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The purpose of this document is to carry out a critical review of the existing literature by specifically addressing the following: (i) the integration of life cycle assessment and life cycle cost assessment from the perspective of research topics, category and scope of study, authors, institutions, countries, and journals working on or publishing related studies, and (ii) the main aids, challenges, opportunities, methodological difficulties, and current research efforts on the integrated approach of both tools. A systematic review was conducted to identify studies with an integrated use of life cycle assessment and life cycle cost in several areas. An analysis of the main aspects of the studies identified, such as bibliographic reference, year of publication, institution where the research was conducted, country, area of application, category of study, journal of publication, impact factor, and number of citations was conducted. After a search in the Science Direct, Scopus, and Web of Science databases, 349 documents were identified. After a series of filters (excluding gray literature, reading titles and keywords, reading abstracts, and reading full-texts), which helped ruling out articles that did not contribute to investigating the integration of life cycle assessment and life cycle cost assessment, 90 documents were selected for a detailed analysis. The leading role of the USA and European countries in this issue should be highlighted. The integration of life cycle assessment and life cycle cost seems to be most advanced in the areas of building design and civil construction. Different strategies for the integration of the methodologies are also found, being mathematical modelling and programming for optimization, and multi-criteria decision-making the most recurrent methods. Moreover, there seems to be more challenges than opportunities in said integration. The challenges include the monetization of environmental impacts, higher volatility of economic data compared to environmental data, and differences in environmental and economic background data. These challenges can be turned into opportunities in the development of more comprehensive methodological approaches. Challenges (e.g., time-, resource- and knowledge-intensive, different scopes) and opportunities (e.g., common system boundaries, benefitting from LCA structure to conduct LCC) for the integration of life cycle assessment and life cycle cost were identified. This combined approach allows projects, products, and services to reduce environmental and economic impacts, which can be quantified and compared through improved assessment of potential trade-offs.

There is growing concern about the nutritional quality and the environmental impact of the food we eat. Although the population is increasingly aware of adhering to diets that meet these requirements, the reality is that current dietary patterns deviate greatly from these recommendations. In the case of Portugal, the Mediterranean and Atlantic diets have traditionally coexisted in the country but it is predictable that current consumption patterns do not conform to them. Accordingly, the present research has a dual objective, taking the Portuguese dietary pattern as a case study. First, sustainability in terms of environmental and health impacts is monitored over a 9-year period (2008–2016), including the stages of production, distribution, and household activities. Secondly, an example of alternative diet is proposed in the pursuit of a more sustainable dietary pattern. The carbon footprint from a life cycle perspective has been selected for the environmental impact assessment and the Nutrient Rich Diet 9.3 index for the analysis of the nutritional quality. An average value of 4.20 kg CO2 eq·inhabitant−1·day−1 is reported for the Portuguese diet for the period under study. Regarding the alternative diet proposal, it leads to an increase of the nutritional quality of around 67%, and a reduction of the carbon footprint by approximately 25%, approaching the values of recommended diets such as the Mediterranean and the Atlantic ones. This research can serve as a reference for decision-makers, as well as to provide consumers with a clearer picture of what should be included in their food basket.

Peru has become one of the world's main agricultural hubs for a wide range of fruits and vegetables. Two of these products, avocado and green asparagus, have raised attention in recent years in the international scene from an environmental perspective due to the high amounts of water they require, as well as the long air and marine freighting distances to export these products to Europe, Asia or the US. Consequently, the aim of the current study was to perform an environmental assessment of these two products using two life-cycle methods: carbon and water footprint. For the latter, water scarcity, acidification, eco-toxicity and eutrophication impact categories have been selected for assessment. Inventory data were gathered from six different companies located in different regions of the hyper-arid Peruvian coast. The results report that the products are not carbon intensive and are in line with other similar plant-based products. Conversely, the hyper-arid conditions of the cultivation sites require a large volume of groundwater to fulfill the needs of the crops. Interestingly, even though this may lead to overexploitation of groundwater resources in the absence of appropriate management policies, the low mobility of pollutants, namely pesticides, constitutes a natural barrier to protect the degradation of natural water bodies. Similarly, highly technified irrigation systems have allowed minimizing the amounts of water used per hectare. In conclusion, results from this study may be useful in more concise environmental assessment studies on food products and diets, considering the consumption of these Peruvian products in many countries in the world. Furthermore, results are also important at regional level since they depict the carbon and water performance of these products and can also be accompanied by cross-cutting certification schemes, including Product Environmental Footprint Category Rules Guidance.

Challenges associated with the sustainability of the water cycle pose new opportunities for resource recovery and greater environmental protection. While centralized wastewater treatment plants must evolve in their design and operation to adapt to a scenario of increasing demand for water, resources and energy, the decentralized approach emerges as an option to be considered in small communities or developing residential areas where bioenergy production can be improved through the recovery of organic matter in segregated streams or where the investment in the sewer network for connection to a centralized facility may be technologically or economically unfeasible. The main objective of this work is to evaluate the environmental and economic profile of a hybrid-decentralized configuration for the purpose of efficient wastewater management and resource recovery and its comparative evaluation with the centralized treatment scenario. Beyond water reclamation, decentralized treatment offers the possibility of valorization of digestate streams as nutrient sources for horticultural or ornamental crops in the vicinity of the plant. Based on the results of the environmental profile, this manuscript shows that the decentralized treatment approach is in line with the philosophy and guidelines of the circular economy, as it allows the use of reclaimed water and biofertilizers under safe and environmental-friendly conditions This research was supported by the Run4Life project, which receives funding from the EU Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme (GA no 730285-1). All of them belong to the Galician Competitive Research Group (GRC ED431C 2017/29), to CRETUS (Interdisciplinary Center for Research in Environmental Technologies) and to the department of chemical engineering of the University of Santiago de Compostela. Dr. S. González-Garcia would also like to express her gratitude to the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness for financial support (Grant reference RYC-2014-14984). All these programs are co-funded by FEDER (EU). S. Estévez also thanks to the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities for financial support (Grant reference PRE2020-092074) SI

Cities today are dense networks of interchanging investments, information, goods and people, as well as centers of innovation and knowledge management. In such a complex framework of housing, social and economic interrelationships, cities become large consumers of resources and producers of greenhouse gases. Therefore, and in order to preserve resources and guarantee social services and the well-being of citizens, planning and policy actions are required that contribute to achieving sustainable growth. Beyond the environmental perspective, a socio-economic analysis is essential to make a comprehensive sustainability diagnosis of urban and rural systems. This paper presents a methodology for sustainability assessment, based on 38 indicators that include the three pillars of sustainability: social, economic and environmental. To carry out this assessment, 64 municipalities out of 313 located in Galicia (Northwest Spain) were selected and classified in three categories according to their population size (Medium Size, Small Size and Village). Moreover, two weighting methods have been considered (equal weighting and measured weighting attributed through Analytic Hierarchy Process method). The results show that most sustainable municipalities are located in the north of the region. On the other hand, regardless of the weighting method, 57% of the medium-sized municipalities are rated sustainable compared to 45% of those of the categories of Village and Small Size categories. Therefore, municipal size is relevant for measuring sustainability and there are no significant differences between the results obtained with the two weighting methodologies, indicating that the method developed is robust and could be applied to other municipalities and cities.

Due to the long lifespan of thermal oxidizers (over 20 years), outdated facilities might still be operational. However, these oxidizers may not be energy efficient due to the lack of an energy recovery system. Thus, those outdated facilities need to be either retrofitted or replaced to decrease both energy and fuel consumption. In this regard, it is important to systematically assess the costs and environmental impact of the available technological options to promote more informed selection criteria for new oxidizers. Therefore, the environmental and economic performances of a recuperative thermal oxidizer and a catalytic thermal oxidizer were assessed in this study to provide a decision support tool for the selection of new incinerators. These two scenarios have been compared to an outdated thermal oxidizer such as a direct flame incinerator, which was selected as a baseline scenario. The life cycle assessment of the three oxidizers has been performed using SimaPro software according to the ReCiPe method at mid-point level (hierarchist). The main sources of impact for the considered oxidizers are the natural gas needed for the operation of the combustion chamber, electricity and gaseous emissions, including CO2, water and residual volatile organic compounds. The results indicated that both alternatives could significantly reduce the overall impact of the thermal oxidation process compared to the baseline case. However, the catalytic oxidation process emerged as the most sustainable technological option due to its lower fuel and electricity requirements. Moreover, the cost analysis of the scenarios considered clearly demonstrated that the catalytic oxidizer could represent the most cost effective alternative. This is due to its lower annual costs, which might offset the higher investment necessary to set-up a catalytic oxidizer within the first year of operation.

