Carbon footprint of premium quality export bananas: Case study in Ecuador, the world's largest exporter

Iriarte, Alfredo; Almeida, Maria Gabriela; Villalobos, Pablo

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2013.11.072

Cited by 49 publications

(51 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…In relation to fertilizers, urea makes a considerable influence to the CF of these agrochemicals. Our results are in agreement with those of Bessou et al [29] and Iriarte et al [35]; from these studies, it is possible to indicate that the fertilizers contribute significantly to GHG emissions of fruit crops. On the other hand, machinery and pesticides present the lowest impact.…”

Section: Carbon Footprint Of Sweet Cherry Production Andsupporting

confidence: 94%

Carbon Footprint Assessment of Sweet Cherry Production: Hotspots and Improvement Options

Bravo¹,

López²,

Vásquez³

et al. 2017

Pol. J. Environ. Stud.

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The carbon footprint (CF) evaluates the overall amount of greenhouse gas emissions and removals associated with a product or activity across its life cycle. Today, the CF assessment has the potential to be a key measurement for increasing sustainable agricultural production. In addition, the export-oriented fruit sector has been challenged to quantify and reduce their CF. Worldwide there are scant peer-review studies that examine the CF of stone fruits (Prunus genus). The scarcity is most evident in sweet cherries, which is the third most exported stone fruit in the world in terms of value (after almonds and peaches). Chile is the largest southern hemisphere producer and exporter of sweet cherry fruit. Within this context, the present study is one of the first assessments of the CF of conventional sweet cherry production. This work considers Chilean agricultural practices and identifies key influencing factors (hotspots). It takes into account the following agricultural inputs: mineral fertilizers, pesticides, diesel consumption for agricultural operations, machinery, and electricity for irrigation. The results indicate that the average CF of the Chilean sweet cherry production is 0.41 kg CO 2 -eq/kg of harvested fruit, with a 95% confidence interval between 0.36 and 0.47 kg CO 2 -eq/kg. This value is higher than those for other stone fruits reported by the literature. Diesel and fertilizers are the most important contributors to the CF of sweet cherry cultivation. Improvement scenarios are evaluated for the hotspots in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the production of this fruit. This study provides quantitative environmental criteria associated with global warming concerns to the stakeholders in the fruit sector and to the agricultural policymakers.

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Section: Carbon Footprint Of Sweet Cherry Production Andsupporting

confidence: 94%

Carbon Footprint Assessment of Sweet Cherry Production: Hotspots and Improvement Options

Bravo¹,

López²,

Vásquez³

et al. 2017

Pol. J. Environ. Stud.

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Our results are situated within the range reported by Iriarte et al (2014) for the best and worst scenarios: 0.45 and 1.04, respectively. Lescot (2012) does not reveal the characteristics of any of the stages included in his assessment, while Iriarte et al (2014) consider a best-case scenario, in which a non-refrigerated Ecoinvent process is directly used to model overseas transport, and a worst-case-scenario in which emissions from sea transport are based on data from Luske (2010).…”

Section: Comparison With Other Banana Carbon Footprintssupporting

confidence: 89%

“…2 start from farms B and C, ending up either at the RDC (Lescot BI) or at the European harbor (Lescot BII and C). Finally, Iriarte et al (2014) presents two results, both ending at the European port, which differ only in the overseas transport stage: a best-casescenario (Iriarte I) that considers overseas transport in container vessels, and a worst-case-scenario (Iriarte II) in which small reefer ships are assumed.…”

Section: Comparison With Other Banana Carbon Footprintsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Special effort will be made to model transport stages, given their influence on the final figures found by other authors. To the best of our knowledge there are five reported studies that have evaluated the carbon footprint of bananas: Eitner et al (2012) evaluated banana value chains starting from three Latin American countries; Iriarte et al (2014) carried out a cradle-to-gate analysis of the Ecuadorian bananas taken to a European port; Luske (2010) performed a similar assessment for Costa Rican bananas; Svanes and Aronsson (2013) based their analysis on Luske's and expanded the scope up to cradle-to-grave; Lescot (2012) compiled four case studies from three different farms of unspecified location. All these papers place their final destinations in northern Europe, and only one includes consumption stage (Svanes and Aronsson, 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…All these papers place their final destinations in northern Europe, and only one includes consumption stage (Svanes and Aronsson, 2013). Of these, Ecuadorian plantations were studied by Eitner et al (2012) and Iriarte et al (2014). In the first study, CF calculations were conducted using the Footprint Expert Tool, 2 in which the assessment of farm emissions is based on average European data and process calculation lacked transparency as emission factors are not published, while the second study only considers data collected in a single farm in El Oro region.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The long road to a sustainable banana trade

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Societal Impact StatementBananas are the world's most popular dessert fruit and a staple starch crop for millions in low-and middle-income countries. The banana export trade that supplies North America, Europe, and other wealthy nations has a history fraught with exploitation and conflict. The price of cheap bananas has been environmental degradation, violence, and poverty. Only recently have efforts to address the power imbalances in this trade been made. Voluntary certification schemes aim to address multiple sustainability issues, while research into biological control, accelerated plant breeding, and efficient irrigation will help prepare the industry for emerging threats from pests, diseases, and climate change.

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Carbon footprint of premium quality export bananas: Case study in Ecuador, the world's largest exporter

Cited by 49 publications

References 6 publications

Carbon Footprint Assessment of Sweet Cherry Production: Hotspots and Improvement Options

Carbon Footprint Assessment of Sweet Cherry Production: Hotspots and Improvement Options

Carbon footprint along the Ecuadorian banana supply chain: methodological improvements and calculation tool

The long road to a sustainable banana trade

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