Pathway to carbon neutral – life cycle analysis in almond orchards (AL20005)

This project conducted a life cycle assessment (LCA) of the Australian almond industry, given a growing interest in greenhouse gas emissions reductions, climate risk, carbon disclosure reporting and environmental, as well as social and corporate governance. The research would allow the industry’s claims and strategies relating to emission reductions to be supported by industry data. 

Challenge 

The Australian almond industry has experienced significant growth, providing high-quality and nutritious food both domestically and internationally. However, like other sectors in the agricultural and food supply chain, it faces heightened scrutiny, primarily focused on the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. 

Influential factors include increased consumer demand pressuring major retailers, along with investor, legal, and regulatory emphasis on climate risk and carbon disclosure reporting.  

On a global scale, the almond industry contends that it can achieve low-carbon, sustainable production. Yet, in an era where regulators intensify their focus on preventing greenwashing, substantiating these claims with regional industry-specific data has become essential.  

Response 

Conducting a comprehensive LCA for the Australian almond industry – considering the entire production process from on-farm nut collection to transportation, processing, and innovations in orchard management – was seen as an imperative.  

A benchmarking report was conducted, comparing domestic and international LCA studies from the almond industry with five other comparable industries in terms of global warming potential, land use, water consumption and co-product generation.  

While developing the benchmarking report, growers and processors within the Australian almond industry were connected with and the required data to conduct the lifecycle assessment was collected.  

A mitigation workshop was held with a group of industry stakeholders to gather insights into which mitigation initiatives were already being practiced, along with the perceptions of other initiatives applied in the industry. This list was categorised into ‘quick wins’, ‘incremental changes’ and ‘major projects’, catering for industry members at any stage of their carbon reduction journey.   

Benefit 

The resulting initiatives from the mitigation workshop were assessed for modeling and behaviour change considerations, including cost benefits associated to switching from existing practice to the alternatives and other behaviour change levers. This analysis was aligned to an action plan, summarising the opportunities available for the industry to transition towards net zero.   

To further enable and inform the industry of impacts and opportunities, an interactive LCA tool was developed for public release. This places the LCA results in the hands of each grower and processor, revealing the changing hotspots and opportunity areas as the user modifies their inputs.   

Beyond environmental considerations, the industry has an opportunity to enhance awareness of its environmental footprint and explore engagement with the expanding carbon offset market in Australia.