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Cantabria, a small coastal region of Northern Spain, is one of the biggest producers of gourmet tuna cans in Europe. The fish capture in the Cantabrian Sea and the subsequent transformation in a local processing plant give distinction to this product, which is widely marketed in cans of 105 g of net weight. This work evaluates for the first time the environmental profile of the whole supply chain of this product, from fishing, processing, and waste valorization to inter-stage transport and packaging management in the end-of-life. To this end, the life cycle assessment methodology was applied considering primary data from the stakeholders involved in the supply chain and analyzing the seven most studied categories in this sector. Results revealed that fishing and processing accounted for the majority of the environmental impacts, while valorization and end-of-life treatments only avoid less than 10% of the burdens. The most important findings are focused on the high dependence on fuel use, identified as a hotspot in most stages although low compared to other fisheries, and on the intensive use of resources, especially sunflower oil, which contributes more than 70% of the impact on the global warming potential of the processing. This current framework forces the enhancement of the efficiency of a sector that attempts to engage the challenge of societal sustainability, by identifying the critical points and guiding policy makers on the path to sustainable development. This work was supported by the EAPA_576/2018NEPTUNUS project. The authors would like to acknowledge the financial support of Interreg Atlantic Area. The authors are grateful for the funding of the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation through the KAIROS-BIOCIR project (PID2019-104925RB) (AEO/FEDER, UE). Ana Fernández thanks the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness of Spanish Government for their financial support via the research fellowship RE2020-094029. We also want to thank the fishermen and those responsible for the processing plant for the provision of the data.

There is a growing concern among societies and consumers over food security and the sustainability of food production systems. For seafood, it has been highly advocated as a healthy food source and its sustainability credentials. However, the increasing global demand for seafood and the need to supply the quantities are creating sustainability issues, e.g., the importation of plant and marine proteins for aquafeed production. Consequently, there is a necessary need to analyse the supply chain and life cycle of these systems to determine their sustainability merits and how to enhance them. The circular economy (CE) aims to reduce processing by-product underutilisation, increase the rate of reuse, and reduce pressure on natural resources and systems. For seafood, there are large quantities of biomass that are being lost through bycatch/discards, waste from aquaculture (e.g., sludge and wastewater), and by-products generated through processing (e.g., trimmings and offal). These can all be valorised for the generation of feeds, value-added products, or further food production. This review will focus on seafood by-products generated during the processing into consumer products, and the current methods that could be used to manage or treat these waste streams. The review presents a stepwise framework that outlines valorisation opportunities for seafood by-products. This framework can enable producers, operators, regulators, and investors to integrate with the principles of the CE with the consideration of achieving economic viability. The challenges of seafood loss due to climate change and emerging recycling strategies will also need to be considered and integrated into the valorisation pathways. Communication, education, and engagement with stakeholders are key to transitioning to a circular economy. Where increase awareness and acceptance will create drivers and demand for seafood by-product valorisation. Overall, the impact of such a circular production system will potentially lead to higher production efficiency, reduce demand for natural resources, and greater seafood production. All of which addresses many of the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals by contributing towards future food security and sustainability. This work was supported by the EAPA_576/2018 NEPTUNUS project. The authors would like to acknowledge the financial support of Interreg Atlantic Area. A.H.L Wan was co-funded under the HYDROfish project (2019–2022) which was funded under the Disruptive Technologies Innovation Fund (DTIF), established under Project Ireland 2040, run by the Department of Enterprise Trade and Employment with administrative support from Enterprise Ireland. His opinions expressed are his own. The authors would also like to thank Matt Bell for his editorial assistance.

Sustainable tourism should be promoted as a new system for the sustainable management of resources from a socioeconomic and environmental point of view. For this purpose, it is necessary to develop a tool capable of assessing the impacts associated with the sector and to identify which actions are currently being addressed in order to achieve the desired sustainability. This timely study aims to describe the current framework of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and its application to the tourism sector. To address these questions, a total of 83 documents (77 reviews and 6 international reports) were evaluated, assessing the geographical distribution, the temporal evolution of the publications, as well as the most relevant characteristics of the tourism industry articles were evaluated such as, life cycle inventory (LCI), system boundaries, functional unit (FU), methods, environmental indicators and impact categories considered. The study identifies key recommendations on the progression of LCA in tourism sector. As important results, it stands out that 94 % of articles were from the last decade and 21 % of the articles reviewed cover sustainable tourism term, considering the three dimensions. This review showed that in LCA studies the most common method was CML 2001; the most widely used environmental indicator was the Carbon Footprint (CF) and the Global Warming Potential (GWP) was the impact category used in all the studies. Hence, LCA is a highly effective tool capable of assessing direct and indirect carbon emissions in tourism as well as the socioeconomic and environmental impacts generated in this sector. COVID-19 pandemic is also an object of discussion in the framework of the sustainable tourism together with advocating support for the eco-labelling and digitalisation of the tourism experiences as valuable tools to minimize environmental negativities, to promote mechanisms to access green markets and to frame successful synergies. The authors are grateful for funding from the European Commission through the Greentour Project (SOE4/P5/E1089) Interreg Sudoe (European Union).

