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Purpose: A critical evaluation of the life cycle assessment (LCA) studies was performed in the main scientific bibliographic databases (online and free access) of Brazil where the LCA methodology could be considered. Methods: This has been an exploratory study with a qualitative evaluation of quantitative LCA studies with regard to International Organization of Standardization (ISO) 14040 standards. Firstly, the selected papers were those which used the LCA methodology in case studies (quantitative LCA studies). This survey was based on previously chosen keywords which were directly and/or indirectly related to LCA in Portuguese, English, and Spanish. Results and discussion: One hundred and twenty papers related to LCA were found, among which 21 have been effectively used the LCA methodology applied to case studies. The study has indicated agriculture and livestock as some promising areas for the use of LCA methodology in Brazil. As for the scope of LCA, it has been found that nine papers have adopted the cradle-to-grave approach, whereas 12 papers have limited the study to some life cycle stage (cradle-to-gate, gate-to-gate, or gate-to-grave). This behavior can be justified by the difficulty in obtaining data from raw material, supply chain, inputs, or about the disposal, reuse, and recycling of products/systems. The criteria set out in the ISO 14040 standard was carried out in 17 out of the 21 selected papers. Conclusions: The LCA of Brazilian studies could be improved. For instance, when considering the requirements and guidelines of ISO standards, at the goal phase, the papers have clearly mentioned their target audience. The scope phase requires more explanation about the allocation procedures, once the process/product is not isolated, and for most processes, it may generate more than one product. As regards the Life Cycle Inventory, these studies could improve their data sources, once few papers used primary sources. According to our understanding, the best phase performed by the papers was life cycle impact assessment. Hopefully, LCA will become a known research area and will be adopted by most of the Brazilian scientific community. It is further expected that LCA might have a regular publication in scientific journals (perhaps an own journal). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This literature review starts from the recognition of the importance of the social performance of sustainable products and the SLCA approach as a potential tool to measure this performance. The goal of this research is to analyze the bibliographies (papers and authors) that could be considered to be the basis to support the application of the SLCA concept in product performance. Methods: A bibliographical survey was conducted in two databases (Italian and Brazilian) covering the articles published from 2010 to 2013. The structure of the research consists of four steps: selection and analysis of recent scientific papers related to SLCA, selection and analysis of recent scientific papers related to the application of SLCA to a product, analysis of all of the references cited in recent scientific papers related to the application of SLCA to a product, and analysis of all of the scientific papers cited in recent scientific papers related to the application of SLCA to a product. Results and discussion: In 99 articles derived from the first selection, 13 articles specifically discussed the use of SLCA to products related to five different sectors. The investigation of the references cited in these papers identified 524 references used in 56 different journals and 358 authors. To discover the most cited references, the 220 articles published in scientific journals were examined. The work of Dreyer et al. (Int J Life Cycle Assess 11(2):88-97, ) was utilized in 62 % of the 13 selected articles and by the all of the sectors. Other important studies are also Benoît et al. (Int J Life Cycle Assess 15:156-163, ), Jørgensen et al. (Int J Life Cycle Assess 13(2):96-103, ), and Weidema (Int J Life Cycle Assess 11(1):89-96, ). Regarding an individual analysis of the authors, we highlight Hauschild, Jørgensen, Noris, and Dreyer. Conclusions: In summary, the results indicate that the article of Dreyer et al. (Int J Life Cycle Assess 11(2):88-97, ) was cited by several authors in the scientific studies over the last decade and that Hauschild, Jørgensen, Norris, and Dreyer were the most cited authors. However, regarding the frequency and distribution of the citations in all of the sectors, a deeper discussion regarding whether the effects are due to the sample or are based on the use of the SLCA being in its infancy is required. Note that a factor that differentiates a mature thematic area of a new field of study is the presence of shared references. Thus, the definition of a common approach among scientists applying SLCA would result in a bibliography with a shared basis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Goal, Scope and Background. A methodological approach for rep- resenting agricultural products in terms of life cycle inventory is suggested in this paper. This approach was developed during the conduction of an LCA study for two perennial crops of important Brazilian exportation products: green coffee and orange juice, which included tillage cultivation by commercial farms, harvest, as well as product processing when pertinent. The published papers on agricultural products LCA usually discuss the final results in terms of LCIA, being not very clear what methodology or principles were applied on the LCI phase. The aim of this paper is to present a simple methodology that would be employed by different stakeholders as farmers, environment managers and decision makers for evaluating the environmental performance of their products. In recent years, many researchers have tried to make a worldwide effort in order to reach comparable results of LCA studies developed in different countries. So, the proposed methodology has also the aim of isolating the site-dependency of the results that are not strictly related to the agricultural production. The time coverage suggested is the period can be considered as an average for the specific tillage under evaluation, usually two crops, since there is a large variation on the inputs in every other crop, including the higher and subsequent lower productive periods. Method. The functional unit recommended is 1,000 kg of the specific product, being recommended to distinguish the energy used for the cultivation from that used by the processing stage. There are several specific considerations to transform the data collected through the questionnaires in an inventory data set of fertilizers (macro and micro nutrients), correctives, fillers and pesticides further detailed. Water used forchemicals preparation, in the cleaning and processing stages of the harvested crop is also considered. Land use refers to the area used land for Cultivation divided by the medium life period of the tillage. The stoichiometric balance is performed based on the elementary composition of the products. An average carbohydrate formula is established for the products considering the relationship among the carbon, hydrogen and oxygen contents of them. The carbohydrate formula (output) is balanced with carbon dioxide and water (inputs) according to the basic principles of the photosynthesis reaction. The differences among the mineral composition of the products and the total content of these elements (N, P, K, Ca, Mg and micronutrients elements) for all the crop inputs (fertilizers, pesticides, correctives) are allocated as outputs of the system. The pesticides is counted in two forms: grouped in classes (herbicide, fungicide, acaricide, bactericide and inseticide) and specified by the chemical name of the active ingredient. Results and Discussion. A simplified inventory useful for different purposes is generated with the principles described in this paper. The exact fate of each pesticide, fertilizer or corrective or assumptions can be further associated to impact categories as nutriphication, human health, natural resources depletion, ecological toxicity, etc. In this approach the mass balance was focused in the grain or fruit growth and not in the plant or tree as a whole, considering basically the elementary composition of the product and the photosynthesis principle. Despite agricultural LCAs performed in different countries have been published, neither of them considers the carbon capture by the agricultural products during their growth.… [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper presents the regionalized water scarcity characterization factors (CFs) of the available water remaining (AWARE) model, which was found by a previous study, on the water scarcity in Brazil, to be the most indicative characterization model for the water-scarce regions in Brazil. We used the national database and hydrographic delimitations defined by the National Water Agency (Agência Nacional de Águas — ANA) to generate the regionalized AWARE BR CFs. Methods: The CFs were regionalized by hydrographic delimitations used by ANA: (i) State Hydrographic Units (SHU) and (ii) Hydrographic Regions (HR). These AWARE BR CFs were compared with the factors originally proposed by WULCA (2018) and with the Scarcity Index used by ANA to identify the scarcest regions in the country. Finally, the AWARE and AWARE BR factors were applied to a case study of Brazilian melons, evaluating the regionalization effects on the results of water scarcity analysis. Results and discussion: The AWARE BR CFs demonstrate most consistency with the regions recognized by ANA to have water scarcity problems, such as the semiarid region. Approximately 12% of the SHUs exhibited maximum water scarcity (CF = 100) during the entire year, while 11% presented minimum scarcity factors (CF = 0.1). The comparison of hydrologic data from ANA with those from WaterGAP indicated that water availability was overestimated in WaterGAP, while demand was underestimated in different basins. The comparison of AWARE BR CFs with ANA Scarcity Index values indicated more similarity (smaller residual error) than the comparison of AWARE BR CFs with AWARE. The case study regarding the impact of water scarcity on melons showed a significant difference between characterization factors and, consequently, in the values of impact. Conclusions: AWARE BR factors generated with national characterization data are adapted to the different regions of Brazil, exhibiting higher sensitivity to the semiarid region. This regionalization provided a more accurate representation of the scarcity in smaller basins located in larger basins, characterized by large climate variation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Gold extraction in the Amazonian