Georg-August-Universität Göttingen 05-31-2008 Climate Protection in Food Supply Chains Anette Joswig Climate Protection in Food Supply Chains Anette Joswig

Georg-August-Universität Göttingen

Climate Protection in Food Supply Chains Anette Joswig

05-31-2008

Climate Protection in Food Supply Chains

Anette Joswig

Regional Policy and Rural Areas – Marketing and Trade of Fresh Fruits and Vegetables

SS 2008

2


05-31-2008

Agenda

1. Greenhouse gas emissions along the food supply chain

2. Food miles

3. Case study I: Tesco

4. Case study II: Stop Climate Change System

5. Conclusion

Agenda

3


05-31-2008

Food related contribution to UK greenhouse gas emissions

Non food81.6%

Retail 0.9%

Home food related2.1%

Transport incl overseas

2.5%Packaging0.9%

Food manufacturing

2.2%

Fertiliser manufacture

1.0%Agriculture

7.4%

Catering1.5%

Source: Garnett 2007

1. Greenhouse gas emissions along the food supply chain

4


05-31-2008

Food miles

= The distance food travels from the farm to consumer

Large increase due to

Globalisation of food industry: increase in food trade Concentration of the food supply base: fewer, larger suppliers Changes in delivery patterns: regional distribution centers,

larger Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGV) Centralisation and concentration of sales in supermarkets: weekly

shopping by car

2. Food miles

5


05-31-2008

Rise in food miles is associated with an increase in:

Carbon dioxide emissions Air pollution Congestion Accidents Noise Infrastructure damage

Total food kilometres are no adequate indicator of sustainability

Environmental, social and

economic impacts

2. Food miles

6


05-31-2008

How to measure food miles:

1.) Transport mode

Source: Von Koerber et al. 2007

2041

9

35

135

40

0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500

Air

Deep sea navigation

Inland water navigation

HGV

Rail

CO2 equivalent (g/tkm)

Greenhouse gas emissions from transport (g/tkm)

2. Food miles

7


05-31-2008

How to measure food miles continued

2.) Transport efficiency

3.) Differences in food production systems

4.) Wider social and economic costs and benefits

Effects associated with food miles are complex and system specific

Key indicators: urban/ HGV/ air food km total CO2 emissions from food transport

2. Food miles

Source: Smith et al. 2005

8


05-31-2008

Case study 1: Tesco

„Supermaket chain Tesco has announced that a range of its own-

brand products will carry labels showing the size of the goods'

carbon footprints. (…) Shoppers will be able to see how much

carbon is emitted over the life of a product - from manufacture to

disposal. “

BBC News, 29 April 2008

Amount of CO2 emissions is indicated on the packaging (e.g. 75g CO2

for Walkers potato crisps)


Source: Smith et al. 2005

9


05-31-2008

Evaluation of carbon footprint labelling

Developed in partnership with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and the British Standards Institute

high credibility

More transparancy to the consumers Simple to understand Beyond the concept of food miles But: for the time beeing only transportation costs are included For instance only four product categories (detergents, orange

juice, potatoes and light bulbs)


10


05-31-2008

Case study 2: Stop Climate Change (SCC) System

Developed by Agra-Teg GmbH in Göttingen Labelling climate-neutral products Participants: member companies of BNN (e.g. Bio Tropic,

Ökoland, Naturkost Elkershausen)

Organic bananas are the first product to receive this label

Source: Mörler 2007

4. Case study II: SCC system

11


05-31-2008

How does SCC work?

1. Calculate and document a product’s carbon footprint2. Independent certifier checks the calculated emissions3. Minimise GHG emissions4. Compensation of GHG emissions by buying emission permits

(e.g. planting rainforest) 5. Bananas are labelled as “emission free” products

The system is monitored by a governing board with representativesfrom politics, science, organic certification bodies and consumerprotection organisations.


12


05-31-2008

Greenhouse gas emissions by Bananas from Dominican Republic (%)

Transport to Manzanillo3%

Reefer (loading, unloading)

1%

Cooling in Manzanillo2%

Mineral fertilizer1%Organic fertilizer

1%Irrigation1%

Crop protection2%

Boxes6%

Transport to w holesaler5%

Maturation18%

Reefer (transport)43%

Transport to BioTropic1%

Transport to maturation8%

Transport to retailer8%


Source: Heinzemann 2008

13


05-31-2008

Evaluation of the SCC System

GHG emissions are not just labelled (see Tesco), but compensated

Very broad approach: (Almost) all emissions are neutralised Transparency High credibility through “division of powers” The label “emission free” might be misunderstood by consumers Climate relevant costs are included, but there are still other

externalities (social, environmental)

In conclusion a useful approach


14


05-31-2008

Conclusion

Food supply chains contribute significantly to the GHG emissions

Food miles are linked with environmental, social and economic effects

The concept of food miles does not consider all climate relevant costs; therefore the whole food supply chain has to be analysed

The SCC system is a comprehensive approach to neutralise GHG emissions

Only very few, organic products are available as “emission free” Consumers’ demand is required for the success of SCC We are responsible for the climate. It is our decision what we

buy!

5. Conclusion

15


05-31-2008

Thank you for your attention!

Anette JoswigSeminar FFVSS [email protected]

16


05-31-2008

References

BBC News (2008): Supermarket trials carbon labels, available at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7371033.stm; date of access: 05-30-2008.

