CASE STUDY:
Olive Oil Carbon Footprint
April 2013
Απρίλιος 2013
INTRODUCTION
Close the Loop completed a study calculating the
Carbon Footprint of Olive Oil sold by the
company Sellás Olive Oil (www.Sellás .gr), either
in bulk or bottled to customers in Greece and
abroad.
What is Carbon Footprint?
Carbon Footprint is the sum of greenhouse gas
emissions responsible for climate change – such
as carbon dioxide (CO2) or methane (CH4) –,
which are emitted throughout the life cycle of a
product. The carbon footprint is measured in kilos
of CO2 equivalents (kg CO2-eq). Calculating the
carbon footprint of agricultural products requires
specialized scientific knowledge.
What is a Product’s Life Cycle?
The Life Cycle of a product includes all the
environmental impacts that occur during the
production phases of the product, as well as
those for the production and transportation of
raw materials, fuels etc. A full life cycle also
includes the impacts from the consumption or
use of the product, up to the end of its life
(disposal/recycling).
Sustainable Supply Chain
Sellás Olive Oil decided to calculate the carbon
footprint of its products, in order to gain a
competitive advantage and establish itself as a
pioneer in sustainable supply chain.
CARBON FOOTPRINT STUDY
Scope of the Study
The goal of the study was to calculate the carbon
footprint of 1 kg of olive oil of the production
period 2012-13, sold by Sellás Olive Oil either in
bulk, or bottled in 8 different bottles.
The study was conducted according to the
guidelines of PΑS 2050:2011 and ISO 14040. The
carbon footprint calculations were based on
primary data collected by Close the Loop. The
internationally recognized LCA software GaBi-6 of
PE International (www.pe-international.com) was
used for modeling the product’s life cycle.
The study calculated the carbon footprint which
occurs from the following processes:
• the production of fertilizers and pesticides,
their transportation to the field and their
use
• the extraction and use of water for
irrigation
• the production, transportation and use of
diesel fuel for all field activities
• the collection of olives with various
mechanical means
• the transportation of olives to the olive-oil
mills
• the production of olive-oil at the olive-oil
mills
• the transportation of olive oil to the
facilities of Sellás Olive Oil with various
vehicles
• the storage, bottling and packaging (8
different bottles) of olive oil.
Sellás Olive Oil collects the olive oil from
suppliers located in 8 different regions of Greece
that differ in agricultural practices, the use of
fertilizers, the irrigation, the management of
prunings and the olive oil extraction process, thus
in their respective carbon footprint.
Basic olive oil production processes for which the carbon footprint was calculated,
as entered in the GaBi 6 software.
STUDY RESULTS
Although the study directly affects Sellás Olive Oil (being a supplier of the multinational company), it also
influences the olive farmer (who is a supplier of Sellás Olive Oil). The olive farmer may remain the
supplier of Sellás Olive Oil provided he/she assesses and eventually reduces its environmental impacts.
Carbon Footprint of 1 kg of Olive Oil
1 L Bottle
Agriculture
Production and Use of Fertilizers
Production and Use of Insecticides
Use of Machinery for Ploughing
Water Extraction and Use
Rest
Olive Oil Extraction
Bottling and Packaging
Glass Production
Glass Transportation
Al. Screw Cap Production
Plastic Production
Collection, Storage and Rest
TOTAL
Carbon Footprint
(Kg CO2-eq)
(%)
1.6
67.8
1.07
45.3%
0.23
9.8%
0.16
6.8%
0.12
5.1%
0.02
1%
0.29
12.1%
0.45
18.2%
0.38
16%
0.05
2%
0.01
1%
0.01
1%
0.02
1.1%
2.36
100%
The above indicative results show that the degree and type of fertilizer use (45% of carbon footprint), as
well as the type of bottles (18% of carbon footprint) affect the competitiveness of the product.
ENVIRONMENTAL CERTIFICATION
Based on the calculation of the carbon footprint,
the product may be certified by internationally
recognized institutions. The environmental
certification of olive oil aims at obtaining an
ecolabel that will accompany the product and
render it more competitive in international
markets.
The environmental certification may either relate
to a part of the life cycle (e.g. agriculture,
extraction and bottling/packaging as in this
study), or to the whole life cycle of the olive oil
that includes the carbon footprint for
transporting the product to retailers and the
end-of-life of packaging materials.
As regards the environmental certification and
ecolabels, it must be noted that the calculated
amount of the carbon footprint is not of
imperative importance, rather the regular
assessment and dedicated reduction efforts. In
other words, there is not a minimum carbon
footprint value which the product should have.
In order to increase olive oil exports, bottling and
standardization of the product represents a basic
requirement. However,
internationally
recognized certification enables for valuable
differentiation. In today’s highly competitive
international market, the most effective ecolabel
does not certify the quality of the olive oil (olive
oil is perceived by consumers as a high quality,
natural product)-, but the environmental profile
(impacts) of its production. In other words, the
environmental certification of the production and
distribution of olive oil is very important.
The current study, which refers to the carbon
footprint calculation of bulk and bottled olive oil,
is the basis for any environmental certification
study, since it covers the largest and most
important part of the olive oil’s life cycle.
Contact Details
57 Falirou Str., 11742, Athens
Τ|F +30 213.033.96.45
Ε [email protected]
/ClosetheLoop.gr
/company/close-the-loop
@closetheloop.gr