rainforest is accompanied by ecological threats and social grievances, but at the same time, the artisanal small-scale gold mining sector (ASGM) provides a livelihood for many people. To address this tradeoff, this paper analyzed the social aspects and their possible relations by conducting a case study based on a Social Life Cycle Assessment (SLCA). This study seeks to determine whether SLCA is capable of reflecting the sector. Method: A literature-based guideline was used for collecting primary data during several field trips to the Tapajós Region in Brazil. This research instrument constituted the basis for information-oriented interviews and on-site observations. The SLCA categories used in this study were based on the United Nations Environment Programme and the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (UNEP/SETAC) guidelines and the categories in the Fairmined Standard. In addition, secondary data obtained from the literature were used to provide insights into the sector. The data were analyzed using qualitative content analysis with both deductive and inductive approaches. Results and discussion: This study described the social aspects of the ASGM sector in the Tapajós Region, including the absence of the state, the illegality and informality of mining operations, the remote and rural area, and the organizational structure. In addition, the extraction methods, poor working conditions, and difficult living conditions were considered. Certain characteristics of the industry like unstable payments, worker movements, and low education levels were recognized, and thus, the relations among the social categories and rebound effects were identified. Several issues were proven to be key factors: unstable payments, autonomy, and the rebound effects of excavators. Complex relations among social issues but also towards ecological and economic issues do exist. The suitability of using the SLCA to reflect the ASGM sector was tested on this basis. Conclusion: In some respects, the SLCA had limitations, e.g., due to the nonlinear relation between working hours and the amount of extracted gold. The impacts of technology depend on the underlying definition that is used. The current lack of cause-effect models impedes the assessment of an overall picture that considers the relations among the social aspects and other elements of sustainability. A holistic view must be applied if ecological problems are to be solved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The lack of approaches to consider the economic-life cycle environmental performance of cropping systems at experimental stage and the absence of evaluations regarding alternative mango systems are issues addressed in this paper. In this study, an approach for assessing the environmental-economic performance of alternative crop systems, at the experimental stage, is proposed and applied to the mango experiment in Brazil. This approach may be used in other assessments of cropping systems at experimental stage. Methods: The proposed approach encompasses three consecutive evaluations: agronomic and environmental-economic. Initially, the agronomic evaluation statistically compares the yield of alternative cropping systems (treatments in the experiment). Next, a treatment is selected among those with significant better yield and compared to the treatment representing the conventional system, considering environmental and economic criteria. The environmental criteria are the carbon and water footprints of the selected treatments, according to ISO 14067 and 14,046, while the economic is profitability (revenue minus costs with labor and inputs). This approach was applied to evaluate an 8-year mango experiment in the Sao Francisco Valley, Brazil, which intercropped mango trees with two types of plant mixtures (cover crops with different plant mixes), applying two soil management systems (tillage and no-tillage). Results and discussion: The agronomic assessment that statistically compared yields showed that four treatments (T1, T2, T4, and T5) obtained higher yields than those representing the conventional system (T3 and T6). Treatment T4 was selected among the ones with higher yields, and compared with T6 (conventional system), considering the economic and environmental criteria. The economic analysis showed that in 30 years (expected orchard life time), T4 generates a profit that is 44% higher than T6. Regarding the environmental analysis, T4 presents a 16% lower carbon footprint and from 16 to 435% lower water footprint than T6, according to the impact category considered. The scenario where land use changed from an annual crop (melon) to mango orchard further reduced both carbon and water footprints of mangoes produced in T4. Conclusions: The application of the proposed approach to the mango experiment resulted in the reduction of time and data requirements when evaluating the economic-environmental performance of mango alternative cropping systems, allowing the selection of best performing treatment. The assessment of economic-environmental performance showed that treatments with plant mixtures used as cover crops between lines of mango trees, independently of the type of mix used or the soil management applied, enhance the overall performance of mango production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Green manufacturing (GM) is the environmental benign manufacturing of products with a minimal negative impact on the natural environment. Research studies on GM have increased in the last years with attention to the application of life cycle assessment (LCA). However, the manufacturing industry still faces some barriers and challenges that hinder a proper practical integration of GM using LCA. Accordingly, this paper performs an LCA-based GM case study of a wood-based industry that produces particleboards to investigate environmental hotspots and suggests GM indicators and solutions for a hot-pressing machine tool. Methods: A case study of a wood-based industry that produces particleboards in Brazil was designed. A LCA-based GM framework was developed and applied according to its three phases: pre-assessment, environmental assessment and monitoring, and post-assessment. Each phase is composed of specific stages and each stage has its own activities and goals. To quantify the environmental life cycle impacts, the ILCD midpoint method with 13 impact categories was selected. Based on these environmental impacts, a set of indicators and solutions was designed to improve the product life cycle impacts through a greener manufacturing process of particleboards. A cradle-to-grave approach was used to model the particleboard life cycle and the manufacturing phase was modeled based on the unit process life cycle inventory (UPLCI) methodology. Results and discussion: The particleboard manufacture was designed into five unit processes and results of the pre-assessment showed that the hot-pressing unit was the most relevant process because of its direct and indirect impacts mainly to human toxicity cancer effects, global warming, and photochemical ozone formation. During the environmental assessment and monitoring phase, the hot-pressing machine was then investigated based on the main contributors to the caused environmental impacts, i.e., electricity consumption and air emissions of free formaldehyde, as well as in terms of its most relevant process parameters: pressure (P) and temperature (T). Opportunities to reduce up to 21% upstream impacts and up to 41% downstream impacts were identified from making simple changes to the hot-pressing parameters. Further investigation in the post-assessment revealed that environmental impacts can be estimated based on the applied P and T values and GM indicators were suggested. Conclusions: The proposed GM framework can be used in other case studies to integrate GM + LCA in practice. Results of the case study application showed that the hot-pressing machine was a hotspot into the cradle-to-grave life cycle impacts of particleboards and the proposed GM indicators can be used to predict life cycle impacts at manufacturing level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This article aims to conduct a systematic literature review on the life cycle assessment of packaging in the world and in Brazil. Packaging plays an important role in the preservation and protection of products, and it is an issue of concern all over the world. Many environmental concerns lie on packaging, and life cycle assessment (LCA) is said to be the most comprehensive and complete tool for assessing environmental profiles. Methods: The Methodi Ordinatio was used to assist identifying high impact research. The EndNote software was used for reference management and the VOSviewer for clustering terms and authors. The main research themes, institutions, authors, software tools used for impact assessment, and journals were identified in order to draw on the main aspects of the referred body of literature and present an insight on its trends. Results and discussion: The line of study has not shown many solid patterns concerning either global or Brazilian research on LCA of packaging, so far. Nevertheless, most research has been dedicated to the food and beverage industries and European countries are leading this theme's development. Research history shows that recycling has comprised one of the first concerns, whereas the search for alternative materials and end-of-life routes play an important role in the present and future of LCA of packaging. Brazil is the most prominent developing country in this field, featuring among the main contributors to the theme globally. Conclusions: There is evidence that the referred body of literature has been increasingly receiving contributions both globally and in Brazil. However, it is not sufficient to state that there are solidly established either drifts or trends, as many research features change over time. The joint interest of public and private sectors can boost this study's theme's development and unveil novel alternatives for reducing environmental impacts of packaging systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Screening social life cycle assessment (S-LCA) can be applied to identify the social hotspots associated with a production activity or supply chain. The objective of this paper is to explore how the quality of the results of a screening S-LCA can be improved, illustrated by a case study of sugarcane production in Brazil, an activity which has been criticized for its records on social sustainability due to issues such as poor working conditions for field workers and treatment of migrant workers. Methods: Cradle-to-gate production of sugarcane in Brazil has been modeled using input-output analysis. The associated social impacts have been modeled using the framework of the Social Hotspots Database (SHDB), which is one of the first databases providing information on social risks along supply chains. The results from the SHDB were complemented with results from a systematic analysis of relevant literature. Content analysis was applied to 38 publications in English relevant to the social impacts of sugarcane production in Brazil, including peer-reviewed articles, "gray literature," non-governmental organization reports, and conference presentations. Qualitative data analysis software NVivo 8 was used to facilitate the analysis of the publications. A deductive category system was established based on the subcategories recommended in the UNEP/SETAC social life cycle assessment guidelines. Social impacts were further aggregated and analyzed by social themes and impact categories. Results and discussion: The social impacts of the sugarcane life cycle in Brazil arise almost exclusively within the Brazilian sugarcane sector itself. Fifteen social themes are identified as hotspots in the SHDB, and nine of them are also identified by content analysis. Health and safety and labor rights and decent work are the impact categories with the highest risks. Besides negative impacts, content analysis is capable of identifying several positive impacts related to sugarcane production. Due to the use of aggregated country-level data, social impacts of manual and mechanical harvesting of sugarcane cannot be differentiated in SHDB; however, this can be achieved by content analysis. Conclusions: SHDB is effective for identifying social impacts at the country level, but the data are inevitably aggregated and only show averages across different technologies and geographical areas; therefore, the database is of limited value in distinguishing between alternative operations and locations. Content analysis can facilitate foreground data collection by differentiating operations and identifying both negative and positive impacts at the level of individual activities. We recommend that S-LCA databases can be integrated with results of content analysis to improve the richness—representativity and specificity—of results from a screening S-LCA, to differentiate between alternative production routes and processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to present an overview of the research groups on life cycle assessment (LCA) in Brazil to (i) characterize these groups, including their constitution, geographical distribution, and the nature of the institutions to which they are connected; (ii) classify the groups according to the knowledge areas and identify the existing interdisciplinarity between research lines; (iii) identify collaborative relationships between the groups; and (iv) determine the main focus of interest and applicability of the studies and activities developed. Methods: The identification of and information about the groups that developed studies related to LCA were obtained from a survey of the Brazilian Directory of Research Groups (DRG). Interdisciplinarity was based on the classification of each group's lines of research. Collaborative relationships were identified from co-authored publications indexed in the Web of Science. The research groups' focus was defined based on their descriptions and sectors of activity, as reported in the DRG. Results and discussion: The study covered a total of 82 groups and 510 research lines. Among the findings, the following can be cited: there is great regional asymmetry in the distribution of groups; most of them are linked to universities and are located in Engineering, specifically Industrial, Mechanical, Sanitary, and Civil; there is an interdisciplinary approach that covers 49 areas of knowledge; and the main focus of the groups is related to sectors of activity such as energy (emphasis on biofuels), agriculture and livestock, and construction. Some groups developed studies with practical applications, whereas others focused on conceptual aspects related to environmental management and sustainable development. Conclusions: The number of research groups related to LCA has grown in Brazil. This growth is important, especially for a country such as Brazil, which has continental dimensions and a number of regional specificities. However, a vast field of study remains to be explored, and this assessment method needs to be disseminated more widely in some regions of the country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Milk is an important agricultural product due to its ubiquity in the global economy. Brazil is considered one of the largest milk producers in the world. However, milk production systems generate significant emissions of particulate matter (PM), and life cycle assessment (LCA) can be used to manage their environmental impacts. Thus, the aim of this research was to analyze the human health impacts of PM from milk production systems in Brazil and the sensitivity of the LCA results with the application of different characterization models. Methods: Four milk production systems were analyzed from cradle-to-farm gate, considering 1 kg of fat and protein-corrected milk as a functional unit. The life cycle impact assessment considered five characterization models: Oberschelp et al. (2020), Fantke et al. (2017, 2019), Van Zelm et al. (2016), Tang et al. (2018), and Frischknecht and Jolliet (2016), exploring their levels of regionalization (global, national, and regional factors). Spearman's correlation analysis was applied to verify the consistency of the milk systems' ranking according to the characterization model selection. Results and discussion: Impact results showed high variance due to differences in the inventories, variations in the geographical scopes, list of elementary flows covered by the models, and differences in the characterization factors. Correlation analysis showed lower Spearman's coefficients for Oberschelp et al. (2020) at the state level and Van Zelm et al. (2016) at the national level, indicating that the regionalized characterization factors present higher variation in the milk systems' ranking. Conclusion: Given that the recommendation for this category is the use of regionalized factors, this research concluded that Oberschelp et al. (2020) model was the most suitable for use in the Brazilian milk production systems. For future research, it is recommended similar studies for other impact categories that require regionalized factors and the development of characterization factors by archetypes for primary and secondary substances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The wood panel industry is one of the most important forest-based industries in Brazil. The medium density particleboard (MDP) is currently produced and consumed worldwide and represents about 50 % of the wood panel industry in Brazil. Unlike other regions, Brazilian MDP is produced from dedicated eucalyptus plantations and heavy fuel oil is an important energy source in MDP manufacture, which may result in a different environmental profile. This paper presents a life cycle assessment of MDP panel produced in Brazil and suggests improvement opportunities by assessing alternative production scenarios. Methods: The cradle-to-gate assessment of 1 m of MDP produced in Brazil considered two main subsystems: forest and industrial production. Detailed inventories for Brazilian eucalyptus production and MDP industrial production were collected as a result of technical visits to Brazilian MDP producers (foreground systems) as well as literature review (mainly background systems). The potential environmental impacts of MDP were assessed in terms of seven impact categories using CML (abiotic depletion, acidification, global warming, eutrophication, and photochemical oxidation) and USEtox (ecotoxicity and human toxicity) impact assessment methods in order to identify the main hotspots. Results and discussion: The industrial production was responsible for most of the impacts in all impact categories, except ecotoxicity (EC). The main hotspots identified were the use of heavy fuel oil (HFO) as a thermal energy source in MDP manufacture and the production of urea-formaldehyde (UF) resin used as synthetic adhesive. Glyphosate herbicide application in soil in forestry operations was the main responsible for the impacts in EC. Scenarios for HFO substitution were assessed and results showed that substituting HFO for in-mill wood residues or diesel leads to reduced environmental impacts. Conclusions: The identification of the main hotspots in the MDP life cycle can assist the wood panel industry to improve their environmental profile. Further research should focus on UF resin production in order to reduce its environmental impacts as well as the possibility of using alternatives resins. Other sources of wood for MDP production could also be investigated (e.g., pine wood and wood residues) to assess potential improvements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The main goal of this paper was to analyse the environmental profile of a structural component of a wooden house: a ventilated wooden wall, by combining two environmental methodologies: one quantitative, the life cycle assessment (LCA) and another qualitative, the design for the environment (DfE). Methods: The LCA study covers the whole life cycle of the ventilated wall manufacture as well as its distribution, installation and maintenance. To carry out this analysis, a Galician wood company was assessed in detail, dividing the process into four stages: the assembling stage, the packing stage, the distribution to clients as well as the final installation and maintenance of the wooden wall. Ten impact categories have been assessed in detail in the LCA study: abiotic depletion (AD), acidification (AC), eutrophication (EP), global warming (GW), ozone layer depletion (OD), human toxicity (HT), fresh water aquatic ecotoxicity (FE), marine aquatic ecotoxicity (ME), terrestrial ecotoxicity (TE) and photochemical oxidant formation (PO). Results and discussion: According to the environmental results, the assembling stage was the most important contributor to the environmental profile with contributions from 57% to 87%, followed by the production of the electricity required. The detailed analysis of the assembling stage identified the most important environmental hot spots: the production of boards used in the structure [oriented strand board and medium density fibreboard (MDF)] as well as the transportation of the cedar sheets from Brazil. Concerning the results of the DfE, a selection of different eco-design strategies was proposed from technological, economic and social points of view by an interdisciplinary team of researchers and company´s workers. The eco-design strategy considered the following improvement actions: (i) the substitution of the MDF in the wall structure; (ii) the use of German red pine sheets; (iii) the installation of solar panels in the facilities; (iv) the use of Euro 5 transport vehicles, (v) the use of biodiesel for transport; (vi) the definition of a maintenance protocol for the wooden materials; and (vii) the definition of a protocol for the separation of materials before disposal. Conclusions: The results obtained in this work allow predicting the influence of the selection and origin of the raw materials used on the environmental burdens associated with the process. Future work will focus on the manufacturing of a prototype of an eco-designed ventilated wooden wall. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background, aim, and scope Brazil is the world's largest orange producing country, with a total planted area of more than 820,000 hectares. The bulk of the oranges produced in Brazil (70%) is processed into frozen concentrated orange juice (FCOJ) by large processing companies. Exports represent around 97% of the total FCOJ produced, making Brazil the largest world producer and exporter of FCOJ. The Brazilian citrus sector accounts for half of the world's supply of orange juice and for 80% of the juice traded on the international market. The goal of this study is to characterize the Brazilian orange producers in terms of farm size, cultivated varieties, watering system and tillage practices. In addition, the study presents some aspects of the LCI of oranges grown specifically for the production of FCOJ in the two major orange-growing areas in Brazil (the Northern and Southern regions of the State of São Paulo) during reference crop year 2002/03 in order to generate detailed production inventory data and identify the potential environmental impacts of tillage, both of which are key to enable the formulation of sustainability parameters for the production of FCOJ in Brazil. Methods This study was performed in compliance with the guidelines and requirements of the ISO 14040 standard series. All information and data considered and evaluated in this study (the use of water, energy, fertilizers, pesticides and soil correctors) were gathered through in-depth questionnaires either filled in directly by the farm manager or completed by the farm manager and sent in by mail. The data cover a total of 367,200 metric tons of oranges produced by 4 million plants in commercial production from a total evaluated area that accounts for 19.5% of the overall production of oranges in the State of São Paulo. The two major orange-producing areas in Brazil located respectively in the Northern and Southern regions of the State of São Paulo were evaluated. Only the inputs and outputs associated with tillage practices and technology were considered in this paper. The environmental aspects of the production of fertilizers and pesticides were not included within the boundaries. The functional unit selected for this study was 1,000 kg of oranges for FCOJ. Farm specific data have been combined with agricultural production data to construct an orange cultivation model. Results The orange varieties for the production of FCOJ evaluated in this study were Pêra, Valência and Natal. The farms investigated had a cultivated area varying from 22 to 7,000 ha, with a plant density ranging from 170 to 500 plants/ha and an average yield of 30,500 kg/ha for mature trees.… [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background, Aims and Scope. Life Cycle Assessment is a technique for evaluating the environmental performance of a given product by: identifying and quantifying the energy and raw materials used in its manufacturing process, as well as the emissions of pollutants to water, soil, and air inherent in this production, use and disposal, and evaluating the environmental impact associated with the use of energy and materials and the emissions of pollutants, thus identifying opportunities to improve the system in order to optimize the environmental performance of the product. CETEA (Packaging Technology Center) has conducted a Life Cycle Assessment - LCA study of aluminum can with emphasis in life cycle inventory, collecting data for the reference years 2000-2002. The goal of this paper is to present part of this complete study, focusing the influence of aluminum recycling rate on the Life Cycle Inventory (LCI) of aluminum beverage cans in Brazil. Methods. The adopted methodology was based on the recommendations of SETAC - Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry and the ISO 14040 Standard, approved by the Sub-Committee 05 of the Environmental Administration Technical Committee, TC-207, from ISO - INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION FOR STANDARDIZATION [1,2]. Data storage and modeling were performed by employing the PIRA Environmental Management System - PEMS [3]. Results. Taking into account the impact categories adopted in this study, it has been shown that recycling helps to improve the aluminum can environmental profile measured as LCI data. Discussion. For the transformed aluminum products, the recycling rate affects the values of the environmental parameters inventoried, but not in the same proportion, since the contribution of other stages of the product system life cycle and the recycling process remain unchanged, including the yield of this process. In general, the recycling balance is always positive due to the importance of the stages that precede the packaging production and the problem of increasing the municipal waste volume. Conclusions. The advantages of the recycling are obviously concentrated on the inventoried parameters related to the primary aluminum production and to the package disposal. The verified benefits of the recycling increase with the recycling rate enhancement. However, the effects on the inventory do not have the same magnitude of the recycling rate. This happens due to the relative contributions of the other life cycle stages, such as the transportation and sheet or can production. In agreement with the presented results, it is possible to conclude that the aluminum can recycling reduces part of the consumption of natural resources and the emissions associated to the stages previous to the production of the packaging. The parameters specifically related to the stage of aluminum production suffer reduction directly proportional to the increase of the recycling rate. In this way, all of the efforts made to increase the recycling rate will have a positive contribution to the LCI of the aluminum can. Recommendations. It is worth pointing out that LCA studies are iterative and dynamic. The data can always be refined, substituted or complemented with updated information in order to improve the representativeness of the analyzed sector. Perspectives. From this study, the aluminum sector in Brazil is able to quantify the benefits of future actions for environmental improvement of the Brazilian aluminum industry, as well as to contribute technically to Environmental Labeling initiatives regarding aluminum products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Goal, Scope and Background. Brazil is the world's biggest producer of coffee beans with approx, a 30% market share. Depending on climate conditions, approx. 30 million bags of coffee beans are exported annually from Brazil, while domestic consumption is around 10 million bags, which makes Brazil the world's third largest coffee-consuming country. Therefore, the goal of this paper is to present the LCA of green coffee produced in Brazil for the reference crops 2001/02 and 2002/03 in order to generate detailed production inventory data as well as to identify the potential environmental impacts of its tillage in order to realize how to reduce those impacts and increase the environmental sustainability of this product. Only the inputs and outputs relative to the coffee tillage were considered. The production of fertilizers, correctives and pesticides were not included in the boundary, but only their amounts. The functional unit selected for this study was 1,000 kg of green coffee destined for exportation. Methods. The LCI was performed according to the ISO 14040 standard series. All information considered in this study (use of water, fossil based energy, fertilizers and chemicals) were taken up in in-depth data collection and evaluation by questionnaires applied on a farm level and/or received by mail. Four Brazilian coffee producer regions were evaluated: Cerrado Mineiro, South of Minas Gerais State, the Marilia and Alta Mogiana regions in Silo Paulo State. These regions have the following geographic coordinates: 44 to 50° W longitude and 18 to 24° S latitude. The data refer to a production of 420,000 coffee bean bags and a productive area of approx. 14,300 ha. The varieties of coffee beans considered in this study were Mundo Novo, Catuaí (yellow and red), Icatu (yellow and red), Catucaí (yellow and red) and Obatã. Farm specific data along with agricultural production data have been combined to elaborate a coffee cultivation inventory, which will be applied in an emissions estimation. Results and Conclusion. The production of 1,000 kg of green coffee in Brazil requires approx. 11,400 kg of water, 94 kg of diesel, 270 kg of fertilizers as NPK, 900 kg of total fertilizers, 620 kg of correctives, 10 kg of pesticides and 0.05 hectare of annual land use. Outputs related to these functional units are approx. 