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PublicationLCA study of unconsumed food and the influence of consumer behavior( 2016)
;Gruber, Lisa Marie ;Brandstetter, Christian Peter ;Bos, UlrikePurpose: In the light of anthropogenic resource depletion and the resulting influences on the greenhouse effect as well as globally occurring famine, food waste has garnered increased public interest in recent years. The aim of this study is to analyze the environmental impacts of food waste and to determine to what extent consumers' behavior influences the environmental burden of food consumption in households. Methods: A life cycle assessment (LCA) study of three food products is conducted, following the ISO 14040/44 life cycle assessment guidelines. This study addresses the impact categories climate change (GWP100), eutrophication (EP), and acidification (AP). Primary energy demand (PED) is also calculated. For adequate representation of consumer behavior, scenarios based on various consumer types are generated in the customer stage. The customer stage includes the food-related activities: shopping, storage, preparation, and disposal of food products as well as the disposal of the sales packaging. Results and discussion: If the consumer acts careless towards the environment, the customer stage appears as the main hotspot in the LCA of food products. The environmental impact of food products can be reduced in the customer stage by an environmentally conscious consumer. Shopping has the highest effect on the evaluated impact categories and the PED. Additionally, consumers can reduce the resulting emissions by decreasing the electric energy demand, particularly concerning food storage or preparation. Moreover, results show that the avoidance of wasting unconsumed food can reduce the environmental impact significantly. Conclusions: Results of this study show that the influence of consumer behavior on the LCA results is important. The customer stage of food products should not be overlooked in LCA studies. To enable comparison among results of other LCA studies, the LCA community needs to develop a common methodology for modeling consumer behavior. -
PublicationIntegration of land use aspects in LCA: Determination of land use types as a crucial factor influencing the result( 2015)
;Arana, Daniel ;Bos, Ulrike ;Liedke, AlexanderKupfer, ThiloIn recent years, scientists worldwide have worked successfully on the implementation of land use aspects into Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). However, there are still challenges to be met to get valuable and comparable results when using different land use calculation methods. In order to calculate land use information, land use types have to be determined and distinguished. The Department Life Cycle Engineering at the University of Stuttgart (LBP-GaBi) conducted a study to analyse the influence of the choice of the classfication system and the respective land use types on the soil quality indicators used in LANCA (Land Use Indicator Value Calculation). Various classfication systems like Global Land Cover 2000, GlobCover or the WWF Terrestrial Ecoregions of the World are investigated and analysed with respect to the application for the particular land use types. Finally, based on these findings an approach for a standardized determination o.f land use types is developed.