Production and consumption of food has a significant effect on climate change. The effect of different consumption habits on the environment should not be under estimated, as there are different studies that mention the environmental impact associated with different foods, especially those of animal origin. The analysis of the Atlantic diet (AD), as the most common dietary pattern in Northwestern Spain, serves as an example of a diet with a high consumption of local, fresh and seasonal products, home cooking and low-processed foods. The evaluation was carried out by quantifying the carbon footprint following the Life Cycle Analysis methodology and identifying its nutritional quality according to the value of the Nutrient-rich Dietary index (NRD9.3.). According to the main results, the consumption of livestock products and shellfish is responsible for most GHG emissions (70% of the total). The basic ingredients of the AD, such as vegetables and legumes, make a relatively minor contribution (with an impact of 30% of the total) to the total carbon footprint of 3.01 kg CO2eq·person−1·day−1. As regards nutritional quality, AD has a high nutritional score (474), mainly due to the low intake of sodium, added sugars and saturated fats (nutrients to be limited in healthy diets). In general, both the carbon footprint and the nutritional index score are consistent with those of other studies on the Mediterranean diet, which has been recognised as beneficial. Therefore, it can be concluded that the AD may be recommended from a nutritional and environmental point of view, mainly due to the high intake of fish and vegetables. The communication of this valuable environmental and nutritional information to consumers should be taken into account when considering strategic actions for the adoption of healthy and sustainable dietary patterns This research has been supported by a project granted by Xunta de Galicia (project ref. ED431F 2016/001). Dr. S. González-Garcia would like to express her gratitude to the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness for financial support (Grant reference RYC-2014-14984). The authors belong to the Galician Competitive Research Group GRC 2013-032 as well as to CRETUS (AGRUP2015/02), co-funded by Xunta de Galicia and FEDER (EU) SI

Life cycle assessment (LCA) has been widely applied in many different sectors, but the marine products and seafood segment have received relatively little attention in the past. In recent decades, global fish production experienced sustained growth and peaked at about 179 million tonnes in 2018. Consequently, increased interest in the environmental implications of fishery products along the supply chain, namely from capture to end of life, was recently experienced by society, industry and policy-makers. This timely review aims to describe the current framework of LCA and its application to the seafood sector that mainly focused on fish extraction and processing, but it also encompassed the remaining stages. An excess of 60 studies conducted over the last decade, along with some additional publications, were comprehensively reviewed; these focused on the main LCA methodological choices, including but not limited to, functional unit, system boundaries allocation methods and environmental indicators. The review identifies key recommendations on the progression of LCA for this increasingly important sustaining seafood sector. Specifically, these recommendations include (i) the need for specific indicators for fish-related activities, (ii) the target species and their geographical origin, (iii) knowledge and technology transfer and, (iv) the application and implementation of key recommendations from LCA research that will improve the accuracy of LCA models in this sector. Furthermore, the review comprises a section addressing previous and current challenges of the seafood sector. Wastewater treatment, ghost fishing or climate change, are also the objects of discussion together with advocating support for the water-energy-food nexus as a valuable tool to minimize environmental negativities and to frame successful synergies. This work was supported by the EAPA_576/2018 NEPTUNUS project. The authors would like to acknowledge the financial support of Interreg Atlantic Area. Ana Cláudia Dias and Paula Quinteiro acknowledge FCT/MCTES for the financial support to CESAM (UIDB/50017/2020+UIDP/50017/2020), through national funds, and to the research contracts CEECIND/02174/2017 and CEECIND/00143/2017, respectively. peer-reviewed 2022-12-14

Menus served at public services can be considered as a good opportunity for consumers to demand a service that ensures healthy and environmentally friendly food. It is especially in the sector of nurseries and schools, where these demands make the most sense since they call for the protection of particularly vulnerable population: children. The purpose of this study is to analyze the biweekly menus served at a public Spanish nursery canteen considering the link with the two most recognized environmental indicators: the consumptive water footprint (WF) and the carbon footprint (CF). The WF and CF of the menus vary considerably between menus (619–1359 L·menu−1 and 0.75–2.95 kg CO2eq·menu−1). The assessment has identified non-dairy sources of protein and dairy-based products as the key food categories in all menus. Menus with more meat (mostly beef) and dairy products (mainly cheese) were associated with higher impacts. That is, the average impact of menus with beef is about 2 times greater than the one of all other menus. The distribution and cooking stages presented negligible contributions in terms of greenhouse gases emissions, mainly due to the consumption of local/regional products and low-energy intensive cooking techniques. The most important strategy for reducing environmental impacts is based on reducing the frequency of consumption of beef, so that poultry and lean pork are consumed alternately. This reduction should not compromise the necessary protein intake for toddlers. Attention should also be paid to afternoon snacks that are rich in cold meat and dairy products. Considering these issues, significant reductions in WF and CF indicators could be achieved, up to 550 L·menu−1 and 0.70 kg CO2eq·menu−1. Since eating habits introduced at an early stage are more likely to develop into adult behaviour, children canteen services are an excellent opportunity to promote healthy eating habits in children and their families This research has been partially supported by a project granted by Xunta de Galicia (project ref. ED431F 2016/001 and by a project granted by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, Proyectos de Investigación en Salud-ISCIII (project ref. PI16/01301). S.G-G. would like to express her gratitude to the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness for financial support (Grant reference RYC-2014-14984). S.G.-G., X.E-Ll., G.F. and M.T.M. belong to the Galician Competitive Research Group GRC 2013-032. All these programs are co-funded by Xunta de Galicia and FEDER (EU) SI

Rutin is a flavonol glycoside that is found in greater proportion in asparagus stalks. Considering the possibility of valorization of solid waste from the food industry, this research aims to evaluate and compare the environmental profile of the different schemes of rutin asparagus extraction. Specifically, Soxhlet, pressurized liquid and supercritical fluid extractions, all of them using ethanol as the extracting agent. The environmental analysis is conducted according to the Life Cycle Assessment methodology under a mass and economic allocation. The results, under economic allocation, show that the scenario based on pressurized liquid extraction have the best environmental profile. However, when mass allocation is considered, the pressurized liquid-based scenario is the worst choice. Consequently, the choice of the solvents will influence the Soxhlet extraction performance. In this regard, ethanol, methanol and ethyl acetate are selected. The solvent comparison identifies ethyl acetate as the extraction agent with the worst environmental profile This research has been partially supported by the SENSE project granted by FEDER/Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, Spanish National Research Agency (CTQ2016-75136-P) and by the project Enhancing diversity in Mediterranean cereal farming systems (CerealMed) funded by PRIMA Programme and FEDER/Ministry of Science and Innovation – Spanish National Research Agency (PCI2020-111978). B. Santiago thanks to the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities for financial support (Grant reference BES-2017-081715). Dr. S. González-Garcia would like to express her gratitude to the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness for financial support (Grant reference RYC-2014-14984). The authors belong to the Galician Competitive Research Group GRC 2013-032 and to CRETUS Strategic Partnership (AGRUP2015/02). All these programmes are co-funded by Xunta de Galicia and FEDER (EU) SI

Chemical and heat treatments are traditionally used to preserve the quality of food products. An alternative is based on the use of antimicrobials such as nisin to ensure food safety. Traditionally, nisin is produced by microbial fermentation in the exponential growth phase of Lactococcus lactis, which is a recognized starter culture in dairy products. However, its production process entails a high cost compared to its chemical-based counterparts, which reduces its competitiveness in the market. This study addresses the economic feasibility and environmental impacts of biotechnological co-production of nisin and lactic acid from three food-associated industrial waste streams: cheese whey (CW), sugar beet pulp (SBP) and corn stover (CS). To carry out the conceptual design of a process at an early stage of development, SuperPro Designer® is used as simulation tool for developing the process alternatives within an industrial approach. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology will be applied to identify the main environmental impacts associated with the production process. Based on the economic and environmental evaluation, SBP proved to be the best carbon source for the nisin production process, followed by CW. Regarding CS, this alternative should overcome the drawbacks associated with enzyme consumption and limited nisin production yield This research has been financially supported by the European project iFermenter (Grant Agreement 79057. Ifermenter is a project funded under the "Bio-Based Industries Joint Undertaking under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme". The authors belong to the Galician Competitive Research Group (GRC ED431C 2017/29) and to the Cross-disciplinary Research in Environmental Technologies (CRETUS Research Center, ED431E 2018/01) SI

