Review of environmental performance of sheep farming using life cycle assessment

Bhatt, Akul; Abbassi, Bassim

doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.126192

Cited by 31 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…According to the literature review, the range of GHG emissions for greasy wool is 10.4-69.8 kg CO 2 eq./kg, so the selected dataset falls in the upper part of that range. Recent literature [36] suggests avoiding, whenever possible, generic data from life cycle databases and using IPPC or GLEAM models when adequate data is available. However, since the goal of this study is to better understand the relative position of MWool ® with respect to virgin wool fibres (i.e., generally speaking, and not with respect to a specific production of virgin wool fibres), the use of the dataset from the Ecoinvent database is certainly representative.…”

Section: Virgin Wool Fibres' Supply Chainmentioning

confidence: 99%

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of MWool® Recycled Wool Fibers

Bianco

Gerboni

Picerno³

et al. 2022

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Textile industries are in the spotlight due to the heavy environmental impacts along their products’ life cycle and, at the same time, they are a priority sector in the new circular economy action plan of the European Commission. In this framework, the Italian company Manteco SpA has developed a value chain based on the recycling of pre- and post-consumer discarded textiles, wh0se output is a secondary wool fiber named MWool®. This study develops an environmental analysis of recycled wool fibers through the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology, mainly using primary data. A parallel LCA is developed of virgin wool fiber, mostly based on literature data. Sensitivity analyses have been carried out: (i) to capture the uncertainty associated with virgin fibers’ impacts and (ii) to evaluate how MWool® impacts vary according to the origin and treatment of recycled textiles. Finally, the Circular Footprint Formula (CFF) has been applied to consider also a possible decay in quality typically affecting recycled fibers. Results show that recycled wool fibers have significantly lower environmental impacts than virgin fibers, even when the most unfavorable scenarios are considered. As climate change is concerned, 1 kg of MWool® has a carbon footprint of 0.1–0.9 kg CO2 eq., while producing virgin fibers releases 10–103 kg CO2 eq. Using the CFF, it emerges that recycled wool fibers can save about 60% of the impacts of virgin fibers. This study contributes to filling data gaps regarding LCAs applied to the textile sector, which is more and more in the spotlight and needs to address these environmental issues.

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Section: Virgin Wool Fibres' Supply Chainmentioning

confidence: 99%

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of MWool® Recycled Wool Fibers

Bianco

Gerboni

Picerno³

et al. 2022

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“…A common application of LCA is environmental assessments of meat production—more specifically—of farming livestock such as cows, poultry, sheep, and pigs (Bhatt & Abbassi, 2021; Costantini et al, 2021; de Vries et al, 2015; McAuliffe et al, 2016). The scope of the vast majority of livestock LCAs is cradle‐to‐farmgate, whereby the impacts of animal feed, waste (manure) management, fertilizer application, and oftentimes other supporting farm infrastructure (e.g., electricity, fuel, transportation, bedding straw, etc.)…”

Section: Case Study—lca Of Livestock Husbandrymentioning

confidence: 99%

Relative sensitivity value (RSV): A metric for measuring input parameter influence in life cycle assessment modeling

Bhatt¹,

Abbassi²

2022

Integr Envir Assess & Manag

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Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a commonly used tool to quantify life cycle environmental footprints of products. Uncertainty in LCA modeling, particularly from uncertainty in production practices (represented through input parameter arguments), can lead to incorrect conclusions and hamper decision‐making. Characterization of uncertainty through stochastic means and sensitivity analysis is utilized in a small fraction of LCA case studies, and the majority of studies default to scenario analysis due to its lower barrier to implementation and its results are easier to interpret. In this article, we introduce a sensitivity metric, relative sensitivity value (RSV), which allows LCA practitioners to gauge the relative influence of production practices on life cycle impacts in multiple phases and impact categories. Relative sensitivity value bridges the gap between scenario analysis and global sensitivity analysis, and it allows an LCA practitioner to provide an easy‐to‐interpret metric for quantifying the degree to which incremental changes in production practices influences the life cycle environmental footprint. We present the methodology used to calculate RSV and provide programming code, which can be readily used by an LCA practitioner to calculate RSV for their LCA model. We demonstrate the usage of RSV through a livestock husbandry LCA case study, in which we show how RSV results may be presented and interpreted, and how conclusions regarding production practices may be drawn. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2023;19:547–555. © 2022 SETAC

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“…The industry is based on small ruminant sheep breeds (Ovis aries) that have been domesticated over time. In the global meat market, sheep meat (lamb and mutton) represents an important product (Bhatt and Abbassi, 2021). Additional products derived from sheep include milk, fibre (from wool), sheepskin and parchment from hides.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Euclidean distance: integrated criteria to study sheep behaviour under heat stress

et al. 2021

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DOI: 10.15835/nsb13110859 Livestock farming with sheep represents an important income stream. With climate change, domestic sheep are being exposed to heat stress which can have adverse effects on growth. Here, data regarding sheep behaviour in response to high temperature stress was analysed using the Euclidean distance method to integrate all variables into a single representative outcome that could summarize sheep behaviour. We studied the effects of two shepherding conditions either with or without the provision of shade. The number of animals eating grass, ruminating and resting either in the shade or directly in the sun were recorded over one year at two-week intervals. As the ideal behaviour (expert’s criteria), the following conditions were considered: maximum numbers of animals eating grass, ruminating and resting under shaded conditions were desirable; while the numbers of animals ruminating or resting under direct sunlight should be at a minimum. The statistical evaluation undertaken integrated these variables to identify the most significant effects of heat stress. Sheep spent most of the daylight hours engaged in eating and this activity was more intensive where shaded conditions were available. The Euclidean distance calculated for the group of animals maintained under shaded conditions was statistically lower (indicating better behaviour). Based on this, it is possible to accurately rank the treatments in terms of severity. The analysis indicates that the use of the Euclidean distance could be used to summarize a simplified outcome for observational data collected in behavioural studies in response to differing climatic conditions.

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Review of environmental performance of sheep farming using life cycle assessment

Cited by 31 publications

References 37 publications

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of MWool® Recycled Wool Fibers

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of MWool® Recycled Wool Fibers

Relative sensitivity value (RSV): A metric for measuring input parameter influence in life cycle assessment modeling

Euclidean distance: integrated criteria to study sheep behaviour under heat stress

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