Lillywhite, Robert and Collier, Rosemary. (2009) Why carbon footprinting (and carbon labelling) only tells half the story. Aspects of Applied Biology, Vol.95 . pp. 73-78. ISSN 0265-1491

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Abstract

The UK is a world leader in the use of carbon footprints. The introduction of PAS2050 has legitimised carbon footprinting and manufacturers and retailers have responded by estimating carbon footprints for selected products. In industrial production, where the relationship between inputs and outputs is constant and the process is tightly controlled, carbon footprints tend to be reproducible. However, agricultural production is different, being influenced by biological, geological and climatic variation. Thus, although the use of a single value to represent the carbon burden of a food product is appealing, in practice it can be misleading. This paper discusses the variability associated with carbon footprints of agricultural products and considers the value of carbon labelling. We suggest that carbon footprinting is a useful approach that will assist in the transition to a low carbon society but that current approaches to carbon labelling may not help consumers understand the carbon burden of agricultural products.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Subjects:	S Agriculture > S Agriculture (General) H Social Sciences > HN Social history and conditions. Social problems. Social reform G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GE Environmental Sciences
Divisions:	Faculty of Science > Life Sciences (2010- ) > Warwick HRI (2004-2010)
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH):	Climatic changes -- Government policy -- Great Britain, Climatic changes -- Environmental aspects, Labels -- Great Britain, Agricultural productivity, Greenhouse gases
Journal or Publication Title:	Aspects of Applied Biology
Publisher:	Association of Applied Biologists
ISSN:	0265-1491
Date:	2009
Volume:	Vol.95
Page Range:	pp. 73-78
Status:	Not Peer Reviewed
Access rights to Published version:	Open Access
Funder:	Great Britain. Dept. for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA)
Grant number:	WQ0101 (DEFRA), WU0114 (DEFRA)
References:	BSi. 2008. PAS2050. Specification for the assessment of the life cycle greenhouse gas missions of goods and services. London. Bouwman A F. 1996. Direct emission of nitrous oxide from agricultural soils. Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems 46, 53−70. Defra. 2009a. Comparative Life Cycle Assessment of Food Commodities Procured for UK Consumption through a Diversity of Supply Chains. Final Report of Defra Project FO0103. Defra. 2009b. The use of environmental footprints in horticulture: Case studies. Final report of Defra project WU0114. Edward-Jones G, Plassmann K, York E H, Hounsome B, Jones D L, Mila I Canals L. 2008. Vulnerability of exporting nations to the development of a carbon label in the United Kingdom. Environmental Science & Policy 12(4), 479−490. IPCC. 2006. Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories, Volume 4. Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Use. Jenssen T K, Kongshaug G. 2003. Energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions in fertiliser production. Proceedings 509, The International Fertiliser Society, pp. 1−28. Williams A G, Audsley E, Sandars D L. 2006. Determining the environmental burdens and resource use in the production of agricultural and horticultural commodities. Main Report, Defra Research Project IS0205. Bedford: Cranfield University and Defra. Tesco. 2008. Carbon labelling and Tesco. www.tesco.com/assets/greenerliving/content/pdf/ Carbon_Labelling_and_Tesco.pdf (accessed 01/08/2009).
URI:	http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/id/eprint/2186

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