Linking life cycle assessment to bioeconomic modelling with positive mathematical programming: An alternative approach to calibration

Abstract

Increased attention has been paid to extending the use of agricultural life cycle assessment by linking it to bioeconomic models with positive mathematical programming. Previous extension studies might have provided insufficient support to potential users (e.g. policymakers) in finding effective means of operating an agriculture industry in a sustainable manner. This is partly a result of the fact that orthodox positive mathematical programming involves numerous calibration methods that reproduce the original land-area allocation at the reference point, implying that they generate as many simulation results as the number of calibration methods themselves. To have more of an impact, the present study proposed a procedure for using simulation results to determine a calibration method. As an illustration, the proposed procedure was applied to an upland cropping system in Hokkaido, Japan. It was observed that the selected calibration method outperformed the average cost method, the method used most frequently in practice, for the specified dataset. The procedure suggested in the present study proved to be more flexible than previous approaches with respect to the selection process of calibration methods, and it could be regarded as a step toward harmonizing the extended use of life cycle assessment with bioeconomic modelling. Implications for bioeconomic models and agricultural life cycle assessments are then discussed. The present study adds a new analytical method to the existing knowledge on the extended use of life cycle assessment with bioeconomic models.