The partnership for sustainable and healthy food is a challenge shared by governments, food industry, environmental science, and the health service. At the European level, the application of policies based on the Mediterranean-style eating pattern is recommended. In this regard, attention is being paid to the New Nordic Diet (NND), which shares many similarities with the Mediterranean one but comprises typical foods from Nordic countries. Therefore, it could be transferred to anywhere in the world, including Spain, where it would coexist with the recommendations of the Mediterranean Diet (MD) and the southern European Atlantic Diet (SEAD). The main objective of this study is to propose the modelling of the health, economic, environmental and nutritional indicators of the southern version of NND (SNND) and to compare, when possible, the results with those of the alternatives. The environmental metrics for SNND, carbon footprint (CF) and water footprint (WF), were estimated at 3.58 kg CO2·person−1·day−1 and 3528 L·person-1·day-1 respectively, a slightly worse environmental profile than for MD. In relation to economic metrics, the updated cost index to 2019 was 4.30 €·person−1·day−1, similar to MD and lower than for SEAD. The overall dietary quality score was 126, a higher result than the baseline (100), but worse than those identified for SEAD and MD. In terms of health outcomes, NND showed benefits that reduce non-communicable diseases such as the risks of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D) by 31%, colorectal cancer (CRCA) by 35% and cardiovascular disease (CVD) by 7%. Compliance with the NND was also associated with a weight loss of 1.83 kg per person following the diet. Epidemiological evidence supported greater weight loss when following the NND, but greater reductions in the CVD risk when adhering to MD. The dissemination through educational campaigns of these recommended dietary patterns and the incorporation in the dietary guidelines of simple indicators of nutritional quality, environmental impacts and health, easily understood by a wide audience, is one of the most important challenges of public and environmental health C.C–F would like to show her gratitude to the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities (Grant reference FPU 19/06648). S.G-G. would also give thanks to the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (Grant reference RYC-2014-14984). C.C., S.G.-G., G.F. and M.T.M. belong to the Galician Competitive Research Group GRC 2013–032 and to Cross-disciplinary Research in Environmental Technologies (CRETUS Research Center, ED431E 2018/01). All these programs are co-funded by Xunta de Galicia and FEDER (EU) SI

It is no secret that the world is facing the challenge of transitioning to healthy diets, which link human and planetary health and the economy. Among the wide variety of diets, Palaeolithic diet has become so popular in social media. The main goal of this study is to evaluate the environmental and health sustainability of the Paleo diet, incorporating the health dimension to the economic, nutritional, and environmental indicators. Results were compared with those of the other dietary patterns in Spain: Mediterranean Diet (MD), Southern European Atlantic Diet (SEAD) and the Spanish Dietary Guidelines (NAOS). It was concluded that the Paleo diet is a diet low in carbohydrates (24.5% of energy intake) and high in protein (29.6% of energy intake), cholesterol (835 mg·day−1) and polyunsaturated fatty acids (15.3% of energy intake). The diet quality score was 260, a result above the recommended. Regarding the health assessment of the food categories that contribute most to the Paleo diet, vegetables and fruits were associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D), colorectal cancer (CRCA), obesity and stroke. The opposite result was observed for red meat. Fish and seafood, as well as poultry, were associated with a relative risk higher than one for T2D and obesity, but not for CVD, CRCA or stroke. Based on the economic assessment, a higher dietary cost was estimated for Paleo diet (8.6 €·person−1·day−1). The environmental metrics in terms of carbon footprint (CF) and water footprint (WF) were estimated in 5.44 kg CO2·person−1·day−1 and 3499 L·person−1·day−1 respectively, a worse environmental profile than that of MD, SEAD and NAOS. Environmental and health sustainability assessments can help policy makers set targets for improving dietary guidelines at national level. They are recognized as a very useful tool to guide citizens towards the most appropriate diet C.C.-F. would like to express her gratitude to the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities for financial support (Grant reference FPU 19/06648). S.G.-G. would like to express her gratitude to the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness for financial support (Grant reference RYC-2014-14984). C.C-F, S.G.-G., G.F. and M.T.M. belong to the Galician Competitive Research Group GRC 2013-032 and to CRETUS Strategic Partnership (AGRUP2015/02). All these programs are co-funded by FEDER (EU) SI

The environment is a very complex and fragile system in which multiple factors of different nature play an important role. Pollution, together with resource consumption, is one of the main causes of the environmental problems currently affecting the planet. In the search for alternative production processes, the use of renewable resources seeks a way to satisfy the demands of resource consumption based on the premises of lower environment impact and less damage to human health. In the wood sector, the panel manufacturing process is based on the use of formaldehyde-based resins. However, their poor moisture resistance leads to hydrolysis of amino-methylene bonds, which induces formaldehyde emissions throughout the lifetime of the wood panel. This manuscript investigates the environmental profile associated with different wood bioadhesives based on starch functionalization as a renewable alternative to formaldehyde resins. Considering that this is a process under development, the conceptual design of the full-scale process will be addressed by process modeling and the environmental profile will be assessed using life cycle assessment methodology. A comparative study with synthetic resins will provide useful information for modify their development to become real alternatives in the wood-based panel industry. The results obtained show the enormous potential of starch bioadhesives, as their environmental impact values are lower compared to those based on petrochemicals. However, certain improvements in the energy process requirements and in the chemical agents used could be developed to provide even better results This research has been financially supported by ERA-CoBIOTECH project (PCI2018-092866) Programación Conjunta Internacional 2018—WooBAdh project. The authors belong to the Galician Competitive Research Group (GRC ED431C 2017/29) and to CRETUS Strategic Partnership (ED431E 2018/01). SI

When dietary habits are analyzed in the framework of school catering services, nutritional indicators are essential criteria in the definition of menus, but attention should also be paid to the associated environmental impacts. It is especially relevant to assess food patterns in nursery schools when consumption habits are most strongly implemented, and they must be healthy and sustainable. With the aim of evaluating the main environmental indicators: Carbon and water footprints (CF and WF), ten menus consisting of lunch and afternoon snack were evaluated, which comprise a wide range of food categories (fruits and vegetables, starch-based products, milk and milk products, non-dairy sources of protein, and others). The CF of the menus varied considerably according to their composition, with beef-rich menus having the worst profile (up to 2.24 kg CO2/menu and 0.39 kg CO2/100 kcal). Regarding the WF, meals rich on animal-based products also entailed water implications and mainly associated with the consumption of beef. Green WF and blue WF are responsible for 88% of the contributions to this indicator, on average. The WF indicator reaches up to 1271 L·menu−1 and 223 L/100 kcal for a menu containing beef meat. This study confirms the effect on CF and WF from animal-based products, specifically beef meat and dairy products. The findings of the study can be useful to make recommendations not only to consumers on reducing the environmental impacts from food production and consumption, but also to design balanced menus with better environmental scores based on the combination of low and high footprint food products, always providing the necessary energy and nutrients, an unquestionable issue in toddlers and pre-school children whose need to follow balanced and healthy diets, being meat an important foodstuff.

The planning and construction of large-scale wastewater infrastructure, such as sewerage networks and wastewater treatment plants, is undertaken by the public sector or by publicly regulated monopolies. Only on smaller scales can infrastructure be managed by private companies or through local collective initiatives. Within this framework of water cycle management, there is an increasing movement of the population towards cities where economic activity is concentrated. This scenario is particularly pronounced in certain regions of the world and makes it necessary to rethink whether decentralised treatment offers a way of ensuring the servicing of wastewater treatment in new urban developments, alleviating pressure on facilities that are at the limit of their capacity. In this study four systems were evaluated: two centralised and two decentralised configurations, from an environmental and economic perspective, posing as working hypothesis how different wastewater treatment schemes influence the carbon footprint of the population living in a neighbourhood. The analysis of the results identifies that the decentralised systems present a reduction in the carbon footprint of residents of around 20–23 % depending on the technology considered. In addition, reclaimed water can meet the water quality requirements for irrigation of the green areas in the neighbourhood. Although decentralised systems have higher construction costs, they can be amortised due to lower energy consumption, so the payback time is estimated to be 8–9 years, lower than that of centralised systems. Considering the problems associated with changing and replacing existing networks, decentralised wastewater treatment systems is especially recommended for new dwelling developments, based on its environmental and economic indicators This research was supported by the EU project: Run4Life (GA no 730285-1). The authors belong to the Galician Competitive Research Group GRC ED431C 2017/29) and to the CRETUS Strategic Partnership (ED431E 2018/01). Dr. S. González-Garcia would like to express her gratitude to the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness for financial support (Grant reference RYC-2014-14984). All these programs are co-funded by FEDER (EU) 2022-06-28 SI