FCRN (2007): Garnett, T. (2007): Overall UK consumption related GHGs, available at: http://www.fcrn.org.uk/frcnResearch/index.htm; date of access: 05-30-2008.

Heinzemann, J. (2008): Stop-Climate-Change Emissionsmanagement-Systems (EMS), Präsentation, Göttingen.

Hoffrogge (2008): Emissionsfrei essen, available at: http://www.dradio.de/dlf/sendungen/umwelt/605747/; date of access: 05-28-2008.

Mörler, A. (2007a): Klimaschutz bewegt die Branche, in: BNN-Nachrichten September 2007, p. 10-12.

References

17


05-31-2008

Smith, A.; Watkiss, P.; Tweddle, G.; McKinnon, A.; Browne, M.; Hunt, A.; Treleven, C.; Nash, C.; Cross, S. (2005): The Validity of Food Miles as an Indicator of Sustainable Development, available at: http://statistics.defra.gov.uk/esg/reports/foodmiles/final.pdf; date of access: 05-09-2008.

Tesco (2007): Measuring Our Carbon Footprint, available at: http://www.tesco.com/climatechange/carbonFootprint.asp; date of access: 05-30-2008.

Von Koerber, K.; Kretschmer, J. (2007): Klimafreundlich essen: weniger Fleisch, bio, regional & frisch, in: Ökologie & Landbau Nr. 143, 3/2007, S. 20-22, available at: http://www.greenpeace-chiemgau.de/2008-01-22-ausstellung-stadt-ts/klima-und-ernaehrung.pdf; date of access: 05-13-2008.

References

18


05-31-2008

Additional information

Supermaket chain Tesco has announced that a range of its own-brand products will carry labelsshowing the size of the goods' carbon footprints. Tesco said it would label 20 items, including light bulbs and potatoes, during a two-year trial of the scheme, which is operated by the Carbon Trust. Shoppers will be able to see how much carbon is emitted over the life of a product - from manufacture to disposal. The store said it was introducing the labels in response to consumer demand. "Customers tell us that it is very important to them," said David North, Tesco's community and government director. "What they have said is that they want us to help them tackle climate change." He added that information on products' environmental credentials was one of the key areas where shoppers wanted more information from retailers. Initially, 20 products from four categories - detergents, orange juice, potatoes and light bulbs - will carry labels displaying the items' carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. The Carbon Trust's scheme, launched in March 2007, is being developed in partnership with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and the British Standards Institute. In order for products to carry the carbon reduction label, companies have to undertake a comprehensive carbon audit of the supply chains, and commit to further CO2 reductions over a two-year period.

(http://images.google.de/imgres?imgurl=http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/44607000/jpg/_44607508_juice226carbontrust.jpg&imgrefurl=http://news.bbc.co.uk/nolpda/ifs_news/hi/newsid_7371000/7371033.stm&h=170&w=226&sz=29&hl=de&start=125&um=1&tbnid=036q-Q7Roe7XuM:&tbnh=81&tbnw=108&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dcarbon%2Bfootprint%2Btesco%26start%3D108%26ndsp%3D18%26um%3D1%26hl%3Dde%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26rls%3Dcom.google:de:official%26sa%3DN)

19


05-31-2008


It set out how we can use our unique relationship with customers to deliver a revolution in green consumption. It also included ambitious targets for us to reduce our own emissions.

Some of the highlights include: We will begin the search for a universally accepted and commonly understood measure of the carbon

footprint of the products we sell and will take the first steps towards developing a Sustainable Consumption Institute to lead this work. This will enable us to label our products so that customers can compare their carbon footprint easily.

We will promote and incentivise energy efficient products through our Green Clubcard scheme and also extend Green Clubcard points to environmentally friendly products from a wider range of categories, for example organic food, products made from recycled or biodegradable materials and Fairtrade. We will also bring down the cost of going green, beginning by halving the price of energy-efficient light bulbs.

We will reduce the carbon footprint of our existing stores and distribution centres around the world by 50% per cent by 2020 and ensure that all new stores we build between now and 2020 emit on average at least 50 per cent less carbon than an equivalent store in 2006.

We will seek to restrict air transport to less than 1 per cent of our products and will put an aeroplane symbol on all air-freighted products in our stores.

20


05-31-2008


The BSI Management Systems division of BSI Group is the world’s largest certification body[5]. It audits and provides certification to companies worldwide who implement management systems standards. BSI Management Systems also provides a range of training courses regarding implementation and auditing to the requirements of national and international management systems standards.

It is independently accredited and delivers assessments for a wide range of standards and other specifications including:

ISO 9001 (Quality), ISO 14001 (Environment), BS OHSAS 18001 (Occupational Health and Safety), ISO/IEC 27001 (previously BS 7799 for Information Security), ISO/IEC 20000 (previously BS 15000 for IT Service Management); PAS 99 (Integrated Management), BS 25999 (Business Continuity), Greenhouse Gas Emissions Verification, SA8000 (Social Accountability) and Food Safety standards and specifications, including ISO 22000.

Documents

Georg-August-Universität Göttingen 05-31-2008 Climate Protection in Food Supply Chains Anette Joswig Climate Protection in Food Supply Chains Anette Joswig