3,000 kg of waste water from coffee washing, 8,500 kg of waste water from the wet method and 750 kg of organic residue that is reincorporated to the tillage as fertilizer. The publication of an LCI of agricultural products is a fundamental step for understanding the potential environmental impacts of each tillage and then establishes the basis for product sustainability. In this way, this work is the first Brazilian initiative for applying LCA to coffee cultivation. Recommendation and Perspective. Different agricultural practices demonstrate different environmental profiles. The amount of agricultural pesticide is directly related to agricultural practices as tillage rotation, density of plants, etc. This study supplied important results for a better correlation of the agricultural practices and potential environmental impacts of coffee. Future updates of this study will show the evolution of the natural resource management such as land use, new agricultural practices, lower fertilizers and chemicals use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aimed to determine the availability of environmental life cycle assessment (LCA), water footprinting, and carbon footprinting data in Brazil. In particular, the study is targeted at showing what LCA-related studies are accessible to non-specialists residing in Brazil as well as LCA specialists interested in accessing Brazilian LCA-related studies.Methods: Online searches for LCA documents were performed using publicly available search engines such as Google and Google Scholar, as well as academic databases containing peer-reviewed journal articles such as Scopus, ScienceDirect, and Springer. The searches were conducted utilizing the keywords “Life Cycle Assessment,” “carbon footprint,” “water footprint,” and “Brazil.”Results and discussion: A total of 73 published documents on LCA studies conducted between 2000 and 2016 could be found. Of these, 59 were only available in restricted access journals requiring some form of paid subscriptions. Most of these documents originated from academic institutions. For the majority of the studies, the exact region in which the study was carried out was not specified. Only twelve carbon and water footprinting studies were found. However, it was known that several other studies were available but were not found in these searches unless more specific years, authors, and/or products were included in the search terms.Conclusions: It was observed that LCA studies were more established in the energy and agricultural sectors, an expected result given that all LCA studies would rely on energy as a background process, as well as the increasing energy demand due to increasing population and industrial activities in Brazil. Furthermore, it was observed that most LCA studies in the energy sector concentrated on the conversion of biomass, mainly sugarcane and soybean, to biofuels; thereby, establishing a strong link between the energy and agricultural sectors. The results showed that LCA is an emerging quantitative assessment technique in Brazil, especially in the energy and agricultural sectors. While there were over 70 studies found, it is not clear how many of these could be transferable into an LCI database or be used in other studies, due to the exact inputs used. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To clarify the concept of the amortization period (20-year factor) associated with direct land-use change (dLUC) accounting, discuss its main inconsistencies, and propose improvements. The current practice is to divide (amortize) the estimated emissions associated with dLUC that has occurred over the last 20 years by another 20 years. Both periods are referred ambiguously as "amortization period." Issues arise when considering them as a single temporal aspect (TA) that cannot fully represent the complexity of diverse research and policy contexts. Methods: First, a systematic review was conducted to understand the 20-year amortization history and concepts and discuss its inconsistencies. Based on the review results, we propose the adoption of two distinct TAs, decomposed from the "amortization period." Then, we performed a sensitivity analysis by estimating carbon emissions due to dLUC in six land uses in Brazil: soybean, maize, sugarcane, pasture, planted forest, and mango. Results and discussion: The literature review shows that several strategies have emerged to reduce or avoid adopting the amortization period. However, most of these proposals are based on complex approaches focusing on alternatives associated with the life cycle impact assessment stage. We found that the commonly adopted amortization period has an ambiguous nature that could be explored at the life cycle inventory analysis stage. Thus, we argue that there are two distinct TAs linked to amortization in dLUC: (i) the inventory period adopted to account for land-use changes; and (ii) the period over which carbon emissions are annualized. These temporal aspects were named here the "LUC-inventory period" (IP) and the "LUC-amortization period" (AP), for clarification purposes. The sensitivity analysis showed that different values of IP and AP drastically change the emissions results due to dLUC in Brazil for different crops and land uses. Conclusion: We advocate that the "amortization period" should be decomposed into two TAs: "LUC-inventory period" and the "LUC-amortization period." They affect how the carbon debt incurred by expanding agricultural land is accounted for and amortized over a given period-of-time. Therefore, to ensure regulatory compliance, we argued that these proposed TAs should be explicitly defined, based on three possibilities, depending on the goal and context of LCA studies, such as (i) fixed values set in standards and norms; (ii) IPCC's 20-year defaults; and (iii) customized IP and AP values based on the study's specificities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The impact of particulate matter (PM) formation on human health in Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) can be characterized through combining intake fractions with effect factors. However, although there are several characterization models used in different LCIA methods, most of them were not developed for the Brazilian context. This study aims to evaluate the existing models used in LCIA for characterizing PM impacts on human health with respect to their applicability for Brazil. Methods: We review existing PM characterization models followed by a critical analysis regarding each model's scope, scientific robustness, and applicability for Brazil, by applying the simple multi-attribute rating technique (SMART). Results and discussion: The results show that the most recent models, with global coverage and availability of characterization factors (CFs) for Brazil, are the most appropriate. In addition, the highest-scoring models are able to connect with a wide range of goals and scopes that can be defined in Life Cycle Assessment case studies. Although the models of van Zelm et al. (2016), Fantke et al. (2017, 2019), and Oberschelp et al. (2020) are recommended for Brazil, important limitations have been observed. The van Zelm et al. (2016) model provides only country-level CFs and is not further regionalized. The Fantke et al. (2017, 2019) model does not currently provide CFs for PM precursors and is for urban factors limited to cities with more than 100,000 inhabitants. The Oberschelp et al. (2020) model does not currently provide data for indoor environments and uses background concentration data mainly applicable to the Northern Hemisphere. Conclusion: Several models for evaluating PM impacts in LCIA are already available. Considering the identified limitations within these models, future work should aim to address these limitations and derive improved and more representative CFs for Brazil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study quantifies freshwater consumption throughout the life cycle of Brazilian exported yellow melons and assesses the resulting impact on freshwater availability. Results are used to identify improvement options. Moreover, the study explores the further impact of variations in irrigation volume, yield, and production location. Methods: The product system boundary encompasses production of seeds, seedlings, and melon plants; melon packing; disposal of solid farm waste; and farm input and melon transportation to European ports. The primary data in the study were collected from farmers in order to quantify freshwater consumption related to packing and to production of seeds, seedlings, and melons. Open-field melon irrigation was also estimated, considering the region's climate and soil characteristics. Estimated and current water consumptions were compared in order to identify impact reduction opportunities. Sensitivity analysis was used to evaluate variations in the impact because of changes in melon field irrigation, yield, and farm location. Results and discussion: This study shows that the average impact on freshwater availability of 1 kg of exported Brazilian yellow melons is 135 l HO-e, with a range from 17 to 224 l HO-e depending on the growing season's production period. Irrigation during plant production accounts for 98 % of this impact. Current melon field water consumption in the Low Jaguaribe and Açu region is at least 39 % higher than necessary, which affects the quality of fruits and yield. The impact of melon production in other world regions on freshwater availability may range from 0.3 l HO-e/kg in Costa Rica to 466 l HO-e/kg in the USA. Conclusions: The impact of temporary crops, such as melons, on water availability should be presented in ranges, instead of as an average, since regional consumptive water and water stress variations occur in different growing season periods. Current and estimated water consumption for irrigation may also be compared in order to identify opportunities to achieve optimization and reduce water availability impact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Some commercial/industrial sectors have increased their interest in sustainability, in some cases changing their business focus, from a profit-centered approach to a more balanced view, including environmental and social factors. It means that the interest in sustainability is increasing. Life cycle management (LCM) is a methodology/concept that can contribute to this paradigm shift. In this research, the potential application of LCM in the bakery segment was investigated, considering the entire value chain related to the sector (inputs, packaging, suppliers, customers, waste management). Methods: Bakeries were visited, in Teresina, Piauí, Brazil, to learn about the products, services, production processes, and the socio-environmental and economic sustainability practices, aiming at identifying bottlenecks and to propose alternatives based on LCM. Besides the field approach, the study was structured based on the literature that brings the concepts and potentialities of applying LCM in various economic/industrial sectors. The PDCA cycle and the SWOT Matrix were also used to assist the implementation of LCM. A roadmap was proposed aiming at the LCM implementation in bakeries. Results: The results show that although the sector has some environmentally sustainable practices (waste separation, energy savings, reuse of products, inputs purchased locally), the primary intention is to reduce costs and not to mitigate environmental impacts. Regarding social responsibility, they donate bread to institutions. This is an important attitude, but not the only one for fulfilling the social role within the value chain. They do not consider suppliers that show concern for the environment (certified companies), and both marketing and product labels do not evoke these issues too. Conclusions and recommendations: Thus, there is the possibility of implementing LCM in bakeries if there is a concern with sustainable production and consumption. A roadmap for implementing LCM in bakeries was proposed including some steps: mapping the life cycle of products/processes/services associated with the sector; analyzing factors that can influence the actions towards sustainability; disseminating life cycle information to the entire value chain; efficient waste management, including the partnership with recycling companies; and treatment of the collected data and