Life cycle based ecolabeling for agricultural products in Austria

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Sustainability

Assessment , Solutions and Applied Research

28/11/2012 MDEC - DG SANCO [email protected]

Life Cycle Based Ecolabeling for Agricultural Products in Austria

the GLOBAL 2000 adaptive labeling approach for agricultural products

Martin Wildenberg, Tanja Altaparmakova, Kewin Comploi, Dominik Frieling

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Sustainability Assessment , Solutions and Applied Research

Structure of the talkSome thoughts on green claimsWho we do it

The systemResultsSuccess factors

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28/11/2012 MDEC - DG SANCO [email protected]/5/2012 611/28/2012 6


What is a green product?

A product that is environmentally friendly according to resource use and emissions along the whole life cycle and is produced under fair conditions.

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First Challenge: Sustainability is

complexComple

x

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First Challenge:

marketing relies on simple massages

Simple

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Second Challenge:

Different views on sustainability exist

1+1 = Sustainability

∫(x) =SUSTAINABILITY

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Third Challenge:

Requires trust – that easily can be

destroyed by others

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Fourth Challenge:

Some times messages are really simple but do not go along with marketing strategies

Consume less

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The GLOBAL 2000 adaptive labeling approach for sustainable agricultural products

Aim: • set incentives for farmers, distributors and retailers to adopt a

more sustainable production mode • inform consumers about environmental impacts of their

choices.

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Use case: Pro Planet – Austria fruit vegetable and eggs

The Label

In Germany & Austria- Identify & resolve social and ecological hot-spots

in the production chain

In Austria:

For fruits, vegetables and eggs:

Cooperation between Caritas, REWE International AG & GLOBAL 2000

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The building blocks of the programG

ood

Agr

icul

tura

l P

ract

ice

Glo

bal G

ap

Soc

ial P

ract

ice

GR

AS

P &

SA

800

0C

arita

s

Co

nsu

me

r S

afe

tyP

estic

ide

Mon

itorin

g P

RP

Ecological SustainabilityIndicator setRules and regulationsStakeholder process

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The focus of our indicator system

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Farm based indicators

N-balance

P-balance

Humus-balance

Pesticide use

Energy intensity

Calculated by INL using the model REPRO (Hülsbergen et al 2003)

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Per service unit indicators:

Carbon-footprint

Biotic Material Input

A-biotic Material Input

Water input

Area usedField to shelf

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Field records (machine use etc.)Pesticide useYieldsIn case of fruit rotation the

data should cover at least three years

Data on other inputs (energy & materials) collection via standardized form

Calculated by using factors from the EcoInvent Database

Data needed:

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Transparency over production chain

Information about CO2 footprint of apple juice at proplanet-label.at

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The Soft side of Labeling:

InvolvementKnowledge exchangeEducation

= Participation

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Stakeholder Process

BenchmarkingRegulations

Hotspots

Participants:• Producer• Distributor• Producer-organization• Quality Management• Experts• GLOBAL 2000• Caritas

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Results

After starting with the labeling of Austrian open-land strawberries in June 2010…

• Over 500 farms have submitted data in 2012• 25 product groups have been screened from which • 17 products labeled. • 50+ stakeholder workshops have been conducted

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Comparing production systems

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biotischer in

put kg /

kg

abiotisch

input k

g / kg

Fläc

he m² /

kg

Wass

er m³ /

kg

CO2e eq. Kg /

kg0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

3.5

Tomato Greenhouse AUT (Gas-heating)Tomato Greenhouse AUT (comunity heating)Cocktail Tomato ESP (tunnel)Tomato ESP (tunnel)Tomato AUT (tunnel)

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Paprik

a FT

Tom

atoe

s (p

. t.)

Rad

ish

Lettu

ceC

hine

se C

abba

ge

Cab

bage

Iceb

erg

Lettu

ceStra

wbe

rryH

orse

radi

sh

Potat

oeG

rape

s IT

A

Oni

on

Apple

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

1 2 2

45 5 5 5

7

9

15 15

16

Pesticide use index

Pro-Planet product

Comparing products:

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Comparing producers:Variation in Pesticide Index in 138 apple producers

0,0

5,0

10,0

15,0

20,0

25,0

30,0

35,0

40,0

Pflanzenschutz-Index

Häufigkeit und Menge von Pestizid-Anwendungen 2011

Pflanzenschutzindex Pro Planet-ÄpfelIhr Betrieb (Mittelw ert aller Schläge)OptimumgrenzeToleranzgrenze

Pfla

nze

ns

ch

utz

-In

de

x

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Ten Success factors1. Largely relying on data that is available and recorded anyway

2. Indicators point at hotspots

3. Indicators cover resource use, emissions & health

4. Improvements can be quantified & communicated

5. Indicators are relevant for producers

6. Life cycle approach – transparency and responsibility over production chain

7. Third party assessments

8. Stakeholder involvement

9. Cooperation with important stakeholders: supermarket-chain, GlobalG.A.P. and farm management software

10. Constant evaluation, adaptation and further development

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Vision for green labeling:1. GDA for environmental impact (combination

of general and product specific indicators)2. Make use of labeling & certification process3. Easy access of environmental product

information for customers (low barriers from label to product information)

= iImpact

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Thank You!

Life cycle based ecolabeling for agricultural products in Austria

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