocation and ways to allocate the inputs and outputs, for instance, on the basis of the products' prices. To improve the harmonization of food LCAs and to reduce subjectivity it is important that there is guidance when choosing the allocation method. However, the existing LCA guides investigated don’t give enough support for the allocation situations. They provide divergent instructions and recommendations; they aren’t very specific in the allocation instructions and they allow choosing almost any allocation method, and therefore there is clear need for more specific instructions. Thus, it is evident that there is need to discuss and agree on the suitability of allocation methods to be used in LCAs of different food products. Also, because of the existing uncertainty one should be really careful when communicating exact environmental impacts, instead, one should consider presenting environmental impacts in a more coarse scale, for example, by presenting the scale of the results when using different allocation methods.

Climate change is one of the biggest global threats. Food production is one of the most significant sources of greenhouse gas emissions. It has been estimated that food systems account for 19 – 29 % of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. Many studies have shown that products of animal origin cause more environmentally harmful emissions than plant-based products. In order to reach the 1,5 degree target, diets need to become more sustainable and more plant-based. The life cycle of food is being studied more today to identify their climate and environmental impact. The purpose of this study was to determine life cycle assessment of a plant-based protein product. The life cycle assessment started with the initial production and ended with the finished product in the factory. The study did not take into account the transport of products to stores and consumer activities. The study examined six different scenarios, which were e.g. dealing with the conversion of mixed electricity to wind power and the impact of the new alternative packaging on the results. The study was made by openLCA and the databases used Ecoinvent 3 and AGRIBYLASE 3.0. Life cycle assessment was examined using the ReCiPe 2016 Midpoint (H). The impact categories were global warming, land use, water consumption and freshwater eutrophication. According to this study, converting mixed electricity to wind power can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 49 – 50 %. Converting electricity to wind also significantly reduces land use, water consumption and freshwater eutrophication. Greenhouse gas emissions and phosphorous emissions of plant-based protein are lower than animal origin products. Packaging materials accounted for 7 to 13 % of greenhouse gas emissions. Based on this study, it is recommended to change the primary electric source to wind power.

Global growing demand to produce more food with less inputs and energy without causing greenhouse gas emissions challenges the current practice of using mineral fertilizers which are produced from new and partly non-renewable raw materials with considerable amount of energy. On the other hand recycled fertilizers made of different side streams and biomasses also need to be processed before usage or the amount needed per area is so great that the environmental advantages might be lost. The aim of this study was to discover and compare the energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions of recycled fertilizers (ammonium sulfate, biogas digestate and meat bone meal) and mineral fertilizer in production of oat by using Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). All recycled fertilizers were found to cause less greenhouse gas emissions and consume less energy than mineral fertilizer. The least emissions caused the usage of ammonium sulfate and the best energy efficiency was achieved with biogas digestate fertilization. Considered relative to global increase in food and energy consumption and control of climate change and recycling of raw materials recycled fertilizers proved to be effective compared to mineral fertilizer. Also on the grounds of land use and yield recycled fertilizers turned out to be potential substitute for mineral fertilizers. Further studies are still needed due to large number of raw materials and constantly increasing amount of processing techniques of recycled fertilizers.

Tiivistelmä – Referat – Abstract Finland has one of the highest percentage of peatlands in the world, so peatlands have inevitably been taken into cultivation use. Agricultural peatlands however generate a significant amount of greenhouse gas emissions, especially carbon dioxide (CO2) and nitrous oxide (N2O). Thus, agricultural usage of peatlands is considered one of the most unfavorable uses of land for the climate. Peatlands have been drained in order to improve food services, which in turn negatively affects other ecosystem services. Some of the ecosystem services can be restored by rewetting the land. If rewetting is combined with paludiculture, the land’s production services will not be lost. The goal of this thesis was to compare the greenhouse gas emissions and the carbon footprints of two paludicultural products’ life cycles. The compared products were cattail insulation board and common reed seedbed. The intent was to produce comparable data on different options for the paludiculture of agricultural peatlands. The data obtained from the life cycle assessment of the products was compared to similar non-paladiculture products, rock wool insulation board and horticultural peat. The material was reviewed with the life cycle assessment method following the ISO 144040 standard, but the work was limited only on climatic effects. Based on the analysis, key sources of climatic effect in the product system were identified and means to reduce them were considered. The intent was to calculate the carbon footprint and to identify where in the life cycle the emissions were generated. After this, the portion of agricultural peatlands in in the life cycle’s environmental effects was estimated. The material for this thesis was collected from scientific literature and life cycle assessment databases (ecoinvent v.3). The material of peatlands and other parts of the process were collected from studies made around the world in the boreal and temperate zone. A model was assembled based on the material, which included all phases of the paludicultural product’s life cycle and their effects on the climate with regards to carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O), The emissions in a paludicultural product’s life cycle are mostly generated during its cultivation and processing. The carbon footprint of both paludicultural products was most likely negative, so they slowed down climate change. Based on the study, the most benefit was achieved by moving the cultivation of barley from agricultural peatlands to mineral soil and replacing it with paludiculture. By using paludiculture, it’s possible to reduce greenhouse gas emissions of agricultural peatlands, but it won’t achieve carbon neutrality. The study had a significant amount of uncertainty, so further studies are recommended especially in Finland.