The search for more efficient and sustainable processes has become the cornerstone of any production system. It is within this framework that it is highly relevant to propose improvement actions based on a detailed eco-efficiency analysis of different facilities so that roadmaps for more sustainable processes are considered. The joint use of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) appears to be an appropriate methodology to assess the eco-efficiency of multiple units, providing targets and benchmarks for inefficient ones. This work advances in this direction by integrating both analysis methodologies in the calculation of environmental indicators associated with milk production for a large group of farms, nearly 100 decision-making units. Twenty-one dairy farms were identified as efficient, and the average efficiency score of the inefficient farms was 0.58. Based on the comparison of current operation levels with target levels, it was possible to quantify average reductions of up to 53% for input consumption levels, resulting in average impact reductions of 49% in carbon footprint and 55% in water footprint. Comparing the outcomes of this study with those reported in 2011 for Galician farms (Northwest Spain), a slight decrease in eco-efficiency was noted in the dairy sector. This study shows how the Galician dairy sector must address sustainable development objectives, especially those established in Agenda 2030 to achieve constant improvement and sustainable and efficient production This research was founded by CEPES (118.831059.02). A. Cortés, M.T. Moreira and G. Feijoo belong to the Galician Competitive Research Group GRC (ED431C 2017/29) as well as to CRETUS Strategic Partnership (ED431E 2018/01), co-founded by FEDER (EU) 2022-10-29 SI

Succinic acid (SA) is a top biobased chemical with numerous opportunities in the field of circular economy for climate neutrality. The objective of this work is to environmentally analyze the bio-production of SA from residual sugar-based streams from the pulp and paper industry (SSL). In this study we have complemented Attributional life cycle assessment (A-LCA) with Consequential life cycle assessment (C-LCA) analyzing the effect of mass versus economic allocation in the first method, and the potential of net reductions of carbon emissions in the chemical industry in the latter. The results present an analysis of the environmental effects of producing SA with two operation modes: fed-batch and continuous fermentation as well as the influence of assuming different geographical locations of the bio-SA production plant through the assessment of the effect of the electricity mix. On the other hand, utilizing the facultative anaerobic and capnophilic bacterium Basfia succiniciproducens in the fermentation and thus being CO2 an input, brings up the opportunity of assessing the carbon capture and utilization potential of the bio-SA value chain. An assessment of the upstream section and origin of CO2 was performed by studying the effect of capturing CO2 from industrial static point sources (cement industry and bioethanol production from fermentation). The carbon footprint attributional results suggest that SA from SSL provides a reasonable substitution for the SA fossil alternative although not reaching the same results when comparing against first generation SA produced from sorghum, which is 62% better. From the consequential perspective, substituting the current market of SA (fossil and 1st generation SA) by SA from SSL will provide improvements of up to 1465% by 2060.

Fresh pasteurized milk consumption is evaluated from environmental and socio-economic perspectives. Two different supply chains are analysed: traditional supply chain and vending machines—a circular business model based on a short supply chain. Milk vending machines show that consuming milk in proximity, eliminating intermediaries between producers and consumers and, therefore, reducing the use of resources and energy (packaging and transportation), has environmental advantages. Hence, milk distribution, electricity consumption and consumer transport caused the largest impacts. When the environmental profiles of pasteurized milk consumption in supermarkets and vending machines are benchmarked, the vending machine has a considerable lower impact. The sensitivity analysis emphasizes the latter findings, highlighting the relevance of consumer choices upon the environmental profile of milk consumption. Despite the environmental benefits, vending supply chain unexpectedly failed in Spain from a socioeconomic point of view due to several factors: the farmers’ lack of processing and marketing capacities, the difficulty of networking and collaboration with other key stakeholders, the necessity to raise consumer awareness of the benefits of pasteurized milk and the limited range of dairy products offered. The development of a close short supply chain can bring significant environmental and socio-economic benefits. Notwithstanding, the case analysed in this paper indicates that the isolated entrepreneurship is not sufficient and the transformation of the food system towards a circular model requires political and societal commitment.

The conception of urban metabolism has considered the perspective of environmental sustainability in the framework of cities. In this context, cities can be regarded complex entities driven by material and energy flows that entail consumption of resources and production of waste materials in the pursuit of economic welfare and social progress. According to a sustainability perspective, environmental, social and economic indicators must also be integrated into urban planning processes. However, methodological advances regarding the definition and development of sustainable cities are required since a consensus of indicators, weighting and data management is still lacking. In this paper, a multi-criteria approach that combines three methodologies: Material Flow Analysis (MFA), Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) has been developed and applied to a sample of 26 representative Spanish cities with different characteristics (i.e., population, location, demands, economy, topography and culture). The combined approach allows identifying the non-sustainable cities considering an offset of indicators from the three pillars of sustainability. With this purpose, the mentioned items are implemented in a DEA model of efficiency, being the inefficient cities with an efficiency score lower than 100% defined as non-sustainable ones. Finally, this multi-criteria method allows setting the target values for the assessed indicators (benchmarked values), which become objectives for the non-sustainable cities to evolve toward a more sustainable performance. The outcomes from the analysis have identified six cities that ranked worse, with efficiency scores ranging from 57.9% to 85.8%. According to the targets of socio-economic indicators, attention should be paid to AROPE rate (people at risk of poverty and social exclusion), unemployment rate and number of crimes, meanwhile lower levels of electricity consumption, municipal solid waste and on-site greenhouse gases emissions are desirable from an environmental perspective. These outcomes are of potential interest for politicians, governments and inhabitants to aid in the identification of the metabolic flows and social/economic indicators to be optimized in search of sustainability.

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology was used to estimate the environmental impacts and identify the most critical stages (hotspots) of cultivation of three cereal crops typically used for animal feed purposes – barley, rye and sorghum – in the Lombardy region, the most productive crop and livestock area in Northern Italy. The crop variety (out of 3 and 4 varieties of barley and rye, respectively) and cultivation regime (single vs. double cropping of sorghum) with the lowest impacts per kg of crude protein (mass-based functional unit) were identified. Environmental impact categories reported by ReCiPe method were used. According to the results, both Reni and Dank Nowe were the varieties with the lowest environmental impacts for barley and rye varieties, respectively; single cropping of sorghum had lower impacts than double cropping. Impact hotspots included field emissions, agricultural activities and agrochemical (fertilisers and herbicides) production regardless the cropping system considered. Moreover, among the cereals studies, rye was identified as the best environmental alternative. Use of land-based and economic functional units did not change the ranking of systems according to their impacts.

Creating an ideal environment to develop creativity and innovation in engineering education is a real challenge. One alternative approach can be based in the application of Gamestorming methodology that considers the use of games in the process of brainstorming. Presenting the problem in a game format eludes the conventional lecturing and frees the participants to think creatively to solve problems. In this contribution, the adaptation of the Gamestorming methodology was applied in different Bachelor and Master courses of Chemical Engineering and Environmental Engineering in the University of Santiago de Compostela (Spain). The aim of this initiative was to develop students’ creativity and teamwork, where the class divided in working groups propose and assess alternatives in the Conceptual Design of Products and Processes. Specifically, two examples of the application of the methodology are provided: (i) a wood box for wine storage was remodeled according to a number of requisites: functionality, savings of energy consumption and reduction of environmental impact; (ii) the conceptual design of a treatment system for the removal of pollutants present in a gaseous stream to accomplish the targets of wide applicability and efficiency as well as reduced cost and environmental impact. A total of 129 students from 4 different academic years participated and the survey performed after completing the activity rated this methodology as a mechanism to foster their creativity in the progress of teamwork toward decision making process.

