Arla Foods, 8260 Viby, Denmark.
J Dairy Sci. 2011 Dec;94(12):5833-41. doi: 10.3168/jds.2011-4545.
To reduce the environmental impact of a product efficiently, it is crucial to consider the entire value chain of the product; that is, to apply life cycle thinking, to avoid suboptimization and identify the areas where the largest potential improvements can be made. This study analyzed the carbon footprint (CF) of butter and dairy blend products, with the focus on fat content and size and type of packaging (including product waste at the consumer level). The products analyzed were butter with 80% fat in 250-g wrap, 250-g tub, and 10-g mini tub, and blends with 80% and 60% fat in 250-g tubs. Life cycle assessment was used to account for all greenhouse gas emissions from cow to consumer. A critical aspect when calculating the CF is how emissions are allocated between different products. Here, allocation of raw milk between products was based on a weighted fat and protein content (1:1.7), based on the price paid for raw milk to dairy farmers. The CF (expressed as carbon dioxide equivalents, CO₂e) for 1 kg of butter or blend (assuming no product waste at consumer) ranged from 5.2 kg (blend with 60% fat content) to 9.3 kg of CO₂e (butter in 250-g tub). When including product waste at the consumer level, the CF ranged from 5.5 kg of CO₂e (blend with 60% fat content) to 14.7 kg of CO₂e (butter in mini tub). Fat content and the proportion of vegetable oil in products had the greatest effect on CF of the products, with lower fat content and a higher proportion of vegetable oil resulting in lower CF. Hence, if the same functionality as butter could be retained while shifting to lower fat and higher proportions of vegetable oil, the CF of the product would be decreased. Size and type of packaging were less important, but it is crucial to have the correct size and type of packaging to avoid product losses at the consumer. The greatest share of greenhouse gas emissions associated with butter production occurred at the farm level; thus, minimizing product losses in the whole value chain--from cow to consumer--is essential for efficient production.
为了有效地降低产品对环境的影响，考虑产品的整个价值链至关重要；也就是说，要应用生命周期思维，避免次优化，并确定可以最大程度提高改进潜力的领域。本研究分析了黄油和乳制品混合物产品的碳足迹（CF），重点是脂肪含量以及包装的大小和类型（包括消费者层面的产品浪费）。分析的产品包括脂肪含量为 80%的 250 克包装黄油、250 克包装桶和 10 克迷你包装桶，以及脂肪含量为 80%和 60%的 250 克包装桶的混合物。生命周期评估用于核算从奶牛到消费者的所有温室气体排放。在计算 CF 时，一个关键方面是如何在不同产品之间分配排放。在这里，根据向奶农支付的原料奶价格，基于原料奶的脂肪和蛋白质含量（1:1.7），在产品之间分配原料奶。1 公斤黄油或混合物（假设消费者没有产品浪费）的 CF（以二氧化碳当量表示，CO₂e）范围为 5.2 公斤（脂肪含量为 60%的混合物）至 9.3 公斤的 CO₂e（250 克包装桶中的黄油）。当包括消费者层面的产品浪费时，CF 范围从 5.5 公斤的 CO₂e（脂肪含量为 60%的混合物）到 14.7 公斤的 CO₂e（迷你包装桶中的黄油）。产品中的脂肪含量和植物油比例对产品的 CF 影响最大，脂肪含量越低，植物油比例越高，CF 越低。因此，如果在向低脂肪和高植物油比例转变的同时保持与黄油相同的功能，产品的 CF 将降低。包装的大小和类型不太重要，但拥有正确的大小和类型的包装以避免消费者层面的产品损失至关重要。与黄油生产相关的温室气体排放的最大份额发生在农场层面；因此，从奶牛到消费者的整个价值链中最大限度地减少产品损失对于高效生产至关重要。
