A Progressive Approach Towards a More Sustainable Food Industry

Cimini A., Moresi M. (2019) A Progressive Approach Towards a More Sustainable Food Industry. Chemical Engineering Transactions, 75, 565-570 (DOI: 10.3303/CET1975095). (OPEN ACCESS)

In this work, the main direct environmental impacts of the food industry, as well as greenhouse gas (GHG)

emissions for the agro-food system in industrialized countries, were pointed out. A simple and stepwise

approach, based on the mere assessment of the product Carbon Footprint (CF), was used to improve the

sustainability of small- and medium-sized food and drink enterprises before analyzing the impact of other

impact categories than climate change. By applying previously developed LCA models, the cradle-to-grave

carbon footprint of dry pasta and malt beer was estimated and practically halved by resorting to a series of

mitigation options. A cost/benefit analysis is required to assess the feasibility of each selected option.