This paper presents the GLOBAL 2000 adaptive sustainability assessment approach, with which the environmental performance of agricultural products is measured. The aim of the approach is to arrive at a comprehensive understanding of the environmental impacts of an agricultural products and the connected life cycle. Furthermore, it strives to set incentives for farmers to adopt a more sustainable production mode and to help consumers make deliberative consumption choices, by informing them about the environmental impacts of products along the life cycle.

1. 9/1/2013 1
Sustainability
Assessment , Solutions and Applied Research
27/08/2013 LCM 2013 Göteburg martin.wildenberg@global2000.at
Life cycle based assessment for
agricultural products
An Austrian best practice
Martin Wildenberg, Tanja Altaparmakova, Kewin Comploi, Dominik Frieling, Anna Geiger

2. 9/1/2013 2
Sustainability
Assessment , Solutions and Applied Research
27/08/2013 LCM 2013 Göteburg martin.wildenberg@global2000.at
Assessment , Solutions and Applied Research
Structure of the talk
Introduction & Background
The GLOBAL 2000 Approach
- The Process
- Infrastructure
- Results
Success factors & lessons learned

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Sustainability
Assessment , Solutions and Applied Research
27/08/2013 LCM 2013 Göteburg martin.wildenberg@global2000.at
Assessment , Solutions and Applied Research
Austrian Environmental NGO (www.global2000.at)
Part of the Friends of the Earth Network
• Political campaigns and activism
• Education and Awareness
• Solution oriented cooperations

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Sustainability
Assessment , Solutions and Applied Research
27/08/2013 LCM 2013 Göteburg martin.wildenberg@global2000.at
Assessment , Solutions and Applied Research
Measuring impacts: Inputs and outputs of
society:
Outputs
Society
Social
Metabolism
Inputs

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Sustainability
Assessment , Solutions and Applied Research
27/08/2013 LCM 2013 Göteburg martin.wildenberg@global2000.at
We suggested a label that:
- Focuses on conventional food & farming
- Focuses on whole production chain
- Can make the environmental impact of a product visible
- Can make the resource rucksacks of a product visible
- Rests on measurable indicators -> you can only manage what you know
- Induces a process with the participants to increase the sustainability of
their products step by step
- Creates a Win – Win situation for producers – retailer – customer and
environment

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Sustainability
Assessment , Solutions and Applied Research
27/08/2013 LCM 2013 Göteburg martin.wildenberg@global2000.at
The GLOBAL 2000 adaptive labeling approach for sustainable
agricultural products
Aim:
• set incentives for farmers, distributors and retailers to adopt
a more sustainable production mode
• inform consumers about environmental impacts of their
choices.

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Assessment , Solutions and Applied Research
27/08/2013 LCM 2013 Göteburg martin.wildenberg@global2000.at
Use case: Pro Planet – Austria fruit vegetable and
eggs
The Label:
In Germany & Austria
- Identify & resolve social and ecological hot-spots
in the production chain
In Austria:
For fruits, vegetables and eggs:
Cooperation between Caritas, REWE International AG &
GLOBAL 2000

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Sustainability
Assessment , Solutions and Applied Research
27/08/2013 LCM 2013 Göteburg martin.wildenberg@global2000.at
The building blocks of the program
GoodAgricultural
Practice
GlobalGap
SocialPractice
GRASP&SA8000
Caritas
ConsumerSafety
PesticideMonitoring
PRP
Ecological Sustainability
Indicator set
Rules and regulations
Stakeholder process

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Assessment , Solutions and Applied Research
27/08/2013 LCM 2013 Göteburg martin.wildenberg@global2000.at
The focus of our indicator system
Ressource use
Impacts on
environment

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Assessment , Solutions and Applied Research
27/08/2013 LCM 2013 Göteburg martin.wildenberg@global2000.at
Farm based indicators
N-balance
P-balance
Humus-balance
Pesticide use
Energy intensity
Calculated by INL
using the model
REPRO (Hülsbergen
et al 2003)

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Assessment , Solutions and Applied Research
27/08/2013 LCM 2013 Göteburg martin.wildenberg@global2000.at
Per service unit indicators (MIPS):
Carbon-footprint
Biotic Material Input
A-biotic Material Input
Water input
Area used
Field to shelf
(Schmidt-Bleek 1998, Ritthof 2002,
GHG Protocol)

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Assessment , Solutions and Applied Research
27/08/2013 LCM 2013 Göteburg martin.wildenberg@global2000.at
Field records (machine use etc.)
Pesticide use
Yields
In case of fruit rotation the data
should cover at least three years
Data on other inputs (energy &
materials) collection via
standardized form
Calculated by using factors from
the EcoInvent Database
Data needed:

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Assessment , Solutions and Applied Research
27/08/2013 LCM 2013 Göteburg martin.wildenberg@global2000.at
For a product-group zero-
tolerance thresholds were
defined. If crossed the
product cannot be labeled.