improvement proposal, using management tools such as the PDCA Cycle, the SWOT Matrix, and Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) aiming at the search for environmental and economic sustainability and social fair alternatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The social life cycle assessment (S-LCA) methodology needs to advance in its methodological development, mainly regarding the impact assessment phase, in which a widely accepted method is missing. The goal of this study is to introduce a social metric to evaluate the human development of workers in production chains and economic sectors. Methods: The applied characterization model of the proposed social metric was inspired by the Human Development Index (HDI), whose significance and wide use make it a good proxy to express human prosperity. Similar to HDI, our indicator called Workers' Human Development Index (W-HDI) is derived from the geometric mean of the three dimensions of HDI, covering education, income, and health aspects of workers in different economic sectors linked to a given production chain. W-HDI proposal was tested by performing a case study from the sugarcane industry in Brazil, considering different sugarcane biorefinery configurations, including a couple of first-generation ethanol options and an integrated first- and second-generation ethanol production system (1G2G). Results and discussion: The proposed metric was used to address the social impacts of different biorefinery scenarios. The scenario representing the first-generation ethanol production with basic technology achieved the lowest W-HDI score mostly because of the manual sugarcane harvesting system that contributed to a higher rate of occupational accidents (lower health dimension), fewer years of education, and lower wages than the other biorefinery scenarios. The highest W-HDI was obtained by the 1G2G scenario, mainly due to a more advanced technology reflected by the higher educational profile (more years of schooling) required to the workers and better wages. Additionally, our proposed W-HDI was applied in the assessment of Brazilian economic sectors, and most of them (84%) obtained medium or high development levels. Conclusions: The present study contributes to the development of sustainability assessment tools by providing advances in the social life cycle assessment methodology. More specifically, the W-HDI is proposed to address the impact assessment phase with an indicator that can be applied in many sectors and production chains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Fate factors, for freshwater eutrophication, represent the route of a limiting-nutrient, phosphorus or nitrogen, and their degradation in the environment. Their value may vary according to the location and emission season; that is, they are site and temporal dependent. In this study, phosphorus fate factors for the freshwater eutrophication impact category were estimated in a native scale of state hydrographic units (SHU), considering its variability and applied in a case study for one hydrographic basin in the state of Bahia, Brazil. Methods: The fate model considered the phosphorus removal processes of advection, retention, and agricultural and domestic water use, based on national databases (Geonetwork, HidroWeb, SAR, and SNIS). Heat maps and correlation networks allowed the assessment of fate factors' spatiotemporal variability. The new generated fate factors were qualitatively and quantitatively assessed, then further applied in a case study of buffalo milk production at Leste SHU to determine the regionalization effects on the freshwater eutrophication potential impact. Results and discussion: This study reconfirmed the spatial and temporal variability of the fate factors. The fate factor values found, in this study, for Pardo SHU are similar to those estimated with the non-regionalized data used by the adopted model, being within the range of 0 to 20 days. However, the fate factors for De Contas and, mainly, for Leste were underestimated, reaching a value up to five times higher, indicating that the model's proposed changes impacted the final result. The temporal differentiation was mainly determined by periods of higher and lower water availability. Advection processes inversely determined the fate factors, and the phosphorus removal by retention processes became more prominent when the water availability was lower. On the other hand, the role of phosphorus removal through water use was minimum. Water availability was the largest contributor to the sensitivity analysis, followed by the total freshwater volume. Conclusion: The fate modeling adopted in this study, with the use of data from national databases and native resolution, gave a more precise and detailed analysis perspective of the phosphorus fate in Brazilian SHUs, setting up site- and temporal-specific fate factors. Besides, this study provides a further understanding of the fate factors establishment by analyzing their relationship with the respective input parameters and highlighting one of the used model's weaknesses: the estimation of phosphorus removals instead of phosphorus load underestimates the true freshwater eutrophication potential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Standardized and generalized impact subcategories may not be representative of the social issues associated with the product analyzed in social life cycle assessment (S-LCA) studies. The analyst's knowledge about the product studied is currently considered to define the impact subcategories included in the study, characterizing a limitation to be overcome. This research proposes a method able to model the subjectivity associated with the selection of impact subcategories for S-LCA through a stakeholders' participatory approach. Methods: This framework is composed of three stages and was applied for the stakeholder "Local Community" of the fruit pulp produced in northeastern Brazil. The first phase identifies the representatives of local communities around the product's life cycle and the potential subcategories that can be considered. In the second phase, the preference elicitation process of these representatives is carried out. In the third phase, the information obtained is aggregated to classify the impact subcategories into relevant and non-relevant through the PROMSORT method. Results and discussion: The methodological steps were applied into two contexts: (i) individual perception and (ii) consensus perception. In the first case, the representatives considered the following relevant subcategories: access to material resources, cultural heritage, access to immaterial resources, and safe and healthy living conditions. However, the subcategories of community engagement and displacement and migration were not classified as strongly relevant. Only the subcategory respecting the rights of native peoples was considered non-pertinent. For the second case, the pertinent subcategories were access to material resources, cultural heritage, access to immaterial resources, displacement and migration, safe and healthy living conditions, and community engagement. The non-relevant subcategory also refers to respect for the rights of native peoples. Conclusions: The use of a participatory approach considering the stakeholders' perceptions for identifying the pertinent impact subcategories can better identify the social issues of a given product life cycle. This framework can be applied to different products and can be adapted for other categories of stakeholders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Currently, there are no life cycle impact data available on the construction of road infrastructure in Brazil. This study aimed to determine several environmental impacts associated with the construction of an asphalt-paved highway in Brazil using the life cycle assessment approach and road construction data available from two Brazilian highways. The results from this study can potentially raise awareness to the importance of life cycle thinking in road construction in Brazil. Methods: The processes considered within the asphalt road pavement product system were extraction and processing of sand, gravel, and pitch; transportation of these inputs; and machinery use and operation, including direct and indirect emissions, raw materials, and electricity/fuel. Inventories available in Ecoinvent were used, and processes relevant to the Brazilian scenario were selected, with modifications made when necessary. The ReCiPe method was used to calculate the impacts, and for each category a second method was used to verify the results. The impact categories analyzed were global warming potential (GWP), terrestrial acidification potential (TAP), ozone depletion potential (ODP), freshwater eutrophication (FWEP), marine eutrophication (MEP), and freshwater ecotoxicity (FWECP). In addition, an alternative scenario was considered by substituting diesel with biodiesel in the transportation trucks. Results and discussion: Gravel production was the main contributor to TAP (56% based on ReCiPe) and MEP (62%) categories. It was also a significant contributor to the GWP (16%), FWEP (25%), and FWECP (33%) categories. Transport of raw materials was the most impactful process in the GWP (58%), FWEP (55%), and FWECP (52%) categories. Pitch production was the major contributor to the ODP category (57%). The impact from sand production was negligible for all categories. Machinery operation had a small contribution in all impact categories (less than 14%). The different assessment methods used for each category indicated similar percent contributions for all processes considered (gravel, sand, pitch, transport, and machinery). Substitution of diesel with biodiesel caused an increase in the total impact for all categories, except for ODP. Conclusions and recommendations: Gravel and pitch production, as well as raw material transport, were the most impactful processes in road construction. Therefore, strategies to reduce the impacts of road construction projects should focus on these three processes. In particular, investigation of the environmental impact, using a life cycle approach, of substituting gravel and pitch with alternative or recycled materials should be carried out for the Brazilian context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Despite recommendations, uncertainty results are rarely incorporated in Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) studies, especially regarding characterization factors (CF). Part 1 of this study conducted AWARE CF regionalization for Brazil, concluding that the Semiarid region had maximum scarcity values. The goal of this study is to evaluate the uncertainties of regionalized AWARE CF in the Semiarid region. Methods: Data used to obtain the AWARE BR CF for Brazil were qualitatively and