Plant based meat alternative, from cradle to company-gate: A case study uncovering the environmental impact of the Swedish pea protein value chain

Abstract

Dry-fractioned pea protein concentrate can be moulded into meat-analogue products, and understanding the environmental impact and hot spots of this expanding industry segment could pave the road to broader adoption of these protein sources. Hence, this research measures the environmental performance of a green pea protein supply chain in southern Sweden that processes pea protein concentrate into pea protein sausages. A cradle-to-factory-gate life-cycle assessment was performed. 1 kg of pea protein concentrate at 46% and 1 kg of pea protein sausages were chosen as functional units, while ReCiPe 2016 v1.1 Midpoint E was utilized to calculate 18 impact categories. Economic allocation was applied to pea protein processing, and mass allocation to sausage production, using 2021/22 data from Swedish companies. For 1 kg of pea protein concentrate of 46%, cultivation contributes to 41–99% of the total impact considering all 18 impact categories, while processing 1–59%. The climate impact was 1.91 kg CO2eq/kg pea protein concentrate (1.54 from the cultivation step and 0.37 from the processing step). For 1 kg of pea protein sausages, cultivation and sausage production contributed together between 32% and 78% to the total impacts. The climate impact was 1.0 kg CO2eq/kg sausage. Comparing the climate impacts of sausage ingredients, rapeseed oil and spices contributed significantly. For the sausage production stage, electricity and natural gas contributed the most. The results for climate impact are in the same range as for similar plant-based products, although the range reported in literature is wide. Green pea cultivation, sausage production and ingredients contributed all significantly. The results highlight the need to address the choice of ingredients when formulating the final product. The choice of allocation method had a significant impact on the results. Mass allocation resulted in 6 times lower impacts for the pea protein concentrate compared to economic allocation.