Joint carbon footprint assessment and data envelopment analysis for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in agriculture production.
Operations management tools are critical in the process of evaluating and implementing action towards a low carbon production. Currently, a sustainable production implies both an efficient resource use and the obligation to meet targets for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The carbon footprint (CF) tool allows estimating the overall amount of GHG emissions associated with a product or activity throughout its life cycle. In this paper, we propose a four-step method for a joint use of CF assessment and Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). Following the eco-efficiency definition, which is the delivery of goods using fewer resources and with decreasing environmental impact, we use an output oriented DEA model to maximize production and reduce CF, taking into account simultaneously the economic and ecological perspectives. In another step, we stablish targets for the contributing CF factors in order to achieve CF reduction. The proposed method was applied to assess the eco-efficiency of five organic blueberry orchards throughout three growing seasons. The results show that this method is a practical tool for determining eco-efficiency and reducing GHG emissions.
School of Industrial Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universidad de Talca, Camino a Los Niches km 1, Curicó, Chile.
Ricardo
R
Rebolledo-Leiva
Production Engineering Department, Universidade Federal Fluminense, Rua Passo da Patria 156, São Domingos, Niterói 24210-240, Brazil.
Lidia
L
Angulo-Meza
Department of Industrial Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universidad de Talca, Camino a Los Niches km 1, Curicó, Chile; Chilean Food Processing Research Center, CEAP (Centro de Estudios en Alimentos Procesados), Avenida Lircay s/n. Campus Talca, Universidad de Talca, Talca, Chile.
Alfredo
A
Iriarte
Department of Industrial Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universidad de Talca, Camino a Los Niches km 1, Curicó, Chile. Electronic address: mgonzalez@utalca.cl.
Marcela C
MC
González-Araya
Agriculture production; Carbon footprint reduction; Data Envelopment Analysis; Eco-efficiency; Environmental sustainability; Life cycle assessment