Sustainability in Food Supply Chains: A Life Cycle Perspective

This Thesis evaluates sustainability within food supply chains (FSCs), addressing the critical need for comprehensive assessment tools. This research integrates a life cycle thinking approach to holistically assess food supply chains’ environmental, economic, and social impacts. The study proposes a methodological framework combining life cycle assessment (LCA), life cycle costing, and social LCA. Case studies from beef and fish cold supply chains evaluate baseline scenarios and energy efficiency measures, including anaerobic digestion and renewable energy integration. The Doctoral Thesis highlights the need for flexible and context-specific LCA boundaries, enabling tailored energy efficiency interventions in food supply chains. A developed life cycle sustainability tool further supports supply chain managers and decision-makers by providing precise inventory data and visual outputs, integrating economic values like net present value and internal rate of return.