What role can environmental assessment tools play in food system transformation, and how best can they be applied? This was the topic of a workshop, convened by TUKFS, which took place on the 8th November 2024 at the University of Reading.
The workshop was an opportunity for Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) practitioners from across the programme to share research insights from TUKFS projects as well as with stakeholders working at the intersection of the food system and life cycle assessment. Keynote talks were delivered by Dr Tara Garnett (Environmental Change Institute, University of Oxford), Dr Laurence Smith (University of Reading), and Lesley Mitchell (then Policy Director , Sustainable Food Trust).
LCA is a tool used to assess the environmental impacts of a product across its entire life cycle – from the extraction of natural resources, through the production and use stages to waste management (including disposal and recycling). The purpose of LCA is to avoid problem shifting from one life cycle stage to another stage, or from one environmental impact to another impact.
Key themes for discussion included the need for a multi sector space to accelerate data exchange as well as for harmonisation and alignment on methodologies to allow for better cohesion and analysis at national, regional and global scales.
Read the report: Making life cycle assessment work for a food system transformation
