Abstract
The French “Grenelle” laws sparked a French national experiment trialling the environmental labelling of fast-moving consumer goods. The data required for this labelling scheme are generated by carrying out a life cycle assessment (LCA). The aim of this study is to provide all necessary information to fit the national experiment for two standard oils: sunflower oil and rapeseed oil. The complete oil life cycle was studied, from oilseed farming through to the end-of-life of the packaging. We focused heavily on the impacts of crushing and refining. The seed processing data was collected from different plants that are representative of the French crushing/refining industry and packaging site practice. The data inventory was used to calculate the identified environmental labelling indicators, i.e. greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and water consumption. The production of 100g of refined bulk sunflower and rapeseed emits 89 and 127 g equivalent CO2 and consumes 1.7 L and 0.8 L of water, respectively. Most impacts on the studied indicators stem from the farming phase. Energy and water consumptions during crushing and refining also weigh on the studied indicators. The results of this study provide a relevant overview of all sunflower and rapeseed oils produced in France, and are usable as standard values for vegetable oil producers and users. Oil supply chain operators can use these values to compare to their own process values and gauge the improvements brought about by their ecodesign strategies. For example, using a biomass boiler, using less packaging, and making different choices on seed suppliers can lead to a lower set of impact values.
Highlights
The aim of this study is to provide all necessary information to fit the national experiment for two standard oils: sunflower oil and rapeseed oil
The results of this study provide a relevant overview of all sunflower and rapeseed oils produced in France, and are usable as standard values for vegetable oil producers and users
As rapeseed is not irrigated in French practice, it has a lower impact on the “water consumption” indicator than sunflower crops
Summary
French “Grenelle” environmental legislation has laid down measures introducing a consumer-information environmental labelling scheme on fast-moving consumer goods. The ITERG started out by proposing “baseline standard” environmental labelling information for rapeseed oil and sunflower oil (i.e. representative of French output from 2010) under the ACéVOL project (FNCG 2012; ITERG 2012) sponsored by the key trade players (Onidol, FNCG [national fats industry federation], Lesieur, Saipol, Saint Hubert). In parallel to this groundwork, the ITERG applied the same core procedure to study:. – four margarines (salted and unsalted) listed in the Saint Hubert omega 3 product catalogue
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