This is the accepted manuscript of the following article: [Gonzalez-Garcia, S., et al., Environmental assessment of biorefinery processes for the valorization of lignocellulosic wastes into oligosaccharides, Journal of Cleaner Production (2017)], which has been published in final form at [http://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.02.164] The European Commission is adopting strategies in order to “closing the loop” of product life cycles in industrial production systems through better recycling and re-use under the perspective of circular economy. One of the most relevant goals in the application of this approach is to convert low-value side streams into more valuable products. In this sense, the conversion of lignocellulosic biomass into biofuels and chemicals is a major challenge not only from the technological but also from the economic and environmental perspectives. In this study, the production of pectin-derived oligosaccharides (POS) from sugar beet pulp (SBP) was environmentally assessed by means of the Life Cycle Assessment methodology under a cradle-to-gate approach. Two different scenarios at pilot scale were considered: Scenario 1 based on conventional autohydrolysis at high temperature and Scenario 2 based on enzymatic hydrolysis. The outcomes of this environmental study are highly dependent on the production yield of the target compounds (POS) and the valorisation strategy considered. In fact, the POS yield of the autohydrolysis approach is around 20% higher than in the enzymatic one. According to the results, Scenario 1 reports the worst results when a functional unit based on the amount of valorised material (100 kg of oven-dried SBP) is considered. However, the profile entirely changes when a unit based on the economic revenue (1 €) is managed. Therefore, attention should be paid on the selection of the functional unit since decision making strategies should highly depend on it. Without waiting for the opportunity to conduct LCA of already-developed processes of the biorefinery system, the development of new alternatives must be carried out with sustainability in mind. Accordingly, the proposal of valorisation strategies for secondary streams should include the analysis of the environmental impacts associated to each alternative, even at the pilot plant stage. This research has been partially supported by a project granted by Xunta de Galicia (project ref. ED431F 2016/001), by the BBVA programme “2015 edition of the BBVA Foundation Grants for Researchers and Cultural Creators” (2015-PO027) and the EU project (STAR-ProBio). Dr. S. González-Garcia and Dr. B. Gullón would like to express her gratitude to the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitivity for financial support (Grant references RYC-2014-14984 and FPDI-2013-17341, respectively). The authors belong to the Galician Competitive Research Group GRC 2013-032, programme co-funded by FEDER as well as to CRETUS (AGRUP2015/02) SI

Globally, human society faces the challenge of providing food to a growing population, at the same time that the effects of climate change and resource depletion must be addressed. Aquaculture allows to ensure a safe supply of different marine species and is a major technological and biological undertaking. Taking into account that in Sonora (Mexico), there are more than 200 aquaculture plants, the analysis of this sector implies a joint and harmonized assessment, considering not only life cycle assessment (LCA), but also data envelopment analysis (DEA). This study focuses on the application of LCA + DEA methodology to assess the ecoefficiency of 38 semi-intensive shrimp farms located in the state of Sonora. LCA results showed that feed management and electricity consumption are the main critical points in almost all the impact categories. Further improvement actions were evaluated, the replacement of wheat meal for Dried Distiller Grains with Solubles (DDGS) resulted in environmental impact reductions ranged from 2% to 57%, depending on the impact category. On the other hand, the installation of photovoltaic panels in the area was evaluated, looking for a shift towards a less carbon-intensive energy production. Overall, the implementation of these improvement measures will contribute to increased environmental protection and resource efficiency This research was supported by the Comité de Sanidad Acuícola del Estado de Sonora (COSAES). A. Cortés, C. Cambeses Franco, G. Feijoo and M.T. Moreira belong to CRETUS and the Galician Competitive Research Group GRC (ED431C 2017/29), co-founded by Xunta de Galicia and FEDER (EU) SI

The sustainable and continued production of enough food to feed the entire world's population is one of the main concerns in the food industry. Spain, and in particular Galicia, which is an eminently fishing region characterised by the consumption of large quantities of fish, both fresh and processed, must face the challenge of shifting its seafood productive fabric towards a circular economy. To achieve this objective, the first task is to demonstrate that circular economy principles allow to reduce the environmental impacts associated with seafood production. In this sense, this study proposes the environmental evaluation of the skipjack tuna (Katsuwonus pelamis) value chain within a canning industry located in Galicia through the LCA methodology from an attributional perspective, including the valorisation processes for biowaste (edible and inedible by-products). Results indicate that the main crucial subsystems of the value chain are tuna fishing and the canning process, as it was expected considering other similar studies on seafood products. Moreover, this specific case study demonstrates that the multi-product strategy applied to the canning sector is environmentally viable. Thus, although the environmental impacts of the entire system are increased by including further valorisation operations, the environmental loads assigned to the main product (canned tuna) decrease compared to the one-product system by assigning environmental burdens to other value-added products (tuna pâté, fishmeal, and fish oil) This research was supported by the EAPA_576/2018 NEPTUNUS project, supported by Interreg Atlantic Area. S.G-G would like to express her gratitude to the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness for financial support (Grant reference RYC-2014-14984). The authors belong to CRETUS and the Galician Competitive Research Group GRC ED431C 2017/29 co-founded by Xunta de Galicia and FEDER (EU) 2023-06-05 SI

Wood-based panels play an important role in the furniture and decoration industries worldwide. However, the adhesives used in the manufacture of those panels are a subject of concern. Therefore, the aim of this study is twofold: (i) to critically analyze the available reports on the formulation of bio-based adhesives for the manufacture of wood panels, evaluating the different renewable raw material options, and (ii) to identify the advantages, disadvantages and difficulties encountered that hinder further development. For this purpose, the Methodi Ordinatio was used to assist identifying high impact research on the topic, and the VOSviewer software was used for analyzing the co-occurrence of keywords. Visual graphs were used to discuss the main research themes, type of study, publications per year, and publications per journal. This served to draw on the main aspects of the referenced body of literature. This review provides a rationale for showing the suitability of the methodological approaches and research designs used, as well as the production of bio-adhesives under the premises of synthesis routes, techniques and procedures. In view of the potential development of bio-adhesives with the prospect of market implementation, two approaches are essential to ensure a step forward in their development at full scale, namely techno-economic analysis and the assessment of the environmental profile associated with the production of bio-adhesives based on the life cycle assessment methodology.

International audience; Microalgae are promising natural resources for biofuels, chemical, food and feed products. Besides their economic potential, the environmental sustainability must be examined. Cultivation has a significant environmental impact that depends on reactor selection and operating conditions. To identify the main environmental bottlenecks for scale-up to industrial facilities this study provides a comparative life cycle assessment (LCA) of open raceway ponds and tubular photobioreactors at pilot scale. The results are based on experimental data from real pilot plants operated in summer, fall and winter at AlgaePARC (Wageningen, The Netherlands). The energy consumption for temperature regulation presented the highest environmental burden. The production of nutrients affected some categories. Despite limited differences compared to the vertical system, the horizontal PBR was found the most efficient in terms of productivity and environmental impact. The ORP was, given the Dutch climatic conditions, only feasible under summer operation. The results highlight the relevance of LCA as a tool for decision-making in process design. Weather conditions and availability of sources for temperature regulation were identified as essential factors for the selection of geographic locations and for microalgal cultivation systems based on environmental criteria. Simulation of large-scale reactors with optimized temperature regulation systems lead to environmental improvements and energy demand reductions ranging from 17% up to 90% for systems operated in favorable summer conditions.

Pork industry in Catalonia plays a foremost and representative role in the Spanish pork sector. Beyond the economic benefits, conventional practices in the pork industry also imply a number of environmental impacts that need to be dealt with. In this context, the environmental performance of traditional linear pork chain in Catalonia was evaluated through a LCA approach. The outcomes of the analysis showed that both fodder production and transport activities were identified as the critical stages of the system. Accordingly, alternative schemes based on circular economy principles were proposed and potential environmental credits were estimated. Within this framework, comparative results highlighted the advantages of moving towards a closing loop production system, where resource efficiency and waste valorisation were prioritised over final disposal options.

Life cycle assessment (LCA) and data envelopment analysis (DEA) have been combined in numerous occasions in order to identify the environmental efficiency of multiple units. In many cases, important differences in environmental performance have been identified among the units, referred to as decision-making units (DMUs). However, most studies have been limited to 1 year of assessment, preventing the study from identifying if efficiency values were linked to a specific trend of each DMU through time or to random annual changes. Therefore, the current study delves into the temporal variations in efficiency using DEA. A DEA window analysis is applied to a set of wastewater treatment plants for a 4-year interval between 2009 and 2012 with the aim of understanding the annual behaviour of WWTPs in terms of environmental sustainability. A set of 47 WWTPs located in different regions of Spain were analysed using a window of 4 years of operation, to account not only for the differences in eco-efficiency between plants but also for changes due to the numerous temporal factors that may affect individual plants. Results extracted from the assessment suggested that for the vast majority of the facilities, the efficiency standards tended to remain constant through time. Statistical tests (i.e. ANOVA and Friedman’s test) confirmed there were no significant differences between years in the different group sizes. This finding, confirmed that the use of the slacks-based measure of efficiency (SBM) model for one single year of operation is a good proxy for the evaluation of the environmental efficiency of these systems. In addition, the scale factor was confirmed as a significant driving force regarding environmental efficiency and significant differences in efficiency values were identified between large and medium WWTPS, on the one hand, and smaller plants, on the other. Significant differences were detected among plants with different legislation thresholds for their effluent withdrawal. WWTP discharging to nonsensitive water bodies appeared to be able to repeatedly attain efficiency values near the benchmark, whereas facilities with stricter thresholds (i.e. sensitive water bodies) struggled to achieve those values, especially in the case of the smaller plants.