In a global arena in which the identification of healthier and cleaner nutrient sources is practically mandatory, superfoods, known as foods of high nutritional and biological value with satisfactory bioavailability and bioactivity within the body due to extraordinary concentrations of nutrients and bioactive ingredients, can play a key role. These products are highly connected with sustainability, which is composed of an economic, environmental, and social balance, mainly translated in meeting nutritional needs. Focusing on the two latter aspects, this article is intended to provide a breakthrough in the knowledge by assessing the nutritional characteristics and environmental performance of superfoods. Firstly, a selection is made by revising the nutritional profile of different products. Secondly, a review of life cycle assessment (LCA) studies aims to establish guidelines for future analyses, based on the current state-of-art and possible recommendations, as well as to provide information on the impacts of these novel products. 40 superfoods are identified, of which only 15 have environmental analysis. The LCA revision enable to recognize methodological vulnerabilities based on the lack of definition of the function, allocations, uncertainty and quality assessments, as well as a weak justification on the selection of data sources and impact categories. Other recommendations include the possibility of using nutrient-based functional unit, extending system boundaries up to retailer, applying high quality primary data and standardized databases, and analyzing a wider range of indicators. Finally, this scientific field is still little explored, so the suitability of superfoods from an environmental perspective cannot be concluded, thus encouraging the use of LCA to fill this scientific gap. Acknowledgements: This work was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation through the KAIROS-BIOCIR project (PID2019-104925RB) (AEO/FEDER, UE). Ana Fernández-Ríos thanks the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness of Spanish Government for their financial support via the research fellowship RE2020-094029.

Packaging is fundamental for food preservation and transportation but generates an environmental burden from its production and end-of-life management. This review evaluates packaging contribution to the environmental performance of seafood products. Life cycle assessment (LCA) studies were evaluated by both qualitative and quantitative analysis. The qualitative analysis assessed how direct (e.g., packaging material) and indirect impacts (e.g., influence on seafood loss and waste) have been considered, while the quantitative analysis evaluated packaging contribution to products’ weight and climate change impact. Qualitative analysis revealed that seafood LCAs focus mainly on direct environmental impacts arising from packaging materials, for which some articles conducted sensitivity analysis to assess materials substitution. Recycling was found to be the most common recommendation to diminish direct potential environmental impacts arising from packaging end-of-life. However, standardized recovery rates and other end-of-life options (e.g., reuse), should be considered. Quantitative analysis revealed that cans' production contributes significantly to the overall climate change impact for canned products. On average, it contributes to 42% of a product's climate change impact and 27% of a product's weight. Packaging has a lower contribution when considering freezing, chilling, and other post-harvesting processing. It represents on average less than 5% of a product's climate change impact (less than 1 kg CO2 eq/kg) and 6% of a product's weight. Packaging material production is more relevant to aluminum, tinplate, and glass than for plastic and paper. Therefore, it is essential to accurately include these materials and their associated processes in inventories to improve the environmental assessment of seafood products. This work was supported by the NEPTUNUS project (EAPA_576/2018). The authors would like to acknowledge the financial support of Interreg Atlantic Area. Ana Cláudia Dias, Paula Quinteiro and Tamíris da Costa acknowledge FCT/MCTES for the financial support to CESAM (UIDB/50017/2020+UIDP/50017/2020), through national funds, and Ana Cláudia Dias and Paula Quinteiro to the research contracts CEECIND/02174/2017 and CEECIND/00143/2017, respectively. peer-reviewed 2022-08-24

Purpose Common octopus is the fishing species with highest economic revenue in Portugal, and its consumption per capita is very high. The majority of catches come from the small-scale fleet with pots and traps. The aims were to assess main environmental impacts of common octopus’ fishery with traps and pots in the Algarve region, where the most important fleet size and landings volume occurs, and to find if there are significant differences between both fishing gears. Methods The assessment includes standard LCA impact categories, fishery-specific impact categories, and quantification of macroplastics and microplastics emitted to the environment. The functional unit selected was 1 kg of octopus and the study was a ‘cradle to gate’ system. The scope included fishing operations until the product is landed at the harbour. Primary data was obtained by face-to-face questionnaires from 22 vessels, with an average of 1005 pots and 1211 traps per vessel, and 372 pots and 234 traps lost annually to the environment. Plastic pots have a concrete block and traps are a metal framed covered by plastic netting. Each trap or pot is connected to the main line at regular intervals. Unlike traps, pots do not need bait. Results and discussion Fuel contribution to global warming is very high and where the highest potential exists to lower down the carbon footprint. The fuel use intensity resulted in 0.9 L/kg of octopus. The bait used in traps is significant and raises further environmental costs related with fuel consumption. The use of traps represents more than two times the impacts found for pots in all the categories studied except ecotoxicity categories. Zinc use was the main contributor to ecotoxicity categories, but it has not been included in other fishery LCA studies. It was estimated that 12.2 g of plastics is lost to the environment per kg of octopus. The loss of macroplastics from fishing gears was the highest contributor. Conclusions The carbon footprint obtained was 3.1 kg CO2 eq per kg of octopus, being lower compared to other seafood products, and less than half compared to octopus caught with trawling. Pots and traps are highly selective fishing gears, causing negligible disturbance to the seafloor. The stock is not assessed, but management measures exist and can be improved. A drawback exists related with gears lost to the environment.

