Type of indicator
Quantitative
Relative dimension and aggregated criteria
Environmental sustainability: Environmental quality
Description
This indicator is based on the global warming potential (GWP) measure developed by the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 2006). It refers to an LCA midpoint impact category and quantifies GHG emitted by the dairy system. This measure is given in kg of carbon dioxide (CO2) equivalent per kg of FPCM produced during the production year. Please refer to Guinée et al. (2002) for the detailed method.
Indicator calculation
𝐺𝑊𝑃 =
∑ 𝑒𝑖 ∗ 𝐶𝐹𝑖/ FPCM
Where:
e i = GHG emission i
CF i = associated characterization factor I kg of CO2eq
𝐹𝑃𝐶𝑀 = Total FPCM produced in kg
Unit
kg CO2 equivalent / kg FPCM
Indicator interpretation
Higher values indicate larger negative impacts on the environment.
Scale definition
| Reference values | Scales | Dexi
interpretation |
References | |
| 0.86 kg CO2 /kg (New Zealand) Average of 3
scenarios |
< 0.7 | Low | + | (Basset-Mens et al., 2009) |
| 0.95 kg CO2 /kg in conventional (Sweden) | [0.7; 1] | Medium to low | (Cederberg and Mattsson, 2000) | |
| 1.1 kg CO2 /kg in organic (Sweden) | [1; 1.3] | Medium to
High |
||
| 1.410 kg CO2 /kg in conventional
(Netherlands) |
>1.3 | High | – | (Thomassen et al., 2008b) |
| 1.480 kg CO2 /kg in organic (Netherlands) |
Based on three LCA studies “cradle to farm-gate” of dairy farm using IPCC method and mostly eco-invent database.
References
Emission calculation: Koch, P., Salou, T., 2016. AGRIBALYSE®: Rapport Méthodologique – Version 1.3. Ed ADEME, Angers, France, p. 343p.
Characterization factor: CML-IA characterization method