International institutions are calling for a transition towards more sustainable systems of production and consumption. In this transition, sustainable innovations are expected to play an ever‐increasing role. In particular, the production of innovative bio‐based products—products wholly or partly derived from biological materials or from innovative production processes and/or innovative biomass such as food waste or forest residuals—will be part of this process. However, the sustainability of such products must be assured along their entire life cycle and across the three dimensions mentioned above. Against this background, our study aimed at identifying a social impact framework tailored to bio‐based products. It employed a two‐step methodological framework encompassing (a) identification of the relevant social impact categories, subcategories, and indicators and (b) validation of these factors, according to participatory stakeholder involvement. The validation exercise enabled us to consider a restricted number of social indicators so as to reduce the amount of data needed for assessing and decreasing related costs The authors are very grateful to the STAR‐ProBio project (Sustainability Transition Assessment and Research of Bio‐based Products) for their financial support. The project is funded by the European Union's Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under Grant Agreement 727740, Work Programme BB‐01‐2016: Sustainability schemes for the bio‐based economy SI

The production of value-added products from renewable sources is a promising option for the replacement of fossil-based ones, mostly due to the limited availability and variable prices of fossil resources as well as the consciousness for the promotion of processes with reduced environmental impacts. In this context, special attention is paid on both lignocellulosic biomass and agro-food by-products since they are underutilized renewable resources and available in abundance, representing potential feedstocks for energy, fuels, and chemical production within the framework of a biorefinery. One potential alternative for the exploitation of lignocellulosic biomass relies on the production of nondigestible oligosaccharides as prebiotic functional food ingredients. The objective of this chapter is to evaluate the environmental impacts of the valorization of two types of waste biomass (i.e., sugar beet pulp and woody chips) for the production of saccharides streams (pectin-derived oligosaccharides and polymeric or oligomeric saccharides derived from hemicelluloses) with manifold applications in the food, nutraceutical, and pharmaceutical industries.

Intensive agricultural farming systems have negative impacts on the ecosystem. Therefore, the use of crop rotation emerges as an opportunity to improve the environmental sustainability of agricultural systems. In the region of Galicia in north-western Spain, potato and wheat are important commodities and essential foods in the diet. Hence, it is interesting to investigate the environmental profile of these crops to improve the understanding of local agrosystems. This study evaluated three agricultural crops managed under a crop rotation system and following a conventional arable farming: the main rotation crop, which is the potato in the first year (cP), followed by a second year of commercial wheat (cW) and autochthonous Galician wheat (GcW) in the third year. The Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology was performed using four types of functional units: in terms of productivity (kg-1); land management (ha-1∙year-1); a financial function (euros €-1 of income from sales) and energetic value (MJ-1). The environmental indicators selected are Climate Change (CC), Particulate Matter (PM), Terrestrial Acidification (TA), Freshwater Eutrophication (FE), Marine Eutrophication (ME), Human Toxicity (HT), Land Use (LU) and Fossil Depletion (FD). The figures show that the GcW has the lowest environmental impact when the functional units refer to land management, financial function and energetic value. However, if analysed in terms of productivity, cP is presented as the best crop due to its comparatively higher yield, reaching a production ratio 10 times higher than wheat. In the specific case of wheat, compared to a previous study in the same region, the environmental impacts are lower when grown in a crop rotation system in contrast to monoculture. This article demonstrates the relevance of using LCA for diverse stakeholders (e.g., farmers, consumers and researchers) to understand the environmental impacts of regional agricultural systems. In addition, it serves as a basis for future work aimed at comparing rotational agricultural systems in this region, integrating economic and social aspects.

Butyric acid is a valuable chemical that can be produced from oil or renewable feedstocks. However, due to technological advantages, it is currently synthesised at an industrial level by chemical synthesis. In view of the environmental concerns, attempts to produce butyric acid from renewable raw materials via microbial fermentation have been carried out. One possible route is the production of butyric acid from lignocellulosic feedstocks. This study aims to investigate the environmental profile of butyric acid production from wheat straw. The Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology was applied considering two product formulations: butyric acid in combination with acetic acid (BA1) and butyric acid with high purity (BA2). The functional unit (FU) considered is 1 kg of BA1 and BA2. A sensitivity analysis was performed by considering 100 % renewable energy and using sugar beet pulp and maize stover as alternative lignocellulosic raw materials. The figures show that, when it comes to identify the hotspots of the process, the production of steam, electricity and cellulase cocktail were the main processes with the highest environmental shares for both products, BA1 and BA2. The best environmental profile corresponded to BA1 due to the lower amount of energy and inputs required. The results of the sensitivity analysis reveal that the use of 100 % renewable energy in the production process would significantly reduce the environmental burdens. On the other hand, the use of beet pulp or maize stover as alternatives to wheat straw did not significantly change the global environmental results. This paper shows the importance of applying the LCA methodology to identify possible process improvement alternatives at an early stage of product development.

Dietary patterns are influenced by numerous external factors such as cultural taste and customs, nutritional and economic aspects and lifestyle and consumer preferences. Otherwise, food also causes a great impact on the environment and there can be a large difference between choosing certain foodstuffs, such as plant or animal-based ones. The key for an environmentally friendly and healthy diet is the high consumption of plant-based products, low amounts of animal-origin foodstuffs and limited quantity of refined grains, processed food and added sugars. Nevertheless, adherence to it has been decreasing over the years due to the adoption of a more westernized consumption pattern. Thus, the main goal of this study is to monitor the food consumption pattern at household level during a period of 10 years (2008-2017), selecting Spain as case study. Both the impacts that foodstuffs included in the food basket cause in the environment, and the socio-economic variables that influence the consumer choice are considered. Results show a generalized decrease of the carbon footprint over the years. However, it does not always mean an approach to a healthier diet, considering that in this case it decreases both the consumption of those foods with a greater environmental footprint as those essential for a balanced diet with low ecological impact. Additionally, there is also an increase in the consumption of processed food, which further distances the dietary pattern from the recommendations, what can be more pronounced for the most vulnerable population groups, with less purchasing power to access healthy food.

One of the most effective ways to mitigate the effects of climate change at the individual level is to change food consumption habits, given that the food system is one of the main human sources of GHG emissions. In this sense, there is an urgent need to implement actions and to develop social awareness towards more sustainable diets that ensure nutritional quality and, at the same time, are environmentally friendly. Variation in consumption habits can be significant even within the same country, so recommendations aimed at improving consumption habits can also vary accordingly. Thus, the main goal of this study is to identify variations in food consumption patterns in terms of greenhouse gas emissions and nutritional intake adequacy for the 5 climatic zones of Spain. For this purpose, household food consumption data have been taken from surveys carried out by the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. It is foreseeable that the daily food basket and the eating habits associated with each territory will be justified not only on the basis of their geoclimatic conditions but also on the basis of culinary culture and tradition, socio-demographic profile and economic level. Variations in food consumption make it possible to relate northern areas to a higher carbon footprint (3.26 kg CO2 eq·inhabitant-1·day-1) in comparison to those from southern regions (2.93 kg CO2 eq·inhabitant-1·day-1), due to both higher consumption of animal origin products and higher energy intake. On the other hand, the higher consumption of fruits, seafood and legumes (17%, 34% and 11% respectively) in the northern regions than in southern ones also provides them a better nutritional profile. In view of the observed variations, the need to apply specific regional-addressed policies geared towards more sustainable consumption habits within the same country is highlighted.

Cities are important consumers of resources and producers of waste derived from the lifestyle and daily needs of their citizens, which is why they are considered the main actors responsible for the environmental impacts related to anthropogenic activities. The quantification of these impacts is fundamental for the definition of sustainable cities. In this work, a material flow accounting study combined with the Life Cycle Assessment approach is conducted for the municipality of Madrid, the most populated city of Spain. The findings of this study allow performing a sustainability diagnosis of a large city such as Madrid, identifying energy needs, food consumption and manufactures as environmental hotspots. In addressing the comprehensive analysis of available data, important constraints arise, such as access to data. To this end, not only the development of precise estimation tools to quantify these flows, but also greater transparency of data sources, are fundamental elements in the study of the sustainability indicators proposed in this paper. Therefore, the success of any proposed sustainability strategy depends on the involvement of policy-makers and citizens in the objectives and measures set, as well as on the access to information and training on sustainability as fundamental action line driven by local government.