Shipping is a very important source of pollution worldwide. In recent years, numerous actions and measures have been developed trying to reduce the levels of greenhouse gases (GHG) from the marine exhaust emissions in the fight against climate change, boosting the Sustainable Development Goal 13. Following this target, the action of hydrogen as energy vector makes it a suitable alternative to be used as fuel, constituting a very promising energy carrier for energy transition and decarbonization in maritime transport. The objective of this study is to develop an ex-ante environmental evaluation of two promising technologies for vessels propulsion, a H2 Polymeric Electrolytic Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC), and a H2 Internal Combustion Engine (ICE), in order to determine their viability and eligibility compared to the traditional one, a diesel ICE. The applied methodology follows the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) guidelines, considering a functional unit of 1 kWh of energy produced. LCA results reveal that both alternatives have great potential to promote the energy transition, particularly the H2 ICE. However, as technologies readiness level is quite low, it was concluded that the assessment has been conducted at a very early stage, so their sustainability and environmental performance may change as they become more widely developed and deployed, which can be only achieved with political and stakeholder's involvement and collaboration. This work was supported by the European Union through the Project HYLANTIC EAPA_204/201; “The Atlantic Network for Renewable Generation and Supply of Hydrogen to promote High Energy Efficiency”.

Packaging is essential to protect food, inform consumers, and avoid food waste, yet it can also contribute to the environmental footprint of products. Recycling waste treatment potentially provides more environmental benefits than other options (e.g., landfill), but only 66 % of packaging waste goes to recycling in the European Union. However, the prevention of packaging production with greater reuse, while extending the lifetime or improving packaging design should be firstly encouraged. This highlights the need to assess the willingness of consumers in reducing the environmental impact of seafood products from packaging. An online questionnaire was conducted in three countries (Portugal, Spain, and Ireland), composed of four sections: (i) seafood consumption, (ii) waste separation to be sent recycling, (iii) willingness to purchase seafood products with packaging designed to reduce environmental impact, and (iv) sociodemographic characteristics. Findings revealed that respondents from Spain and Portugal reported a slightly higher frequency of waste sent to recycle compared to Ireland. Irish respondents appear to have more difficulties about the type of plastic materials that can be sent to recycling due to Irish waste management capabilities; whereas Spanish and Portuguese respondents were not fully aware that packaging does not need to be washed prior to recycling. The most popular alternatives to improve the sustainability of seafood packaging were the use of reusable packaging, compostable packaging material, glass jars for canned seafood instead of cans, and intelligent packaging. Most respondents were willing to pay more for seafood products that use more sustainable packaging (62 % for Spain, 68 % for Ireland, 70 % for Portugal) and half of the respondents intimated that they avoid seafood products due to excessive packaging. With more detailed information on the waste management of packaging, seafood consumers could actively contribute with their attitudes where commensurate changes can improve environmental assessment of seafood.

The perpetuation of fishing activity from an environmentally, socially and economically sustainable approach is essential to guarantee not only the future of coastal populations, but also the supply of high-value seafood for society and the safeguarding of cultural heritage. This article aims to assess the environmental performance associated with fishing fleet operations in Cantabria (northern Spain) under a life cycle thinking from a holistic approach. Thus, the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology was applied under a "cradle-to-port" approach, setting the functional unit as 1 kg of fresh fish landed. Inventory data on the main inputs and outputs were collected from a sample of 57 vessels covering for the first time the main techniques, purse seine and minor art fisheries. The results identified that the vessel use stage was the responsible of most of the impacts. In line with the literature, diesel consumption stood as the chief hotspot in six of the seven impact categories analysed. Purse seiners got a value of 0.25 kg of fuel per kg of fish landed, while the performance of the minor art fleet showed significantly lower consumption (0.07). Regarding impacts on climate change, this study found a quantity of 1.00 and 0.34 kg CO2 eq. per FU, for purse seine and minor arts, respectively. These figures were consistent with the expected results for pelagic fisheries. For the remaining indicators, purse seiners generally performed worse. The LCA methodology provided outcomes that allow the proposal of potential improvements and measures to foster the transition towards a more sustainable smart-fishing sector. Further research efforts should focus on the development and implementation of renewable energy and low-carbon vessel propulsion technologies. This work was supported by the EAPA_576/2018NEPTUNUS project. The authors would like to acknowledge the financial support of Interreg Atlantic Area.

In a context of increasing concern regarding food loss and waste (FLW) generation, different attempts have been made to standardize quantification methodologies. On the one hand, an important number of small-scale studies have been published that constitute direct measurement methodologies. On the other hand, the FAO Food Balance Sheets, which aggregate some of the prior studies, provides an indirect metric that has been applied using FLW coefficients in numerous food-related studies. However, to date, no standard methodology has been agreed upon to quantify FLW. This study performs an assessment of 237 studies in the field, aiming to identify existing FLW quantification methodologies, and if there is a need of developing alternative paths. Firstly, a descriptive review was performed. Secondly, an assessment of critical point of views was presented. For this, different critical voices in the scientific literature were retrieved, some of which highlight the high level of uncertainty and a certain degree of opacity in some of the most widespread FLW quantification and assessment reports. In this line, essential elements of quantification are being omitted. Moreover, the focus is being excessively placed on the role of the consumer, compared to the role played by agribusiness and large distribution chains. The authors are grateful for the funding of the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation through the KAIROS-BIOCIR project (PID2019-104925RB) (AEO/FEDER, UE). Dr. Ian Vázquez-Rowe and Dr. Ramzy Kahhat wish to thank the Department of Engineering, as well as the Dirección de Fomento de la Investigación (Project number PI0769) at PUCP, for funding their time dedicated to this study.

