Development of an italian life cycle inventory database of agri-food products (ILCIDAF)

The application of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology implies the collection of primary field data concerning the system under study and the use of secondary data from reliable and accurate databases, the quality of which is crucial as it influences the overall results of the analysis. In Italy, for agri-food systems, LCA practitioners use data from foreign databases that are not representative of the specificities of Italian systems. It is therefore necessary to develop projects and initiatives aimed at setting up national databases referring to products that are significant for the national territory. In this regard, the Project of Significant National Interest (PRIN 2017, Prot. 2017EC9WF2,), financed by the Ministry of University and Research, entitled “Promoting agri-food sustainability: Development of an Italian Life Cycle Inventory Database of Agri-Food Products (ILCIDAF)” has been launched. It aims to develop an Italian Life Cycle Inventory (LCI) database, regionalised and dedicated to four agri-food supply chains considered to be among the most relevant for the Italian economic sector (bread and pasta, wine, olive oil, citrus fruits). Each supply chain was developed considering the agricultural phase, the intermediate processing phase and the final product processing phase. The datasets were developed using a statistical and an on-field approach for the collection of inventory data. The result of the ILCIDAF project is the development of 924 datasets that are freely available on the dedicated website.