The new ISO 14045 framework is expected to slowly start shifting the definition of eco-efficiency toward a life-cycle perspective, using Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) as the environmental impact assessment method together with a system value assessment method for the economic analysis. In the present study, a set of 22 wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) in Spain were analyzed on the basis of eco-efficiency criteria, using LCA and Life Cycle Costing (LCC) as a system value assessment method. The study is intended to be useful to decision-makers in the wastewater treatment sector, since the combined method provides an alternative scheme for analyzing the relationship between environmental impacts and costs. Two midpoint impact categories, global warming and eutrophication potential, as well as an endpoint single score indicator were used for the environmental assessment, while LCC was used for value assessment. Results demonstrated that substantial differences can be observed between different WWTPs depending on a wide range of factors such as plant configuration, plant size or even legal discharge limits. Based on these results the benchmarking of wastewater treatment facilities was performed by creating a specific classification and certification scheme. The proposed eco-label for the WWTPs rating is based on the integration of the three environmental indicators and an economic indicator calculated within the study under the eco-efficiency new framework.

The role of environmental consequences derived from cereal production in agricultural systems is widely recognised. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) has been considered as a useful tool to support environmental decision-making in agricultural systems. In this study, the quantification and identification of the environmental impacts derived from two different double cropping systems comprising winter and summer crops for silage production (forage sorghum, barley and oat) was performed following an attributional LCA perspective in accordance with ISO 14040 standards. Primary data of cereal production for dairy cattle feeding were obtained from a representative year. Only secondary data were used for background processes. Four different functional units were considered to report the environmental profiles: 1 t dry matter silage (base case), 1 ha, 1 t crude protein and 1 MJ metabolisable energy. According to the results, the combination of sorghum with barley presented better environmental results than sorghum with oat when the impacts were reported for mass and energy based functional units, which is attributed to the biomass yield (23% higher) achieved under similar agricultural practices. When the functional unit of 1 ha was taken, the scenario of sorghum and oat was more beneficial due to lower requirements of diesel and herbicides for the agricultural activities per cultivation area. Regardless the functional unit considered, both field preparation and biomass harvesting were the agricultural stages which reported the largest contributions to the environmental impacts (∼99%) due to on-field emissions associated to manure application, diesel use in agricultural machinery and seed production. If the crops are separately assessed, sorghum cultivation system would be the best option due to the highest biomass yield, followed by barley and oat considering 1 kg dry matter silage as functional unit. However, when 1 ha was considered to report the results, the barley system was the worst alternative due to the highest seed ratio and diesel requirements (high input-output system). Environmental results must be interpreted within limitation of assumptions accepted by LCA community. Variations on climate and soil parameters as well as nutrients uptake by crops should be analysed and required in further research in order to reduce uncertainties.

The conventional approach for the environmental assessment of wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) is typically based on the removal efficiency of organic load and nutrients as well as the quantification of energy and chemicals consumption. Current wastewater treatment research entails the monitoring of direct emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG) and emerging pollutants such as pharmaceutical and personal care products (PPCPs), which have been rarely considered in the environmental assessment of a wastewater treatment facility by life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology. As a result of that, the real environmental impacts of a WWTP may be underestimated. In this study, two WWTPs located in different climatic regions (Atlantic and Mediterranean) of Spain were evaluated in extensive sampling campaigns that included not only conventional water quality parameters but also direct GHG emissions and PPCPs in water and sludge lines. Regarding the GHG monitoring campaign, on-site measurements of methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) were performed and emission factors were calculated for both WWTPs. GHG direct emissions accounted for 62% of the total global warming potential (GWP), much more relevant than indirect CO2 emissions associated with electricity use. Regarding PPCPs, 19 compounds were measured in the main streams: influent, effluent and sludge, to perform the evaluation of the toxicity impact categories. Although the presence of heavy metals in the effluent and the sludge as well as the toxicity linked to the electricity production may shade the toxicity impacts linked to PPCPs in some impact categories, the latter showed a notable influence on freshwater ecotoxicity potential (FETP). For this impact category, the removal of PPCPs within the wastewater treatment was remarkably important and arose as an environmental benefit in comparison with the non-treatment scenario.

A systematic tool to assess the Carbon Footprint (CF) and Water Footprint (WF) of pork production companies was developed and applied to representative Catalan companies. To do so, a cradle-to-gate environmental assessment was carried out by means of the LCA methodology, taking into account all the stages involved in the pork chain, from feed production to the processing of final products, ready for distribution. In this approach, the environmental results are reported based on eight different functional units (FUs) according to the main pork products obtained. With the aim of ensuring the reliability of the results and facilitating the comparison with other available reports, the Product Category Rules (PCR) for Catalan pork sector were also defined as a basis for calculations. The characterization results show fodder production as the main contributor to the global environmental burdens, with contributions higher than 76% regardless the environmental indicator or the life cycle stage considered, which is in agreement with other published data. In contrast, the results in terms of CF and WF lay above the range of values reported elsewhere. However, major discrepancies are mainly due to the differences in the co-products allocation criteria. In this sense, economic/physical allocation and/or system expansion have been mostly considered in literature. In contrast, no allocation was considered appropriate in this study, according to the characteristics of the industries and products under assessment; thus, the major impacts fall on the main product, which derives on comparatively higher environmental burdens. Finally, due to the relevance of fodder production in the overall impact assessment results, strategies to reduce greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions as well as water use associated to this stage were proposed in the pork supply chain.

Purpose Eco-labelling has become part of the business strategy of companies thanks to numerous advantages in terms of engaging with consumers and gaining market quota. The aim of this article is to present a critical discussion on the development and implementation of a new eco-label named pescaenverde, registered in Spain, as the first type III eco-label in the Spanish fishing sector that is based on life cycle approaches for seafood products.

Three different winter wheat production systems for three European countries (United Kingdom, France and Italy), all with different climatic conditions, soil management and input levels (e.g. tillage, fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides) were analysed from an environmental perspective. The intended applications were the analysis and comparison from a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) perspective and the identification of the key parameters which have the greatest influence on final results. The analysis considered the entire production system, including the extraction of raw materials, production of farming inputs and all agricultural operations. The adoption of LCA was considered the most appropriate methodology to define the environmental impact. The functional unit considered was 1 hectare of winter wheat production. The results showed that the impact due to machinery use was mostly dependent on the number of interventions related to the application of fertilizers, herbicides and plant protection. Emissions due to on-field fertilizer application and their production also showed a significant contribution for each impact category showing percentages reaching 90% of the total, whereas the impact due to fungicides and herbicides were negligible, since their contribution never exceeded 4% of the total emissions. Emissions to soil, air and water were affected by factors such as local weather conditions and soil characteristics, which can vary on a local scale, the time of farming activities, N, P and K uptake by the plants, amount and typology of fertilizers adopted. Nitrate losses from arable cropping may be reduced by limiting N-based fertilizer inputs.

Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) need to abandon the linear concept and adapt to the circular philosophy integrating standards of technological performance but also environmental, economic and social indicators. However, this change cannot be made by merely replacing one technology, but integrated solutions need to be applied. In this framework, a new strategy of treatment has gained strength in recent years, which consists of recovering organic matter (OM) in the primary treatment and implementing partial nitrification-anammox process as secondary treatment. In this study, three different schemes based on this approach were evaluated from an environmental and economic perspective and compared with a conventional wastewater treatment plant. The three proposed schemes are: i) upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) + integrated fixed film activated sludge (IFAS); ii) high rate activated sludge (HRAS) and IFAS, and finally, rotating belt filter (RBF) + chemical enhanced primary treatment (CEPT) followed by an IFAS unit. Even though the technological and operational complexity is noteworthy in the schemes based on this strategy, lower environmental impacts were estimated for the first two configurations. However, the consumption of chemicals in the third alternative was detrimental for the environmental performance of the plant, even with higher impacts than those of the conventional scheme for the toxicity-related categories. In this regard, the consumption of energy and chemicals are the main barriers for its successful implementation.

The wood panel industry requires the introduction of more environmental-friendly adhesives due to the strict current regulations on formaldehyde-based emissions. The purpose of this study was to environmentally analyse the production of four different bio-adhesives as alternatives to the most conventional fossil resins used in the production of wood panels. The bio-adhesives proposed for analysis derived from different available renewable biopolymers such as protein (soy) and lignin (Kraft and Organosolv), as well as tannin. The production systems were evaluated from a cradle-to-gate perspective using the Life Cycle Assessment methodology, with the aim of identifying critical parameters and comparing them with fossil substitutes. Inventory data of bio-adhesives were modelled at large scale from lab scale experiments and completed with literature reports. Our results showed that the soy-based and tannin based bio-adhesive had an overall better profile than fossil resins, identifying the production of polyacrylamide for the former, and the production of condensed tannin and glyoxal for the latter, as the main environmental hotspots. In contrast, further research is required on the use of lignins, specifically because of the electricity requirements in the lignin glyoxalation stage (a process required for the functionalization of lignin). Sensitivity analyses were conduced on these key parameters suggesting that there is room for improvement.This study provides useful information for researchers and policy-makers on where to focus their activities with the aim of making the future of bio-adhesives more technically and environmentally favourable.