Tutkimuksen tavoitteena oli selvittää millä menetelmillä ja missä laajuudessa maanrakennus- ja koneurakointialan PK-yrityksen tulisi mitata ja raportoida ilmastopäästöjään, tunnistaa parhaat käytännöt raportoinnissa, arvioida kohdeyrityksen ilmastopäästöjen taso ja tunnistaa pääasialliset päästölähteet sekä teknistaloudellisesti relevantit toimenpiteet päästöjen vähentämiseen ja lisäksi arvioida onko hiilineutraalisuus kohdeyrityksen kannalta relevantti tavoite. Tutkimuksen pohjaksi muodostettiin katsaus ilmastopäästöjen mittaamista käsittelevään kirjallisuuteen sekä alan tärkeimpiin raportointistandardeihin. Soveltava osa toteutettiin intensiivisenä tapaustutkimuksena, keskittyen yhteen kohdeyritykseen – Maamark Oy:hyn. Kohdeyritys on pääkaupunkiseudulla toimiva maarakennus- ja koneurakointialan yritys, joka tarjoaa laajan valikoiman maanrakennus- ja koneurakointipalveluita pääkaupunkiseudun kunnille, julkisyhteisöille ja yksityisille toimijoille. Tutkimus osoittaa, että ilmastopäästöjen seurantaan ja raportointiin on vakiintunut selkeitä parhaita käytäntöjä, jotka rakentuvat tyypillisesti elinkaariarviointimenetelmän pohjalle, jonka tärkein sovellus on hiilijalanjälki ja siihen liittyvät laskentamenetelmät. Hiilijalanjäljen raportoinnin vertailtavuutta parantamaan on luotu laajasti hyväksytty The Greenhouse Gas Protocol-standardi, joka antaa suuntaviivat päästölähteiden ja päästöjen kategorisointiin ja tärkeimpiin järjestelmärajauksiin. Hiilijalanjäljen laskentamenetelmänä tässä työssä päädyttiin käyttämään Suomen Ympäristökeskuksen ylläpitämää Y-HIILARI-hiilijalanjälkilaskuria. Maamark Oy:n hiilijalanjälki on nykytilassa vuoden 2020 tasolla noin 428 ton CO2ekv / vuosi, joka vastaa noin 40 keskimääräisen suomalaisen vuosittaisia ilmastopäästöjä, josta noin 70 % muodostuu yrityksen ajoneuvojen ja koneiden polttoaineenkulutuksen päästöistä. Kohdeyrityksen päästöjen pienentämiseen tunnistettiin useita relevantteja vähennysmahdollisuuksia. Suunniteltu uusiutuvien polttoaineiden laajamittainen käyttöönotto, energiatehokkuuden parantaminen ja tuulisähköön siirtyminen mahdollistaisivat Scope 1- ja 2-päästöjen eliminoimisen lähes kokonaan. Samalla päästövähennystoimenpiteet kasvattaisivat yrityksen epäsuoria Scope 3 -päästöjä merkittävästi, uusiutuvien polttoaineiden valmistuksen fossiilisia vaihtoehtoja korkeampien epäsuorien päästöjen kautta kumoten osan suorien päästöjen vähennyksen vaikutuksista. Tarkasteltaessa yrityksen kokonaispäästöjä, suunnitellut toimenpiteet pienentäisivät päästöt 58 % nykytilaa matalammalle tasolle noin kahdessa vuodessa, vuoden 2023 loppuun mennessä. 178 ton CO2ekv / vuosi residuaalipäästöjen ilmastovaikutus voidaan kumota kompensaatiojärjestelyjen avulla, jolloin hiilineutraalisuus on kohdeyrityksen kannalta relevantti keskipitkän aikavälin tavoite. Päästövähennystoimenpiteiden toimeenpanon kertaluontoiseksi investointitarpeeksi arvioitiin 14 100 € ja vaikutukseksi muuttuviin kustannuksiin arvioitiin tulevan lisäystä 31 000–51 200 € / vuosi. Osana päästövähennysohjelmaa kohdeyritys tulee pilotoimaan ja pilotoinnin kokemusten pohjalta laajentamaan hinnoittelumallien kustannusvaikutuksen viemistä palvelujen loppukäyttäjille ja urakkahinnoitteluun. Lisäksi yrityksen johto uskoo, että hiilineutraalisuuden kautta saavutettava edelläkävijäasema maarakennus- ja koneurakointialan ympäristöystävällisyyden edistäjänä sekä kyky raportoida yrityksen päästöt tulevat kasvattamaan merkitystään strategisina kilpailukykyetuina lähitulevaisuudessa.