The Water-Energy-Food (WEF) nexus approach should be promoted as a tool for sustainable management of resources through the interconnection of these three fundamental pillars. Particularly, food security must ensure healthy and balanced diets for everyone, but selecting individual indicators to assess all slants covered by this element is not an easy task. Hence, the objective of this paper is two-fold, to review nutrient profiling (NP) models that allow to categorize foods and evaluate diets based on their nutritional quality, and to choose the most appropriate model to be used within a WEF nexus index. To address this issue, a total of 159 documents were assessed, appraising the geographic distribution, and time evolution of the publications, as well as the characteristics and potential applications of the NP systems. The review concludes that the NRF9.3. model is the most liable option to be used in a WEF nexus index, presenting the best characteristics by means of the definition of scores and thresholds, and the use of an 'across-the-board' criteria and a reference quantity of 100 kcal, alongside offering higher ability to assess diets and foods than the other competitive model (HEI) through the evaluation of nutrients to encourage instead of foods. A secondary outcome of the review is the identification of the NP models as a useful tool to enable institutions with information to establish policies in the field of public health and facilitating the decision-making process according to the current healthy claims. The authors are grateful for the funding of the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation through the KAIROS-BIOCIR project (PID2019- 104925RB) (AEO/FEDER, UE) and of the Interreg Atlantic Area through the NEPTUNUS project (EAPA_576/2018). Daniel Hoehn thanks the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness of Spanish Government for their financial support via the research fellowship BES-2017-080296. Jorge Cristóbal acknowledges financial support from the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities through the “Beatriz Galindo” grant BEAGAL18/00035.

Incineration has been adopted by many developed countries as an alternative to treat municipal solid waste due to its capacity to reduce the amount of waste and recover energy. Waste to energy plants produce two waste streams: bottom ashes and fly ashes (FA). FA are classified as hazardous waste, and they cannot be utilised or landfilled without prior treatment. Stabilisation with cement solidification is the most used method to treat FA because it achieves the immobilisation of pollutants at a relatively low cost. However, the accelerated carbonation of FA, which allows the encapsulation of certain mobile metals under alkaline conditions, has recently been proposed as an alternative to the solidification/stabilisation process. To determine the environmental performance of FA stabilisation and carbonation, a life cycle assessment (LCA) was conducted. The LCA results of the carbonation and stabilisation processes were compared, and multiple carbonation scenarios were analysed: carbonation with different CO2 sources (incineration flue gas and flue gas from the combustion of natural gas), and different pressures (1–5 bar) and percentages of CO2 excess (10%, 55% and 100%) in the flue gas stream. Stabilisation had higher environmental impacts than carbonation due mainly to cement production and consumption. The best operating conditions of the carbonation process were found at flue gas pressures between 3 and 5 bar, since the total energy consumption decreases as the pressure increases. Moreover, the environmental benefits associated with the substitution of electricity from the grid mix made the scenarios based on the combustion of natural gas perform better than those that use the incineration gases as a CO2 source.

Waste management is a critical policy towards the reduction of environmental impacts to air, soil and water. Many Latin American countries, however, lack a correct waste management system in many cities and rural areas, leading to the accumulation of unmanaged waste in illegal or unregulated dumpsites. The case of Peru is of interest, as it hosts 5 of the 50 largest dumpsites in the world. An erratic waste management compromises climate actions for Peru to commit with the Paris Agreement, as no correct closure systems are established for these dumpsites. Therefore, the main objective of this study is to assess the contribution of the past and present biodegradable waste produced and disposed of in the most critical open dumpsters to the overall annual greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of Peru using the IPCC model. Thereafter, the climate change mitigation potential of possible dumpsite closure strategies based on a selection of technologies, including economic feasibility, were estimated. Results show that cumulative GHG emissions in 2018 for the 24 critical dumpsites evaluated added up to 704 kt CO2 eq. and a cumulative value of 4.4 Mt CO2 eq. in the period 2019?2028, representing over 40 % of solid waste emissions expected by 2030. Mitigation potentials for these emissions tanged from 91 to 970 kt CO2 eq. in the ten-year period depending on the mitigation strategies adopted. The costs of these strategies are also discussed and are expected to be of utility to complement Peru's waste management commitments in the frame of the Paris Agreement. Jorge Cristóbal acknowledges financial support from the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities through the “Beatriz Galindo” grant BEAGAL18/00035. Jorge Cristóbal also acknowledges David Cristóbal from Avila Corp for the python modelling and data analysis assistance. This study was partially funded by the International Climate Initiative (IKI). The Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB) supports this initiative on the basis of a decision adopted by the German Bundestag.

From an economic point of view, the tourism sector is one of the most important in the world with religious tourism, such as pilgrimages, being a growth area. Tourism activities also make a significant contribution to CO2 emissions (roughly 8% of the world's carbon emissions). In this framework, the main objective of this research is to develop an integrated sustainable model by assessing the impact of pilgrimages to the Camino Lebaniego (Lebaniego Way) in the Cantabrian region, which is one of the most popular routes in northern Spain. To do this, it is necessary to quantify the environmental impacts of this activity since this is a key element in establishing appropriate and effective environmental management programmes. This study uses the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) method, focused on the Carbon Footprint (CF) impact category, to assess the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of this activity considering "a pilgrim who completes the route in three days" as the selected functional unit (FU). In addition, the sub-sectors of accommodation, food and beverages, and waste management are taken into account. Following this route generated a total of 13.69 kg CO2 eq./FU, of which accommodation and the services offered there contributed almost 71.47%, food was 17.08%, and waste management 11.45%. The evening meal and propane consumption were the hotspots in the hostel, accounting for almost 74% of the total impact, so alternatives were proposed to reduce the impacts associated with these. In terms of transport, it was found that for the same destination, it was better to use a car rather than a plane, because the associated CO2 emissions were lower. Finally, these aspects are discussed and improvement measures for reducing GHG emissions are proposed, involving the introduction of good practices and environmental commitments from the pilgrims themselves, as well as enterprises and local communities. Ecolabels and environmental certifications should become a key tool for sending this signal to the market as should the use of public transport to the destination, among other actions. Ultimately, religious and nature tourism seems to be on the upturn, and it is likely that pilgrimage routes could be the next post-COVID travel trend. This research was funded by the INTERREG SUDOE Programme, grant number GREENTOUR: Circular Economy and Sustainable Tourism in Destinations of the SUDOE space (SOE4/P5/E1089).

The availability of freshwater is one of the biggest limitations and challenges of food production, as freshwater is an increasingly scarce and overexploited resource in many parts of the world. Therefore, the concept of water footprint (WF) has gained increasing interest, in the same way that the generation of food loss and waste (FLW) in food production and consumption has become a social and political concern. Along this line, the number of studies on the WF of the food production sector is currently increasing all over the world, analyzing water scarcity and water degradation as a single WF indicator or as a so-called WF profile. In Spain, there is no study assessing the influence of FLW generation along the whole food supply chain nor is there a study assessing the different FLW management options regarding the food supply chain’s WF. This study aimed to assess the spatially differentiated WF profile for 17 Spanish regions over time, analyzing the potential linkages of FLW management and water scarcity and water degradation. The assessment considered compliance and non-compliance with the Paris Agreement targets and was based on the life cycle assessment approach. Results are highlighted in a compliance framework, the scenarios found that anaerobic digestion and aerobic composting (to a lesser extent) had the lowest burdens, while scenarios with thermal treatment had the highest impact. Additionally, the regions in the north of Spain and the islands were less influenced by the type of FLW management and by compliance with the Paris Agreement targets.

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

There is a growing debate surrounding the contradiction between an unremitting increase in the use of resources and the search for environmental sustainability. Therefore, the concept of sustainable degrowth is emerging aiming to introduce in our societies new social values and new policies, capable of satisfying human requirements whilst reducing environmental impacts and consumption of resources. In this framework, circular economy strategies for food production and food loss and waste management systems, following the Sustainable Development Goals agenda, are being developed based on a search for circularity, but without setting limits to the continual increase in environmental impacts and resource use. This work presents a methodology for determining the percentage of degrowth needed in any food supply chain, by analyzing four scenarios in a life cycle assessment approach over time between 2020 and 2040. Results for the Spanish case study suggested a degrowth need of 26.8% in 2015 and 58.9% in 2040 in order to achieve compliance with the Paris Agreement targets, highlighting the reduction of meat and fish and seafood consumption as the most useful path. This research was funded by Spanish Ministry of Science and Competitiveness, grant number CERES‐PROCON Project CTM2016‐76176 (AEI/FEDER, UE) and KAIROS‐BIOCIR Project PID2019‐104925RB (AEO/FEDER, UE).

Climate change, globalization or marine debris are on the spot of concerns for the most society. Particularly, fisheries are impacted by these and other issues. On the framework of the European Atlantic area, NEPTUNUS project (EAPA_576_2018) tries to provide opportunities for the transition to the circular economy of the seafood and aquaculture sectors by means of a consistent methodology for products eco-labelling and defining eco-innovation strategies. Furthermore, this project will provide key actions for resource efficiency based on life cycle thinking and the nexus water-energy-food, incorporating producers, policy makers and consumers in the decision-making process. This review addresses, therefore, the threats and challenges of the current Atlantic fisheries, the methodologies and actions to be face them and the expected results of the NEPTUNUS project This work was supported by the EAPA_576/2018 NEPTUNUS project. The authors would like to acknowledge the financial support of Interreg Atlantic Area

The United Nations has adopted 17 sustainable development goals for 2030 with environmental sustainability being one of the main pillars. A key point to address this pillar is the proper management of waste generation. Within the broad spectrum of waste types, food loss and waste is produced worldwide in large quantities. In this framework, the development of composite indexes is recommended to measure the level of compliance of any context with Sustainable Development Goals. This work presents a novel composite index for food loss and waste generation and management systems, the so-called sustainable development goals-food (SDG-Food) index, aiming to determine the level of compliance of any concrete national, regional, or local context regarding five different sustainable development goals with a water-climate-food nexus thinking. The pilot case study of Spain is presented by analyzing the environmental performance between 2015 and 2040 in a context of (i) compliance and (ii) non-compliance with the Paris Agreement targets. Additionally, four different diets are assessed. Results suggested a numerical index score of 13.79, highlighting the categories of eggs, cereals, meat, and vegetables, and the stages of agricultural production and consumption, as the furthers ones for compliance with the five SDG assessed. Moreover, the scenario of compliance with the Paris agreement targets presented better values for all stages, and a vegan diet was highlighted as the one with the best index score. This research was funded by Spanish Ministry of Science and Competitiveness, grant number CERES-PROCON Project CTM2016-76176-C2-1-R (AEI/FEDER, UE) and KAIROS-BIOCIR Project PID2019-104925RB (AEO/FEDER, UE).

The generation of food loss and waste (FLW) is a global problem for worldwide politics. About one-third of the food produced ends up in the rubbish before it is consumed. For this reason, it is essential to design and implement new strategies along the food supply chain (FSC) with the aim of reducing this FLW at each stage. However, not only mass quantification should be considered, but also economic and nutritional performance. The novelty of this study is the definition of a methodology based on the &ldquo, distance to target&rdquo, approach by means of multi-objective optimization to evaluate the economic and nutritional cost produced by this FLW. This methodology was applied to the Spanish food basket in 2015. The results revealed that 80% of the total FLW generated in economic and nutritional terms is concentrated in the agricultural production (53.3%) and consumption (26.3%) stages. In the first stages of the FSC, fruits (Dn eq.= 0.7), cereals (Dn eq.= 0.61), and vegetables (Dn eq.= 0.57) were the furthest from the distance target due to the great amount of FLW generated. Moreover, according to the normalized weighted distances obtained from the minimization of economic and nutritional cost, pulses (Dn eq. = 0.05&ndash, 0.03) and eggs (Dn eq. = 0.02) were the more efficient food categories. The methodology described in this study proposes a single index to quantify the economic and nutritional cost of different food categories to facilitate the decision-making process. This index makes possible the definition of reduction strategies focused on specific food categories and depending on the FSC stage.

Cement production is one of the main drivers of the construction sector worldwide. While cement demand has plateaued in many developed nations recently, several emerging and developing economies have experienced important increases in demand. This is the case of Peru, a nation with a growing economy and a high demand for seismic-resistant infrastructures and housing. Recent estimates have shown that cement is responsible for approximately 5–10% of worldwide anthropogenic CO2 emissions, of which more than half are linked to the production of clinker, due to the use of fossil fuels and direct clinkering emissions. To face this concern in the Peruvian context, producing a more sustainable product with improved environmental performance, it is necessary to first understand the environmental profile of current production standards. Therefore, this study analyzed the environmental impacts, specifically climate change, of cement production in three relevant national cement plants to identify the main greenhouse gas mitigation strategies throughout the whole supply chain. Three different types of cement produced in the three different plants were analyzed: ordinary Portland cement, cement with added natural pozzolan and cement with added blast furnace slag. Life Cycle Assessment was used to quantify the GHG emissions linked to the production of one standard bag of cement. Although results were in the lower range as compared to the literature, these varied significantly across the cement plants, reaffirming that Portland cement tends to have higher global warming impacts than when blended cement is produced, although the energy carrier for the kiln or the import of clinker can have an influence on the final results.

Reducing food losses (FL) has been identified as an essential means of increasing food security, while reducing pressure on natural resources. To assess the reliability of future strategies to reduce and manage FL along the food supply chain (FSC), not only their quantification but also the ‘qualification’ in both economic and nutritional terms must be considered. The methodology proposed in this work allows to quantify FL at the distinct stages of the FSC (agricultural production, postharvest and storage, processing, distribution, households and extradomestic consumption). In addition, economic and nutritional FL are estimated. A Nutritional Food Losses Footprint (NFLF) index is proposed to assess and balance the variables described. This index is used to define food recovery strategies focused on those food categories and stages of the FSC with lesser efficiency. NFLF distinguishes between food losses from cradle to gate (FL-ctog) and food losses from gate to grave (FL-gtog) depending on the scope of the analysis. The former provides information to producers, while the latter creates awareness among consumers. Furthermore, the potential for FL reduction is estimated through the quantification of avoidable and unavoidable FL. Our study is focused on the Mediterranean region, in particular on Spain. Almost 20% of the national food production is estimated to be lost or wasted. Vegetables, fruits and meat result the food categories less efficient. Household consumption is the main responsible of FL generation, followed by agricultural production. Each Spanish citizen is estimated to throw away around 180€ per year, while a 76% could be saved.

The production of food that is environmentally friendly and presents a high economic return is one of the current concerns for the food industry. Eco-efficiency links the environmental performance of a product to its economic value. In this context, this study combines Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Life Cycle Costing (LCC) to propose a two-step eco-efficiency methodology assessment for the fish canning industry. An eco-label rating system based on a descriptive weighting of environmental (Global Warming Potential, Acidification Potential, Eutrophication Potential and the ReCiPe Single Score Endpoint) and economic (Value Added) indicators was applied to the canned anchovy. Secondly, LCA-LCC results were coupled to linear programming (LP) tools in order to define a composite eco-efficiency index. This approach enables translation into economic terms of the environmental damage caused when a given alternative is chosen. In particular, different origins for anchovy species (South American vs. Cantabrian) and related waste management alternatives (landfill, incineration and valorization) were evaluated under this cradle to gate approach. Results indicated that substantial differences can be observed depending on the origin of the fish. Anchovies landed in Cantabria show a higher value added score at the expense of larger environmental impacts, mainly due to fuel use intensity. Moreover, its environmental scores are lowered when fish residues are valorized into marketable products, while increasing the value added. This study demonstrates the environmental and economic benefits of applying circular economy. According to this, it is possible to introduce the cradle-to-cradle concept in the fish canned industry. The methodology proposed is intended to be useful to decision-makers in the anchovy canning sector and can be applied to other regions and industrial sectors.

Greywater reuse is an attractive option for the sustainable management of water under water scarcity circumstances, within a water circular economy restorative thinking framework. Its successful deployment relies on the availability of low cost and environmentally friendly technologies. The life cycle assessment (LCA) approach provides the appropriate methodological tool for the evaluation of alternative treatments based on environmental decision criteria and, therefore, it is highly useful during the process conceptual design. This methodology should be employed in the early design phase to select those technologies with lower environmental impact. This work reports the comparative LCA of three scenarios for greywater reuse: photocatalysis, photovoltaic solar-driven photocatalysis and membrane biological reactor, in order to help the selection of the most environmentally friendly technology. The study has been focused on the removal of the surfactant sodium dodecylbenzenesulfonate, which is used in the formulation of detergents and personal care products and, thus, widely present in greywater. LCA was applied using the Environmental Sustainability Assessment methodology to obtain two main environmental indicators in order to simplify the decision making process: natural resources and environmental burdens. Energy consumption is the main contributor to both indicators owing to the high energy consumption of the light source for the photocatalytic greywater treatment. In order to reduce its environmental burdens, the most desirable scenario would be the use of solar light for the photocatalytic transformation. However, while the technological challenge of direct use of solar light is approached, the environmental suitability of the photovoltaic solar energy driven photocatalysis technology to greywater reuse has been demonstrated, as it involves the smallest environmental impact among the three studied alternatives. Financial support from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness and from FEDER funds for projects CTM2013-43539-R, CTM2015-69845-R and CTQ2015-66078-R(MINECO/FEDER, UE) is gratefully acknowledged. Sara Dominguez and Jara Laso would also like to express their gratitude for the FPI postgraduate research grants (BES-2013-064055 and BES-2014-069368).

This paper provides an overview of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the fishing sector over the world, including several economic, social, environmental, and health challenges that the fisheries have had to face during the early days of the health crisis and some of them still continue today. These problems, in short, are translated into a decrease in seafood demand, loss of jobs, changes in food consumption habits, economic losses or increased vulnerability of the industry. As consequence, governments have been forced to implement regulations and measures in support of this sector. However, a positive aspect of the pandemic also stands out; the opportunity to transform the food system to be greener, more inclusive, and resilient against future shocks. This work was supported by the EAPA_576/2018 NEPTUNUS project. The authors would like to acknowledge the financial support of Interreg Atlantic Area

The energy-water nexus is a concept widely established but rarely applied to product and, in particular, to food and beverage products, which have a great influence on greenhouse gases emissions. The proposed method considers the main nexus aspects in addition to other relevant aspects such as climate change, which is deeply linked with energy and water systems, and assessing process as well as product. In this framework, this study develops an integrated index (IWECN) that combines life cycle assessment (LCA) and linear programming (LP) to assess energetic, water and climate systems, enabling the identification of those products with minors energetic and water intensity and climate change effects and helping to the decision-making process and to the development of eco-innovation measures. In this case, the product assessed was one bottle (70 cl) of gin and two main hotspots were identified: the production of the glass bottle and the energy requirements of the distillation stage. Based on that, several eco-innovation strategies were proposed: the use of photovoltaic solar energy as energy source and the substitution of the glass bottle by a plastic one and by a tetra brick. The nexus results indicated that the use of solar photovoltaic energy and plastic as bottle material was the best alternative decreasing 58% the IWECN value of the production of one bottle of gin. The sensitivity analysis presented a strong preference for photovoltaic solar energy in comparison with electric power and for the reduction of the glass bottle weight or its substitution by a plastic bottle. The use of the IWECN index is extendable to any product with the aim of facilitating the decision-making process in the development of more sustainable products to introduce them in new green markets. Rubén Leivas thanks the Industrial Doctorates Program of the Cantabria University, the Santander Bank and the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport by means of the Campus of International Excellence Program for the financial support. Jara Laso thanks the University of Cantabria for its financial support via the postdoctoral grant “Augusto Gonzalez Linares”. The authors are grateful for the funding of the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness through the Ceres-Procom: Food production and consumption strategies for climate change mitigation (CTM2016-76176-C2-1-R).

The European seafood and aquaculture sectors are facing important challenges in terms of environmental threats (climate change, marine debris, resources depletion), social development (worker rights, consumer's awareness) or economic growth (market and nonmarket goods and services, global competitiveness). These issues are forcing all stakeholders, from policy-makers to citizens and industries, to move to more sustainable policies, practices and processes. Consequently, an improvement in collaborations among different parties and beyond borders is required to create more efficient networks along the supply chain of seafood and aquaculture sectors. To achieve this, a â nexus thinkingâ approach (i.e. the analysis of actions in connected systems) combined with a life cycle thinking appears as an excellent opportunity to facilitate the transition to a circular economy. This work was supported by the EAPA_576/2018 NEPTUNUS project. The authors would like to acknowledge the financial support of Interreg Atlantic Area. A.C. Dias and P. Quinteiro acknowledge FCT/MCTES for the contracts CEECIND/02174/2017 and CEECIND/00143/2017, respectively, and for the financial support to CESAM (UID/AMB/50017/2019), through national funds. The Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) for supporting the contract of A. Marques in the framework of the IF2014 program (IF/00253/2014). peer-reviewed 2022-02-11

