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Wood pallets play a critical role in the movement and storage of goods worldwide. They are an important component in the complex global supply chain and used by almost every industry. It is therefore important to assess the environmental implications of the wood pallet supply chain and identify optimization strategies that can be implemented. In this paper, primary 2018 annual production data collected from U.S. pallet manufacturers were used to develop the first industry-average life-cycle inventory (LCI). A new functional unit was proposed to perform a more refined and accurate environmental life-cycle assessment of the wood pallet supply chain. Using the LCI data developed, a cradle-to-grave industry-average life-cycle impact assessment was performed. This novel approach quantifies environmental impacts of a generic multi-use pallet, including repair and remanufacturing. The total global warming impact was 10.4 kg CO 2 e per 45.4 t of pallet loads of product delivered using wood pallets. The manufacturing stage contributed the most, about 35%, followed by the raw material supply stage. About 41% of total primary energy consumption was from renewable sources, with most sourced from biomass. Fossil fuels comprised about 52% of the total (225 MJ per functional unit) primary energy consumption. Total environmental impact was significantly affected by two main parameters: reference service life and load-bearing capacity. Pallet repair was also found to be an important component of the wood pallet supply chain, which has a low environmental footprint compared with the overall impact of a pallet and enables mitigation of overall impact by extending the reference service life. At end-of-life, common industry practices demonstrated substantial potential environmental benefits that can minimize overall environmental impact. The first industry-average wooden pallet life-cycle assessment based on a novel primary dataset. A unique functional unit developed based on pallet characteristics and load-carrying capacity. Global warming impact was 10.4 kg CO 2 e per functional unit. Raw material supply and manufacturing stages dominated the environmental impacts. Scenarios analyses showed the importance of repair and end-of-life pathways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research analyzes the business feasibility of freeze-dried powdered drink mix from Thai-grown Nam Dok Mai (NDM) mango for exportation to the United States. Since food processing generates large quantities of greenhouse gas emissions which contribute to global warming, the cradle-to-grave environmental impact of the mango powdered mix, specifically global warming potential (GWP), was determined using life cycle assessment. Based on the feasibility analysis, the mango powdered mix is thus positioned as a novelty for health-conscious and environmentally-concerned consumers because the product uses NDM mango fruits of premium quality as the main ingredient and carries a carbon footprint label on the packaging. A 50 g sachet of freeze-dried NDM mango powdered drink mix is priced at USD 7.80. The financial analysis showed that the mango drink mix possesses great business potential with high profitability. The environmental impact assessment identified the freeze drying process as the dominant contributor of GWP (15.40 kgCO 2 eq) due to high electricity consumption. • This paper deals with feasibility analysis of Thai-grown mango powdered drink mix. • Cradle-to-grave global warming potential of the freeze-dried mango mix is assessed. • Freeze drying contributes the most to GWP due to high electricity consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]