2
World Bank Study
Approach A review of existing case studies highlighted the need for collection of primary data related to tropical food products in developing countries; few existing studies offer life cycle or carbon footprint analysis of tropical products, and where these studies do exist the basic data provided are o en limited. To counter this lack of data, the approach taken by this study required collection of detailed production and processing information and analysis of primary data for two products from developing countries. These data enabled a transparent and thorough carbon footprinting analysis to be undertaken, thereby reducing reliance on secondary datasets and making as few data “assumptions” as possible. Furthermore, by carrying out data collection firsthand, it was possible to assess the time and resources needed to calculate an accurate carbon footprint. The two products chosen for analysis are sugar and pineapples. These products have very different production and processing systems, and both contribute significantly to a number of developing countries’ export incomes. Extensive data were collected in the main production areas of Zambia and Mauritius, with the cooperation of a number of producers and processors. Analysis of data from field to import gate is presented here using the PAS 2050 carbon footprinting method (BSI, 2008a). This method has been chosen as the baseline for calculations here, as it is currently the only method with detailed guidelines published. Furthermore, a number of other schemes have reported that they are using PAS 2050 as the baseline for developing their own footprinting methods. It must be noted that, while this report does offer a critique of carbon accounting methods in general, these are in no way an explicit criticisim of PAS2050. As the specific focus of this analysis is on carbon footprinting, calculations focus on the emission of greenhouse gases (GHGs) from the production systems. Other environmental and socioeconomic impacts are associated with the production of agricultural products, but they are not considered here; however, their importance should also be borne in mind by carbon footprint designers and users.
Structure of Report This report begins with an analysis of current carbon labeling schemes as well as some of those in development, detailing as much up-to-date information about the methodologies as possible at the time of writing. A review of available data and emission factors pertaining to carbon footprinting is presented in Chapter 3, highlighting major knowledge gaps and their resulting implications for carbon footprint calculation of products originating in less developed countries. Results from case studies of sugar and pineapples in Zambia and Mauritius are presented in Chapter 4, with their carbon footprints analyzed according to PAS 2050 guidelines. Chapter 5 explores and discusses the major areas of uncertainty and subjectivity within these footprint calculations, followed by an analysis of the impact of key variables that may differ between carbon footprinting methods. The report concludes with a series of recommendations for creating development-friendly guidelines for carbon footprinting, based on the findings of the research carried out here.