Cradle-to-grave carbon footprint of dried organic pasta: assessment and potential mitigation measures
Author(s)
Date Issued
2019
Type
article
Abstract
Background: In several Environmental Product Declarations, the business-to-business carbon footprint (CFCDC) of durum wheat semolina dried pasta ranged from 0.57 to 1.72 kg carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) kg−1. In this work, the business-to-consumer carbon footprint (CFCG) of 1 kg of dry decorticated organic durum wheat semolina pasta, as packed in 0.5 kg polypropylene bags by a South Italian medium-sized pasta factory in the years 2016 and 2017, was assessed in compliance with the Publicly Available Specification 2050 standard method. Results: Whereas CFCDC was mostly conditioned by the greenhouse gases emitted throughout durum wheat cultivation (0.67 vs 1.12 kg CO2e kg−1), CFCG was mainly dependent on the use and post-consume phases (0.68 vs 1.81 kg CO2e kg−1). CFCG was more or less affected by the pasta types and packing formats used, since it varied from +0.3 to +14.8% with respect to the minimum score estimated (1.74 kg CO2e kg−1), which corresponded to long goods packed in 3 kg bags for catering service. Once the main hotspots had been identified, CFCG was stepwise reduced by resorting to a series of mitigation actions. Conclusion: Use of more eco-sustainable cooking practices, organic durum wheat kernels resulting from less impacting cultivation techniques, and renewable resources to generate the thermal and electric energy needs reduced CFCG by about 58% with respect to the above reference case. Finally, by shifting from road to rail freight transport and shortening the supply logistics of dry pasta and grains, a further 5% reduction in CFCG was achieved. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry