Carbon footprint and primary energy demand of organic tea in China using a life cycle assessment approach. (1st October 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Xu, Qiang; Hu, Kelin; Wang, Xiaolong; Wang, Donghui; Knudsen, Marie Trydeman
• Is Part Of: Journal of cleaner production. Volume 233(2019)
• Page Start: 782
• Page End: 792
• Publication Date: 2019-10-01
• Subjects: Carbon footprint -- Primary energy demand -- China organic tea -- Tea plantation management -- Life cycle assessment; Factory and trade waste -- Management -- Periodicals; Manufactures -- Environmental aspects -- Periodicals; Déchets industriels -- Gestion -- Périodiques; Usines -- Aspect de l'environnement -- Périodiques; 628.5
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.06.136
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0959-6526

Abstract

Abstract: China has the largest tea production and the highest number of tea farmers in the world. Overfertilization in traditional tea production leads to serious environmental problems. A shift toward organic production and consumption has been enhanced recently as one of the potential solutions to reduce environmental impacts. A life cycle assessment approach was used to assess carbon footprint and primary energy demand for five Chinese organic tea products in this study. Two functional units were chosen: 1 kg of dry tea for cradle to supermarket gate and 1 cup of tea for cradle to grave. Results showed that different farming managements and processing technologies exerted major effects on carbon footprints and primary energy demand of different tea products. Hotspots were identified as cultivation, processing, and packaging for cradle to supermarket gate. However, from a whole life cycle perspective tea consumption was a major hotspot. The most sensitive contributing factors, including the amount of boiling water and carbon emission factors of electricity, had great impacts on the accuracy of the final results. Scenario analysis showed a potential for emission reduction (49–65%) and energy saving (46–66%) by comprehensively using improvement strategies. This study furthermore highlighted the tradeoff between high tea quality and low carbon footprint. Highlights: Carbon footprint and energy demand of Chinese organic tea were estimated for the first time. Farming practices and processing technologies had great effects on the environmental impacts of different teas. Renewable energy, high-yielding cultivars and reduced packaging were the major improvement options. A tradeoff between high tea quality and low environmental impact was highlighted.