Life cycle assessment of apple production and consumption under different sales models in China

Abstract

China is the largest producer and consumer of apples and plays a vital role in the fruit sector worldwide. However, few studies have examined the environmental impacts of apples from production to consumption in China concerning apple losses. Adopting reasonable initiatives in the apple industry from a whole life-cycle perspective can guide sustainable decision-making and support the formulation of policies for achieving carbon neutrality. This study utilized the ReCiPe2016 methodology because it covers a broad spectrum of possible environmental impacts. The aim of the paper was to conduct a comprehensive life cycle assessment of the environmental impacts of apples from production to consumption in China and the associated apple losses along the supply chain. The results showed that producing 1 kg of apples produced the global warming potential of 0.842 kg CO₂-eq. Nitrogen fertilizer was the most critical environmental hotspot in the apple production phase and contributed more than 60 % in 11 of the 18 environmental impact categories. The environmental impacts in the apple consumption phase generally increased with transport distance. However, short-distance air transport (domestic market) had a higher impact than long-distance truck transport (international market). Among the five consumption scenarios in the domestic market, packaging had a higher environmental impact (1.767-17.926 mPt), exceeding transportation (0.729-14.949 mPt); conversely, in the international market, packaging (10.968 mPt) had a lower impact than transportation (12.181 mPt). Additionally, the study found that more complex sales models resulted in higher apple loss rates, requiring more adequate apple production to meet demand and thereby increasing environmental pollutant emissions. China can take measures such as reducing nitrogen fertilizer usage, designing sustainable packaging, discouraging air transportation, and concerning apple losses to address these challenges. These actions are essential for improving the environmental performance of the apple supply chain in China. Therefore, there is an urgent need to make some recommendations for different stakeholders in the whole life cycle, from production to consumption, to achieve sustainable development. Our work can contribute to offering a blueprint for unlocking unknown knowledge for the apple industry, ultimately catalyzing the realization of sustainable production and consumption in apple systems.