quantitatively assessed. An adapted Pedigree Matrix was adopted to assess qualitative uncertainties. Classical statistical analysis was used for quantitative uncertainty assessment, and 10,000 Monte Carlo simulations were computed for uncertainty propagation. Results and discussion: Qualitative results indicated that the natural flow's parameter was very uncertain due to poor spatial correlation and low reliability, as it is based on empirical models. Quantitative results showed that water availability data, which had large temporal variability, typical of the Brazilian Semiarid region, was the main responsible for uncertainties in input data. Area uncertainty had a good performance in both qualitative and quantitative assessments. Regarding output data, moderate CF were found to be more uncertain, while more extreme CF exhibited lower variation, corroborating with previous analyses. Moreover, the adoption of shorter datasets led to a reduction in average and standard deviation values for CF. Conclusion: Findings from this study showed two important reasons why the quantitative and qualitative assessments should be conducted simultaneously. The first one was to avoid bias, as availability data and natural flow performed differently in each evaluation. The second one was to confirm results, as the area proved to be very little uncertain in both assessments. An adaptation of Pedigree Matrix and a penalty factor for missing data could be used as a base for quantitative uncertainty parameters for LCIA. Generating SD and k-factor was very positive in terms of results for AWARE method and comparison with other methods. Both indicators had similar results and led to a common conclusion: uncertainties are mainly low and very low for AWARE BR CF in the Semiarid region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Land use change (LUC) is a critical process in the life cycle greenhouse gas emissions of agricultural products and Brazil is a major exporter of these. This work had the objective of integrating refined and regionalized datasets of LUC in Brazil into the ecoinvent database, to better represent its dynamics and heterogeneity. We present the adaptations needs for having it suitable for crops, pasture and forestry in state-level and impacts of modelling assumptions and uncertainties. Methods: Adaptation and integration were based in ecoinvent version 3 guidelines and the database requirements to LUC modelling. BRLUC, a method for Brazilian LUC accounting, was the main data source. The workflow for the integration process consisted in identifying necessary adaptations in both sources to allow a better representation of Brazilian LUC. Four new reference products and 27 geographies were added in the database. Results and discussion: A total of 566 new datasets were integrated into ecoinvent version 3.6, allowing the incorporation of LUC in Brazilian products in state, regional and national level. GHG emissions reduced, being 42.2% and 99.9% lower to soybean and sugarcane than in ecoinvent v3.5. Four improvements were the main causes: (i) state-level LUC modelling with national official data; (ii) regionalizing carbon stocks; (iii) including pasture and forestry land use categories; (iv) and considering sugarcane as a perennial crop. The way to calculate national-level results based on subnational data was an important source of difference in emissions too. Uncertainties specifically associated with land use substitution patterns were not incorporated, and they can potentially have impacts as large as the uncertainties of all the remaining processes combined. Conclusions: Results showed that small changes in data sources and premises have large impacts on emissions associated with LUC in agricultural products. It also showed the large impacts of uncertainties of LUC patterns. Improving current models in better representing regional LUC patterns, regional carbon stocks and uncertainty accounting could reduce these impacts. Nonetheless, efforts in reducing the complexity of LUC accounting methods could enhance transparency and effectiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Life cycle assessment can support decisions for improving the environmental performance of construction products. However, the amount of data required for developing life cycle inventories limits the adoption of LCA. This work associates the interpretation of the impact results of construction products at the unit process level with a quantitative definition for the foreground and background system, for guiding primary data collection towards foreground processes that can be affected by decision-makers in the construction sector. Methods: A set of construction products commonly used in Brazil is selected, and their cradle-to-gate life cycle inventories are modeled using the ecoinvent database (version 2). Life cycle impact assessment is performed using the ReCiPe Midpoint Hierarchist method. The contribution of each process during the life cycle of construction products for each impact category is quantified. These processes are associated with economic sectors, which are classified as belonging to the foreground or background system from the perspective of the construction industry. Foreground sectors are those controlled or influenced by the construction sector and are defined based on the production share consumed by the construction value chain. The elementary flows defining each impact category are also identified. Results and discussion: Foreground processes show significant contributions to most impact results of construction products. Global warming, fine particulate matter formation, ozone formation, acidification, human carcinogenic toxicity, and terrestrial ecotoxicity are mainly caused by direct emissions and fossil fuel combustion in manufacturing processes. Land occupation for production activities contributes to land use change, while the consumption of fuels, raw materials, and water causes fossil and mineral resource scarcity and water consumption respectively. Freshwater and marine ecotoxicities and human non-carcinogenic toxicity have foreground contributions only for steel and copper products due to emissions from the landfilling of mining tails. Ionizing radiation and stratospheric ozone depletion are mostly driven by background processes. A reduced group of elementary flows covers a big share of the environmental impacts of most construction products. Conclusions: The results indicate priorities for life cycle inventory primary data collection of construction products, by focusing on foreground processes and the corresponding elementary flows that cause many of the potential embodied impacts of construction. Increasing the availability of primary data for these processes improves the reliability of LCA-based decisions in the construction sector, especially in countries which still lack local LCI databases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Environmental impacts of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and internal combustion engine vehicles have been broadly studied and compared. However, there is scarce evidence of studies analyzing the potential effect of evolution key factors. The purpose of this study was to evaluate what would be the environmental impact of manufacturing BEVs and battery electric buses (BEBs) in Brazilian southeast, whereas vehicle mass reduction, material switching, energy consumption, battery improving, geographic adaptation of life cycle inventories, and electricity mix evolution effects are considered. Methods: The methodology was based on adapting a representative number of global Ecoinvent V.3.2 datasets to better represent local conditions and subsequently to include evolution parameters for a 2030 scenario. Thus, we were able to establish a comparison for BEVs and BEBs in 2015 and 2030 for Brazilian and global conditions. This study compared BEV and BEB production (one vehicle as comparison unit) and also well-to-wheel (WTW) stage (1 km as functional unit). The research envisioned mass reduction configurations for cars and buses in 2030. BEV analysis in 2030 includes two material switching scenarios: plastic and aluminum prototypes. Results and discussion: For one BEV as comparison unit, ozone depletion, human toxicity, metal depletion, and ecotoxicities displayed larger impacts for Brazilian cars, mostly due to material switching in the new prototypes, in spite of total mass reduction. In fact, neither the BEBs nor BEVs made in Brazil displayed a consistent environmental advantage over the global reference; and in fact, low production plants might cause larger impacts. Conclusions: Life expectancy increase is suggested to be more effective in reducing impacts than mass or energy consumption reduction. For the 2030 BEV, an unexpected burden shifting result appears. Ozone depletion increases for the Brazilian aluminum prototype since emissions arising from scrap treatment do have a significant impact, even though mass reduction was considered. Bus results portrayed a tendency for Brazilian bus to perform better than its global counterpart except for metal depletion, ecotoxicities, and ozone depletion. A large environmental contribution from treatment of mining residues is common for human toxicity and freshwater eutrophication, the most concerning categories. Large contributions from mining residues led us to conclude that in order to manufacture environmentally competitive BEBs and BEVs, either reduction of impacts on metal extraction, e.g., copper, magnesium, etc., or metal use decrease must be prioritized. Negative consequences of vehicle evolution are especially concerning for human health and bodies of water, and impact decrease will be unlikely, at least until 2030. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The main goal of this study is to suggest quantitative social metrics to evaluate different sugarcane biorefinery systems in Brazil by exploring a novel hybrid approach integrating social life cycle assessment and input-output analysis.Methods: Social life cycle assessment is the main methodology for evaluating social aspects based on a life-cycle approach. Using this framework, a hybrid model integrating social life cycle assessment and input-output analysis was introduced to evaluate different social effects of biorefinery scenarios considering workers as the stakeholder category. Job creation, occupational accidents, wage profile, education profile, and gender profile were selected as the main inventory indicators. A case study of three scenarios considering variations in agricultural and industrial technologies (including sugarcane straw recovery and second-generation ethanol production, for instance) was carried out for evaluating present first-generation (1G-basic, 1G-optimized) and future first- and second-generation ethanol production (1G2G).Results and discussion: The 1G-basic scenario leads to higher job creation levels over the supply chain mainly because of the influence of agricultural stage whose workers are mostly employed in sugarcane manual operations. On the other hand, 1G-optimized and 1G2G present supply chains are more reliant on the manufacturing, trade, and services sectors whose workers are associated with a lower level of occupational accidents, higher average wages, higher education level, and more participation of women in the work force.Conclusions: The use of a novel hybrid approach integrating social life cycle assessment (SLCA) and input-output analysis (IOA) was useful to quantitatively distinguish the social effects over different present and future sugarcane biorefinery supply chains. As a consequence, this approach is very useful to support decision-making processes aiming to improve the sustainability of sugarcane biorefineries taking social aspects into account. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The goal of this study is to identify which processes contribute most to fuel COe emissions, energy use, and employment generation when driving a typical Brazilian flex fuel vehicle (FFV) model with bagasse-derived ethanol. A hybrid life cycle assessment (LCA) is used to report the associated impacts and a structural path analysis (SPA) is utilized to identify, quantify, and rank the highest carbon emissions, energy use, and employment generation input paths in the supply chain of bagasse-derived ethanol. Additionally, this study explores the integrated hybrid LCA approach as a tool to explain the economic impacts of bagasse-derived ethanol. Methods: Hybrid LCA links process-based and input-output-based analyses into a consistent mathematical framework, thereby allowing the incorporation of economic factors into an environmental intervention matrix. The functional unit used in this study is a travel of 500 km with hydrated bagasse-derived ethanol in a Brazilian average FFV 1.0. Results and discussion: The total COe emission is 55.4 kg, with 40 % of the emissions from lime and enzyme production and the sugarcane production for bagasse (agricultural phase). The sulfuric acid, lime, and the agricultural phase are identified as the most intensive energy consumers, representing approximately 50 % of the total energy used. From the economic perspective, commerce and services, ethanol industrial, and agricultural phase generate the greatest number of jobs in this bagasse-derived ethanol life cycle. Conclusions: The focus has shifted from first-generation biofuels to more advanced technologies. The results illustrate the importance of a complete life cycle vision for assessing the sustainability of a biofuel. Agricultural biomass production is identified as relevant in all environmental and economic impact categories assessed here. Integrated hybrid LCA was used as an analytical tool capable of assessing the product's sustainability performance, based on the fact that its mathematical framework allows the incorporation of economic and environmental coefficients into a single intervention matrix using a combined database. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Livestock production is a recognized source of environmental impact, and this sector indirectly involves approximately 5 million people in Brazil. Livestock production includes nearly 1.5 million milk producers that use several different production systems. We chose the southern region of Brazil to evaluate the carbon footprint (CF) per 1 kg of energy-corrected milk (ECM) at the farm gate for different dairy production systems with the use of a good level of technology. Methods: The dairy production systems were confined feedlot system, semi-confined feedlot system (including some grazing), and pasture-based grazing system. A sensitivity analysis of the dry matter intake (DMI) in each farming system and an uncertainty analysis based on a Monte Carlo (MC) simulation were performed to complement the discussion. The standards ISO 14040: 2006 and ISO 14044: 2006 were used for the comparative life cycle assessment (LCA) focused on the CF. The LCA software tool SimaPro 7.3.3 was used. Sensitivity analyses were conducted on input data for total digestible nutrients (TDN) and crude protein (CP) based on values from the literature. Results and discussion: The comparative LCA showed that the confined feedlot system had a lower CF than the other systems studied. Total greenhouse gas emissions were 0.535 kg COe kg ECM for the confined feedlot system, 0.778 kg COe kg ECM for the semi-confined feedlot system, and 0.738 kg COe kg ECM for the pasture-based system without considering the impact from direct land use change (dLUC). When considering these emissions, the CFs for grain and cottonseed production showed CF increases of 45.0, 36.9, and 37.3 % for the confined feedlot, semi-confined feedlot, and pasture-based systems, respectively. The results from the MC simulations showed low uncertainty through variations in TDN and CP. The coefficient of variation was 1.1 % for the confined feedlot, 0.7 % for the semi-confined feedlot, and 1.0 % for the pasture systems. Conclusions: The uncertainties were due mainly to variations in NO emissions from manure for the three systems. The CF in Brazilian systems was lower than almost all the results found in the literature, even when impacts from the dLUC were considered. The lowest CF in this case study was due mainly to the emission factor used for enteric fermentation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study presents an educational experience, of a Brazilian center of technological education, focused on the involvement of undergraduate and graduate students, according to directions of UNEP/SETAC Life Cycle Initiative. It describes an institutional collaborative work, aligned with the Life Cycle Initiative, and evaluates the main actions implemented through a set of indicators, which show the organizational dynamics and changes in the professional profiles of students, between 2006 and 2012. Methods: The description of the institutional collaborative work was based on direct observations conducted by the authors, who participated in the experience, and on a documentary research involving data from academic system. This effort led to representations of (a) key interactions among actors of organizations and (b) a set of 11 indicators of changes for individuals and organizations. Interviews with students and representatives of organizations also contributed to generate the structure of the network and to fulfill the set of indicators. Results and discussion: Among the research findings, two were considered more relevant from the direct observation: (a) the structuring of an effective laboratory supported by public funds to conduct the educational experience and (b) the introduction of life cycle thinking (LCT), life cycle management (LCM), and the methodology of life cycle assessment (LCA) as optional areas of study for students. The offer of regular classes, supported by software, and the organization of small-scale research projects made the work feasible, altogether, improving the interest and cooperation of different graduate and undergraduate student groups. This outcome increased the interactions with other public and private organizations; much additional research was accomplished. Conclusions: The experience contributed to materialize the LCT, LCM, and LCA themes and persuades the actors to reflect on new reflections concerning the necessity of changes in their professional profiles. This suggests a potential to produce organizational improvements and innovations. However, some challenges must be faced in Brazil: organization of the national inventory, improvement of academic knowledge and more engagement of scholars, as well as the lack of guidance and assistance to consolidate local and national collaborative work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: India's biofuel programme relies on ethanol production from sugarcane molasses. However, there is limited insight on environmental impacts across the Indian ethanol production chain. This study closes this gap by assessing the environmental impacts of ethanol production from sugarcane molasses in Uttar Pradesh, India. A comparative analysis with south-central Brazilian sugarcane ethanol is also presented to compare the performance of sugarcane molasses-based ethanol with sugarcane juice-based ethanol. Methods: The production process is assessed by a cradle-to-gate life cycle assessment. The multifunctionality problem is solved by applying two variants of system expansion and economic allocation. Environmental impacts are assessed with Impact 2002+ and results are presented at the midpoint level for greenhouse gas emissions, non-renewable energy use, freshwater eutrophication and water use. Furthermore, results include impacts on human health and ecosystem quality at the damage level. Sensitivity analysis is also performed on key contributing parameters such as pesticides, stillage treatment and irrigation water use. Results and discussion: It is found that, compared to Brazilian ethanol, Indian ethanol causes lower or comparable greenhouse gas emissions (0.09-0.64 kgCO/kg, 0.46-0.63 kgCO/kg), non-renewable energy use (−0.3-6.3 MJ/kg, 1-4 MJ/kg), human health impacts (3.6 · 10 DALY/kg, 4 · 10 DALY/kg) and ecosystem impairment (2.5 PDF · m · year/kg, 3.3 PDF · m · year/kg). One reason is that Indian ethanol is exclusively produced from molasses, a co-product of sugar production, resulting in allocation of the environmental burden. Additionally, Indian sugar mills and distilleries produce surplus electricity for which they receive credits for displacing grid electricity of relatively high CO emission intensity. When economic allocation is applied, the greenhouse gas emissions for Indian and Brazilian ethanol are comparable. Non-renewable energy use is higher for Indian ethanol, primarily due to energy requirements for irrigation. For water use and related impacts, Indian ethanol scores worse due groundwater irrigation, despite the dampening effect of allocation. The variation on greenhouse gas emissions and non-renewable energy use of Indian mills is much larger for high and low performance than the respective systems in Brazil. Conclusions: Important measures can be taken across the production chain to improve the environmental performance of Indian ethanol production (e.g. avoiding the use of specific pesticides, avoiding the disposal of untreated stillage, transition to water efficient crops). However, to meet the targets of the Indian ethanol blending programme, displacement effects are likely to occur in countries which export ethanol. To assess such effects, a consequential study needs to be prepared. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]