The aim of this paper is to analyse the environmental impacts of the Conector® Enciclopedia, and to recommend and apply improvement strategies based on eco-design principles. For this purpose, the work develops a methodology that integrates life cycle assessment (LCA) and eco-design. The LCA was performed using the GaBi 9.2 software and the CML 2002 method. To evaluate the influence of the operating hours of the toy two use scenarios were defined: 'minimum use' and 'continuous use'. The comparison was made on a common functional unit of 'hour of use'. Results showed that the environmental impact of the original toy was heavily dependent on the use phase, given the comparatively large impact caused by employed batteries. Beside the batteries, the electrical and electronic circuit and the game board were the components with the greatest environmental impact in the production stage. Based on the environmental profile of the toy, different strategies were identified, proposed to the company and developed in an eco-designed toy version. The new eco-designed version of the toy achieved approximately 50% impact reductions in all impact categories in the production stage, with very small investments. Despite the environmental benefits found in the eco-design product, the paper concludes that also the consumer acceptance and the technical and economic viability should be considered, trying to maximize the ecoefficiency of the solutions. The authors acknowledge the financial support given by the Generalitat de Catalunya and the EDUCA Borras Company, as well as the active involvement of their technicians in the ECOJOGUINA Project. The Unesco Chair in Life Cycle and Climate Change-ESCI was awarded the 2008 Environment Prize by the Government of Catalonia (Premi Medi Ambient de la Generalitat de Catalunya) for the ECOJOGUINA Project under the category Universities.

Purpose: The main purpose of this article is to assess the nutritional and economic efficiency of food loss and waste (FLW) along the supply of 13 food categories included in the Spanish food basket by means of the definition of a new method which combines two indexes. Methods: The nutrient-rich foods index and the economic food loss and waste (EFLW) index were combined by means of linear programming to obtain the nutritional cost footprint (NCF) indicator under a life cycle perspective. The functional unit used was the daily supply of food for a Spanish citizen in year 2015. Results and discussion: Results showed that vegetables and cereals were the food categories most affected by the inefficiencies in the food supply chain under a nutritional perspective, being agricultural production and household consumption the main stages in which the nutritional content of food is lost or wasted. Moreover, according to the NCF index, vegetables represented 27% of total nutritional-economic wastage throughout the entire Spanish agri-food chain. They are followed by fruits, which add up to 19%. Hence, specific food waste management strategies should be established for these specific products and supply stages. Finally, the sensitivity analysis performed highlighted that results were mostly independent from the importance attributed to either nutritional or economic variables. Conclusions: The methodology described in this study proposes an indicator quantifying the nutritional-economic cost of different food categories in the Spanish food basket. This NCF indicator makes it possible to define reduction strategies to promote the use of food waste fractions for waste-to-energy valorization approaches or the extraction of different types of pharmacological, chemical, or cosmetic compounds. The authors are grateful for the funding of the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness through the Ceres-Procom: Food production and consumption strategies for climate change mitigation (CTM2016-76176-C2-1-R) (AEI/FEDER, UE).

Food loss and waste (FLW) has become a central concern in the social and political debate. Simultaneously, using FLW as a bioenergy source could significantly contribute to closing the carbon cycle by reintroducing energy into the food supply chain. This study aims to identify best strategies for FLW management in each of the 17 regions in Spain, through the application of a Life Cycle Assessment. To this end, an evaluation of the environmental performance over time between 2015 and 2040 of five different FLW management scenarios implemented in a framework of (i) compliance and (ii) non-compliance with the targets of the Paris Agreement was performed. Results revealed savings in the consumption of abiotic resources in those regions in which thermal treatment has a strong presence, although their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in a scenario of compliance with climate change targets are higher. In contrast, scenarios that include anaerobic digestion and, to a lesser extent those applying aerobic composting, present lower impacts, including climate change, suggesting improvements of 20&ndash, 60% in non-compliance and 20&ndash, 80% in compliance with Paris Agreement targets, compared to the current scenarios.

The COVID lockdown has affected food purchases and eating habits. In this regard, this short communication assesses the nutritional and environmental impacts of these changes during the COVID lockdown in Spain, by applying Life Cycle Assessment and an energy- and nutrient-corrected functional unit. Three environmental impacts were studied (Global Warming Potential, Blue Water Footprint and Land Use) and a total of seven weekly diet scenarios were designed: two pre-COVID diets for March and April in 2019 (MAR19, APR19), one COVID diet (COVID) and two alternative diets, one based on the National Dietary Guidelines (NDG) and another one on the Planetary Health Diet (PHD). Results show that the COVID diet had larger energy intake and lower nutritional quality, as well as higher environmental impacts (between 30 and 36%) than the pre-COVID eating patterns. Further research is needed to account for food affordability within this assessment, as well as to analyze how eating patterns will evolve after the COVID lockdown. Finally, the definition of short guidelines for sustainable food behaviors for future possible lockdowns is suggested, as well as the introduction of sustainable indicators within NDGs., Graphical abstract Unlabelled Image, Highlights • An energy- and nutrient-based functional unit was applied to compare diets. • COVID diet with higher energy and lower nutritional quality than pre-COVID diets. • Larger environmental impacts of the COVID diet compared with Planetary Health Diet. • Need for short guidelines promoting sustainable food habits during lockdowns. • Environmental sustainability must be integrated in the National Dietary Guidelines.