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

Carbon Footprint

(Kg CO2-eq) (%)

Agriculture 1.6 67.8

Production and Use of Fertilizers 1.07 45.3%

Production and Use of Insecticides 0.23 9.8%

Use of Machinery for Ploughing 0.16 6.8%

Water Extraction and Use 0.12 5.1%

Rest 0.02 1%

Olive Oil Extraction 0.29 12.1%

Bottling and Packaging 0.45 18.2%

Glass Production 0.38 16%

Glass Transportation 0.05 2%

Al. Screw Cap Production 0.01 1%

Plastic Production 0.01 1% Collection, Storage and Rest 0.02 1.1%

TOTAL 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 info@closetheloop.gr

/ClosetheLoop.gr

/company/close-the-loop

@closetheloop.gr