For millennia, bread and wheat have been one of the most important sources of nutrients in many civilizations. Today, mechanization and evolution in agriculture and food processing have intensified yields and modified the biological and nutritional aspects of multiple crops and foods. The Galician bread is a reference value of food heritage in Spain, which is made from common wheat grain and is a mixture of indigenous Galician wheat and conventional Spanish wheat. In the pursuit of product excellence, it is interesting to identify the environmental profile as support criteria in decision-making, not only to analyse product environmental sustainability, but also as a marketing element to improve consumer awareness. The paper has a twofold perspective to analyse the environmental burdens of wheat cultivation and the bread sector, using life cycle assessment approach: 1) the comparison of the different types of agricultural systems, i.e. the cultivation of Galician wheat following a strategy of monoculture and crop rotation, certified Galician seed production and its comparison with conventional wheat cultivation and 2) the environmental profile of Galician bread. The functional units chosen were 1 kg of wheat grain transported to the milling facility and 1 kg of Galician bread. The results show that wheat cultivation presents the main environmental impacts of bread production, mainly due to the use of agrochemicals and field emissions. The best cultivation scenario corresponds to a crop rotation system, since chemical fertilisation is not applied. In comparative terms with many staple foods produced in Europe, Galician bread has a low environmental impact. The overall environmental results of bread production draw attention to the dependence of bread and flour manufacturers on the agricultural sector, highlighting the need to share responsibilities across the supply chain. In addition, this study contributes to the stakeholder debate on environmental impacts related to food heritage.

Among the different alternatives to conventional fossil fuels, the production of renewable energy from biomass (i.e. bioenergy) is regarded as an interesting option since it involves the valorisation of waste streams, residues and non-food crop biomass. Although a standardised framework regulates the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology, its application in practice poses some methodological difficulties. This chapter reviews the main methodological issues that a LCA practitioner has to face when it comes to the environmental assessment of bioenergy systems. Despite its complexity, consequential LCA is considered an interesting approach for informing policy-makers and decision-makers about the indirect effect of a specific strategy. In this sense, indirect environmental burdens such as indirect land use change should be included in the study. Moreover, the selection of the system function and system boundaries are other methodological issues that directly affect the results obtained and, therefore, the comparability of LCA studies, intensified in particular in the case of bioenergy systems due to their complexity. In more detail, some bioenergy systems co-produce multiple products, increasing the variability of the functions provided by the system, as well as of the system boundaries chosen to overcome multifunctionality (subdivision, system expansion or allocation). The selection of the appropriate methodology and impact categories, as well as the gaps in characterisation factors, is other methodological drawbacks.

The search for alternatives to fossil fuel resources relies on the use of renewable bioenergy. The objective of this research is to define the most relevant sustainability criteria in the exploitation of feedstocks for bioenergy production from a life cycle perspective. Three types of biofuels were evaluated: biogas, bioethanol and biodiesel. In addition, conventional and innovative biomass sources for bioenergy will be analysed and compared. A comprehensive literature review was conducted to identify the most suitable feedstocks for each type of biofuel in terms of environmental impacts and energy-related indicators. Many studies have identified inconsistent results (from very positive to negative environmental consequences), leading to great uncertainty on this issue. Cereal crops (wheat, maize and triticale) and animal waste are examples of feedstocks for biogas production. Sugarcane, sugar beet and their by-products (molasses and bagasse) are recognised as technologically validated biomass sources for bioethanol production. As for biodiesel, oilseeds (soybean, palm, sunflower, etc.) and cooking oil residues are possible feedstocks. The number of environmental studies related to emerging biofuel feedstocks, such as algae and jatropha for biodiesel; poplar, beech, black locust for bioethanol and macroalgae for biogas, is steadily increasing. Therefore, the processes involved in feedstock production should be properly calculated for an accurate assessment, as they play an important role in the substitution of fossil fuels. The outputs from the life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology will help to support decision-making in the analysis of alternatives and avoid misleading conclusions. The Energy Return on Investment (EROI) methodology was found to be suitable for comparing conventional and innovative biomass sources for bioenergy. The results vary considerably from one feedstock to another, due to differences in geographical distribution, agricultural practices and energy efficiency index. In many cases, it was found that the use of by-products (e.g. maize stover for bioethanol) or waste (pig slurry for biogas) as a biomass source for biofuels could have better EROI values than first-generation feedstocks due to the allocation of environmental burdens.

This chapter presents a method to assess the carbon footprint and edible protein content Energy Return On Investment ratio (ep-EROI) of one of the most important and representative fish species, namely, turbot (Scophthalmus maximus) cultivated in Spain under an intensive aquaculture regime. The analysis was performed considering a cradle-to-farm gate life cycle assessment (LCA). To do so, representative hatcheries, nurseries and turbot farms were inventoried in detail. The relative contribution to overall greenhouse gases (GHG ) emission and cumulative energy demand (CED) were evaluated. The results indicated that intensive turbot farming has significant GHG emission and energy requirements mainly due to electricity and feed requirements. The subsystem related with hatching and nursing reports the highest contribution to the impacts under study. Regarding the ep-EROI, an average level of 0.38% was obtained for Spanish turbot, which is considerably low in comparison with other aquaculture species. Results from this study can be used to optimise and promote more sustainable turbot production chains.

Land use changes (LUCs) constitute a crucial source of environmental impact in production systems, which are mostly associated with greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This circumstance is especially important for the agricultural sector, since these imply an important proportion of the total GHG emissions occurring worldwide. Wine and grape production is a key sector in Spain, representing the largest surface area at European level. In the past decades, important wine related LUCs have been observed due to changes in farming methods/type, number of Denominations of Origin, and the establishment of larger wineries that have enhanced exports. The current study presents a temporally based Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) study of the Ribeiro appellation in NW Spain, in which the gradual changes in the land use, as well as the technological improvements are analyzed in detail in order to understand how the environmental profile of this specific wine producing area has shifted in the past two decades (i.e., from 1990 to 2009). On the one hand, phenomena such as afforestation and agricultural intensification are analyzed throughout the appellation to estimate the impact due to GHG emissions linked to LUCs, based on IPCC standards. On the other hand, trends linked to technological improvements, operational changes, such as changes in the use and management of plant protection agents or fertilizers or the change in the energy sources for machinery on the vineyards, were assessed in detail.

The cultivation of three different cereals – wheat, triticale and maize (five classes: 300, 400, 500, 600 and 700) – dedicated to grain production for feed purposes was assessed to quantify their environmental profiles and identify the most sustainable crop from an environmental perspective. The most critical processes throughout the life cycle of the cropping systems were also identified. These cereals were chosen because they are the most widespread cereal crops in the Po Valley (Lombardy region), the most important agricultural area in Italy. The standard framework of the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) was followed to assess the environmental performance of the different cropping systems. Several impact categories were evaluated, including climate change (CC), ozone depletion (OD), terrestrial acidification (TA), freshwater eutrophication (FE), marine eutrophication (ME), human toxicity (HT), photochemical oxidant formation (POF), terrestrial ecotoxicity (TEC), freshwater ecotoxicity (FEC), marine ecotoxicity (MEC), water depletion (WD), fossil depletion (FD) as well as land use as an indicator. The results showed that the maize class 300 was the cereal with the worst environmental profile in the base case, considering economic allocation and no environmental burdens related with digestate production. This scenario presented the most intensive agricultural practices and the lowest biomass yield in comparison with the other crops. In contrast, the maize classes 600 and 700 were the cereal crops with the best environmental profiles in most impact categories. The lower requirements of fertiliser (and thus, fertilisation activities) as well as the higher biomass yield were responsible of these favourable results. However, according to the environmental results, the selection of the best biomass source depends on several methodological assumptions such as the functional unit and the allocation criteria considered (between the grain and the straw) as base for the calculations. Thus, the results of a sensitivity analysis showed that the choice of a mass allocation instead of economic one caused lower environmental impacts in all the categories. Moreover, the consideration or not of the environmental burdens related to the digestate production (the main organic fertiliser used) was also a critical step in the environmental evaluations. The inclusion of environmental loads related to digestate production caused a notable increase in the impact of all the cropping systems regardless the cereal and the impact category. This conclusion could be extrapolated to other systems that exclude the additional burdens allocated to the production of organic fertilisers.