Life cycle environmental and economic sustainability in the baby food sector A thesis submitted to The University of Manchester for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Faculty of Science and Engineering 2018 by Natalia Sieti School of Chemical Engineering and Analytical Science Table of Contents List of Abbreviations ............................................................................................. 6 List of Figures ....................................................................................................... 8 List of Tables ...................................................................................................... 10 Abstract .............................................................................................................. 12 Declaration ......................................................................................................... 14 Copyright Statement ........................................................................................... 14 Acknowledgements ............................................................................................. 15 Chapter 1. Introduction ....................................................................................... 16 1.1 Aims and objectives ...................................................................................... 17 1.2 Dissertation structure .................................................................................... 18 1.3 Methodology ................................................................................................. 19 1.3.1 Market Research .................................................................................... 20 1.3.2 Selection of representative food products ............................................... 28 1.3.3 Environmental sustainability assessment ............................................... 33 1.3.4 Economic sustainability assessment ...................................................... 43 1.3.5 Sectoral assessment .............................................................................. 44 1.3.6 Conclusions and recommendations for improvement ............................. 45 Chapter 2. Environmental impacts of baby food: Ready-made porridge products 50 2.1 Introduction ................................................................................................... 51 2.2 Methods ........................................................................................................ 52 2.2.1 Goal and scope of the study ................................................................... 52 2.2.2 Inventory data ......................................................................................... 53 2.2.3 Allocation and system expansion ............................................................ 63 2.3 Results and discussion ................................................................................. 66 2.3.1 Environmental impacts of ready-made porridge ...................................... 66 2.3.2 Comparison of results with literature ....................................................... 69 2.3.3 Sensitivity analysis ................................................................................. 72 2.3.4 Improvement opportunities ..................................................................... 73 2 2.4 Conclusions ................................................................................................... 79 Chapter 3. Environmental sustainability assessment of ready-made baby foods: meals, menus and diets .......................................................................................... 87 3.1 Introduction ................................................................................................... 88 3.2 Methods ........................................................................................................ 89 3.2.1 Goal and scope of the study ................................................................... 89 3.2.1 Inventory data ......................................................................................... 91 3.2.3 Allocation and system expansion .......................................................... 105 3.2.4 Weekly diet scenarios ........................................................................... 107 3.3 Results and discussion ................................................................................ 108 3.3.1 Environmental impacts of individual meals ............................................ 108 3.3.2 Sensitivity analysis ................................................................................ 114 3.3.3 Environmental impacts of different food groups .................................... 114 3.3.4 Environmental impacts of different diets ................................................ 116 3.4 Conclusions ................................................................................................. 118 Chapter 4. Life cycle environmental impacts of baby food: ready versus home- made meals 124 4.1 Introduction ................................................................................................. 125 4.2 Methods ..................................................................................................... 127 4.2.1 Goal and scope of the study ................................................................. 127 4.2.2 System definition and system boundaries ............................................. 130 4.2.3 Inventory data and assumptions ........................................................... 130 4.2.4 Allocation and system expansion .......................................................... 136 4.3 Results and discussion ................................................................................ 137 4.3.1 Comparison of home- and ready-made meals ...................................... 137 4.3.2 Raw materials stage (Ingredients) ......................................................... 147 4.4 Conclusions ................................................................................................. 153 Chapter 5. Economic and environmental life cycle assessment in the baby foods sector 158 5.1 Introduction ................................................................................................. 159 3 5.2 Methods ..................................................................................................... 160 5.2.1 Goal and scope of the study ................................................................. 160 5.2.2 Calculation of life cycle costs and value added ..................................... 162 5.2.3 Life cycle inventory ............................................................................... 163 5.3 Results and discussion ............................................................................... 163 5.3.1 Life cycle costs and value added of ready-made meals ...................... 172 5.3.2 Life cycle costs and value added of home-made meals ........................ 175 5.3.3 Comparison of LCC and VA of ready- and home-made meals ............. 176 5.3.4 Comparison of life cycle costs and environmental impacts ................... 177 5.3.5 Economic and environmental evaluation in the ready-made sector ...... 180 5.4 Conclusions ................................................................................................ 182 Chapter 6. Conclusions and Recommendations ............................................... 187 6.1 Conclusions ................................................................................................ 188 6.1.1 Environmental impacts of baby food: Ready-made porridge products .. 188 6.1.2 Environmental sustainability assessment of ready-made baby foods: meals, menus and diets ............................................................................................ 188 6.1.3 Life cycle environmental impacts of baby food: ready-versus home-made meals 189 6.1.4 Economic and environmental life cycle assessment in the baby foods sector 190 6.2 Recommendations to industry, government and consumers ....................... 191 6.2.1 Environmental impacts of baby food: Ready-made porridge products .. 191 6.2.2 Environmental sustainability assessment of ready-made baby foods: meals, menus and diets ............................................................................................ 192 6.2.3 Life cycle environmental impacts of baby food: ready-versus home-made meals 192 6.2.4 Economic and environmental life cycle assessment in the baby foods sector 193 6.3 Recommendations for future work .............................................................. 193 6.4 Concluding remarks .................................................................................... 194 4 Appendix A. Supplementary information of Chapter 2 ......................................... 195 Appendix B. Supplementary information of Chapter 3 ......................................... 205 5 List of Abbreviations ADPe Abiotic Depletion Potential (elements) ADPf Abiotic Depletion Potential (fossil) AP Acidification Potential BR Brazil CH Switzerland Centrum voor Milieuwetenschappen (Institute of Environmental CML Sciences) CO2 Carbon Dioxide DCB Dichlorobenzene DE Germany EoL End of Life EP Eutrophication Potential eq. equivalent ES Spain EU European Union f.u. functional unit FAETP Freshwater Aquatic Ecotoxicity Potential FMCG Fast Moving Consumer Goods g grams GaBi Ganzheitliche Bilanz (Holistic Balance) GB Great Britain GHG Greenhouse Gases GLO Global GWP Global Warming