In 2020, 377 million liters of beer were sold in Finland. A large part of it was sold in multipacks for example in 12 or 24 multipacks. These multipacks require a secondary package which are often made out of shrink plastic or corrugated board. The aim of this study is to determine which of these materials is better alternative as packaging material in terms of functional properties as well as from an environmental point of view. The hypothesis is that corrugated board is more environmentally friendly option because it is made of renewable and recyclable material and the image of corrugated board is more environmentally friendly than shrink plastic. The properties required of the secondary packaging material were elucidated for the interview study, interviewing the different stages of the secondary packaging value chain. In general, the packaging was expected to be as environmentally friendly as possible and corrugated board was chosen by each interviewee as more environmentally friendly packaging material compared to shrink plastic. The functional properties of corrugated board were also highlighted more than properties of shrink plastic. The differences in the life cycle assessment of the materials in the secondary packaging were investigated as accurately as possible. Differences arise, for example, from the energy consumption of the packaging device, the logistics of the material and its disposal or possible recycling. Less shrink plastic is needed compared to corrugated board but the shrink plastic packaging machine consumes significantly more energy than the corrugated packaging machine. As the corrugated packaging machine is also faster the amount of energy used for packaging increases greatly with shrink plastic. Recycling both materials lower their carbon footprint and recycling is possible across the country. Both materials have their own strengths but the environmentally friendly image of corrugated board, its functional properties and the low energy used in packaging compared to shrink plastic seems to make corrugated board a very good alternative as a secondary packaging material.

Tutkielman tavoitteena oli määrittää 0,5 litran Hartwall Novelle maustamattoman kivennäisveden hiilijalanjälki lähteestä tehtaalle ja sieltä tuotteen loppumyyntipisteeseen asti sekä laskea pullotetun kivennäisveden elinkaaren eri vaiheiden aiheuttamat KHK-päästöt ja vertailla osuuksia keskenään, jotta ne voidaan minimoida. Tutkielman teoreettisessa osuudessa tavoitteena oli tutkia elinkaariajattelua, elinkaariarvioinnin metodologiaa ja hiilijalanjäljestä tehtyjä tutkimuksia, jotta pystyttiin tekemään perusteltuja ratkaisuja laskettaessa pullotetun kivennäisveden hiilijalanjälkeä Tutkielman aineisto on kerätty kesällä 2011 Hartwallin sisäisistä prosesseista ja yhteistyökumppaneilta. Pullotetun kivennäisveden hiilijalanjäljeksi tuli 38,40 g CO2-ekv. Jaoin KHK-päästöt kolmeen eri elinkaaren vaiheeseen: raaka-aineiden valmistukseen ja kuljetukseen, juoman valmistukseen ja logistiikkaan. Näistä vaiheista juoman valmistaminen ja logistiikka aiheuttivat suurimmat KHK-päästöt. Tutkielman tulosta arvioitaessa on huomattava, että se on suuntaa antava, sillä jouduin tekemään paljon oletuksia ja näin ollen tiedon kohdentamisen tarkkuus kärsi. Verrattaessa tutkielman tulosta muihin elintarvikkeisiin voidaan Hartwallin Novelle kivennäisveden hiilijalanjäljen todeta olevan melko pieni ja sitä voitaisiin markkinoida ilmastolle ystävällisenä juomana. Tuloksia on toistaiseksi haastava arvioida ja vertailuja eri elintarvikkeiden kesken on kuitenkin ongelmallista tehdä, koska yhtenäistä laskentatapaa hiilijalanjäljelle ei ole. Hiilijalanjäljen osalta suurimpana tulevaisuuden haasteena on kehittää yhtenäiset laskenta- ja kommunikointimallit.