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Assessment , Solutions and Applied Research
27/08/2013 LCM 2013 Göteburg martin.wildenberg@global2000.at
Benchmarking Water:
Increasing product water efficiency in Spain
or how to set incentives to use more and more water…

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Assessment , Solutions and Applied Research
27/08/2013 LCM 2013 Göteburg martin.wildenberg@global2000.at
Benchmarking Water:
Include water availability in watershed based on :
more absolute water use in the Watershed = lower benchmark

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Assessment , Solutions and Applied Research
27/08/2013 LCM 2013 Göteburg martin.wildenberg@global2000.at
The Soft side of Labeling:
Involvement
Knowledge exchange
Education
= Participation & Change

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Assessment , Solutions and Applied Research
27/08/2013 LCM 2013 Göteburg martin.wildenberg@global2000.at
Stakeholder Process
Benchmarking
Regulations
Hotspots
Participants:
•Producer
•Distributor
•Producer-organization
•Quality Management
•Experts
•GLOBAL 2000
•Caritas

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Assessment , Solutions and Applied Research
27/08/2013 LCM 2013 Göteburg martin.wildenberg@global2000.at
Different communication to:
- Producer
- Retailer
- Consumer

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Assessment , Solutions and Applied Research
27/08/2013 LCM 2013 Göteburg martin.wildenberg@global2000.at
Results
After starting with the labeling of Austrian open-land
strawberries in June 2010…
• Over 550 farms & suppliers have submitted data in 2013
• 30 product groups have been screened from which
• 25 products labeled.
• 50+ stakeholder workshops have been conducted

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Assessment , Solutions and Applied Research
27/08/2013 LCM 2013 Göteburg martin.wildenberg@global2000.at
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5
Tomato Greenhouse AUT
(Gas-heating)
Tomato Greenhouse AUT
(comunity heating)
Cocktail Tomato ESP
(tunnel)
Tomato ESP (tunnel)
Tomato AUT (tunnel)
Comparing production systems

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Assessment , Solutions and Applied Research
27/08/2013 LCM 2013 Göteburg martin.wildenberg@global2000.at
CO2 eq. per kg sweet maize and level od origin. In average soil carbon loss
contributes to 16% of total CO2 emissions from field to shelf.
Identifying Hotspots

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Assessment , Solutions and Applied Research
27/08/2013 LCM 2013 Göteburg martin.wildenberg@global2000.at
1 2 2
4
5 5
5 5
7
9
15 15
16
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
Pro-Planet product
Pesticide use index
Comparing products:

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Sustainability
Assessment , Solutions and Applied Research
27/08/2013 LCM 2013 Göteburg martin.wildenberg@global2000.at
Comparing producers:
0,0
5,0
10,0
15,0
20,0
25,0
30,0
35,0
40,0
Pflanzenschutz-Index
Häufigkeit und Menge von Pestizid-Anwendungen 2011
Pflanzenschutzindex Pro Planet-Äpfel
Ihr Betrieb (Mittelw ert aller Schläge)
Optimumgrenze
Toleranzgrenze
Pflanzenschutz-Index
Variation in Pesticide Index in 138 apple producers

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Sustainability
Assessment , Solutions and Applied Research
27/08/2013 LCM 2013 Göteburg martin.wildenberg@global2000.at
Changes achieved:
- In crop rotation patterns
- Feed composition (eggs)
- Packaging
- Transport packaging
- New product line for “ugly” vegetables
- Pesticide use

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Sustainability
Assessment , Solutions and Applied Research
27/08/2013 LCM 2013 Göteburg martin.wildenberg@global2000.at
Lessons Learned

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Sustainability
Assessment , Solutions and Applied Research
27/08/2013 LCM 2013 Göteburg martin.wildenberg@global2000.at
Ten Success factors
1. Largely relying on data that is available and recorded anyway
2. Indicators point at hotspots
3. Indicators cover resource use, direct impacts on environment & health
4. Improvements can be quantified & communicated in understandable units
5. Indicators are relevant for producers to improve efficiency
6. Life cycle approach – transparency and responsibility over production chain
7. Third party assessments
8. Stakeholder involvement
9. Cooperation with important stakeholders: supermarket-chain, GlobalG.A.P.
and farm management software
10. Constant evaluation, adaptation and further development

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Sustainability
Assessment , Solutions and Applied Research
27/08/2013 LCM 2013 Göteburg martin.wildenberg@global2000.at
Obstacles and Problems
Some important topics currently still too complicated to be
considered via indicators e.g. biodiversity, erosion.
Our current model for agricultural indicators restricted to central
European soils and climate
The set of indicators is considered too complicated to
communicate
Many sustainability problems are systemic. The cause are in the
way food is commercialized.

28. 9/1/2013 29
Sustainability
Assessment , Solutions and Applied Research
27/08/2013 LCM 2013 Göteburg martin.wildenberg@global2000.at
Thank You!
Contact:
Dr Martin Wildenberg
T: +43-699-14200046
martin.wildenberg@global2000.at