Ripple LCA Report v5.abridged Cycle Assessment of Non-Dair… · The life cycle steps for dairy milk are slightly different, as shown in Figure 2. Figure 1. Non-Dairy Milk System

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1|RippleMilkLCAConfidentialCopyright©2017

LifeCycleAssessmentofRippleNon-DairyMilkPreparedbyAshleyHendersonandStefanUnnasch,LifeCycleAssociates,LLC.March2017

1. IntroductionRippleFoods,Inc.producesanon-dairymilkproductthatcontainsproteinandnutrientsfromyellowpeas.Therearemanyreasonstoexpectthatmilkmadefromyellowpeasshouldbehighlysustainable.Forone,peasarelegumes,andlikealllegumesarenitrogenfixing.Thismeansthattheyreplenishthenitrogencontentofthesoilswheretheyareplantedandrequireverylittlenitrogenfertilizer,whichisenergyintensivetoproducecommercially.Yellowfieldpeasarenotableforbeingtheleastexpensiveandhighestproteincontentnon-animalsourceofproteinavailable.Theyhaveaproteincontentofabout21-25%,andcanbesplitorgroundintoflourforhumanconsumption(Mckay,2003).Theyarealsonitrogenfixing,likealllegumes,whichmeanstheycanextractnitrogenfromtheairandneedverylittlenitrogenfertilizer.Theycanbeusedasatransitioncropbycommodityfarmersofthingslikewheattoavoidtheneedtotillandreducefertilizerrequirements.Yellowpeasarealsowaterefficient,capableofachieving30-bushelperacreyieldsononly10inchesofrainfall(Parker,2014).Inaddition,Ripplebottlesaremadefrom100%recyclablePETplastic,whichisitself100%recyclable.InordertoscientificallyassesstherelativeenvironmentalimpactsofRipplemilkandothersubstituteproducts,RippleembarkedonalifecycleassessmentstudytoquantifythegreenhousegasemissionsandwaterrequirementsofproductionanduseofRipplemilkascomparedtodairymilk,almondmilk,andsoymilk.

2. GoalandScopeThegoalsofthisstudyaretoexaminethegreatestcontributingfactorstoRipplemilk’sgreenhousegas(GHG)emissionsthroughoutitslifecycle,compareRipplemilktothemostpopulardairyandnon-dairymilksavailableintheUSmarket,andexaminethewaterconsumptionofyellowpeasascomparedtootherdairyandnon-dairymilkalternatives.ThescopeoftheGHGstudycoversfromthefarmingtoretailstepsofdairyandnon-dairymilkproduction,withtheaddedstepofpackagingproductionanddisposal.Thewaterfootprintcoversfarmingofcropsfornon-dairymilk,andthefarmingofcropsforcowfeedandcowfarmingactivitiesfordairymilk.

SystemBoundaryThesystemboundarydefinesthescopeofactivitiesandemissionsassociatedwithalifecycleanalysis.Generalclassesofinputsandoutputsareidentifiedforkeyprocessingsteps.Thesystemboundaryforthesubstituteproductsisthesametoensurethattheanalysisisperformedonaconsistentbasis.Transportemissionsoffinishedproductsareexcludedfrom

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thisstudybecausetheyarethesameinallcases,andthereforecancelout.ThesystemboundarydiagraminFigure1showsthelifecyclestepsthatareincludedintheRipple,almond,andsoymilklifecycleassessment.Thelifecyclestepsfordairymilkareslightlydifferent,asshowninFigure2.

Figure1.Non-DairyMilkSystemBoundaryDiagram

Figure2.DairyMilkSystemBoundaryDiagramEachofthepathwaysexaminedheregeneratesanumberofco-products.Forexamplepeamealisusedforanimalfeed,almondhuskscangenerateelectricpower,anddairymilkproductionresultsinbeefandtallow.Theprimaryproductistheproteinladenlegumeormilkandtheotherproductshavelesservalue.Aco-productcreditforthefeedproductsisappliedbasedoneconomicallocation.

FunctionalUnitThefunctionalunitforthelifecycleassessmentstudyisthemassofproteininaliterofmilk.Eachtypeofmilkcontainsadifferentamountofprotein.Therefore,withtheproteinfunctionalunit,thelifecycleemissionsforaliterofmilkaredividedbytheproteincontentinthemilk.ThismeanstheGHGemissionsandwaterusearecomparedbetweenthemilksbasedontheamountofproteinthatiscontainedinaliterofmilk.Reportingresultsbasedontheproteininaliterofmilktakesintoaccountthepackagingrequiredtodelivertheproteininthefunctionalunit.Theresultswouldbedifferentfordifferentsizesofmilkcontainerssincetheamountofpackagingrequiredtocontaindifferentvolumesdoesnotscalelinearly.

3. LCAModelingApproachLifecycleassessment(LCA)isamethodologyforstudyingthepotentialenvironmentalimpactsincurredthroughouttheentirelifeofaproductsystem.ThisLCAexaminespotentialemissions

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fromtheproduction,use,anddisposalofthesefourproductsintermsofGHGemissionsandfreshwaterconsumption.Everyproducthasitsownlifecycle,composedofmanydifferentsteps.ThelifecycleofRipplemilkincludesthefarmingofyellowpeas,theproductionofRiptein(aproteinisolateofyellowpeas),Ripplemilkproduction,retail,andproductionanddisposalofitsPETbeveragecontainer.Italsoincludestheproductionofallupstreaminputs,suchasfertilizer,electricity,andnaturalgas,andtransportofintermediateandfinishedproducts.Thisanalysisincludesallpathwayprocesssteps,includingprocessingpeasintoproteinisolate,milkprocessing,packaging,anddisposalofpackaging.Upstreamemissionsarealsoincluded.ThisreferstotheembeddedGHGburdenassociatedwithprocessinputssuchaselectricityandnaturalgas.EmissionfactorsforthemodelingofprocessGHGimpactsweretakenfromtheGREET_12016model.1Retailandtransporttoretailareexcludedfromthisanalysissincetheyareassumedtobeidenticalforallproducts.Thelifecyclesofothernon-dairymilksaresimilar.TheanalysisofdairymilkGHGemissionsreliesonpriorstudies,butincludescomparablesteps.

Non-DairyMilksDatawascollectedfromarangeofpubliclyavailablesourcestoreflectthefarminginputsoffertilizer,pesticides,andenergyforyellowpeas,almonds,andsoybeans.Fertilizerandpesticidedatawasnotavailableforyellowpeas;so,averagefarminginputsforlentilfarmingwereadjustedbasedongrowerreportsfromthepeafarmersthatsupplyRippleFoods(Muehlbauer,2016).Almondfarminginputsweretakenfroma2015lifecycleassessmentofalmondfarminginCaliforniathattookintoaccountthe26yearlifecycleofalmondtrees(Kendall,2015).Fertilizerneedsvaryoverthelifecycleofthetree,sothe26yearaveragenumberwasusedinthisanalysis.Pesticide,herbicide,andfarmingenergyinputsweretakenfromtheGREET12016modeldefaultsforsoybeanproduction.TheenvironmentalimpactsofallfarminginputsweremodeledinGREET2016(ANL,2014),whichincorporatestheupstreamemissionsforalloftheagriculturalinputs.ThecontributionofagriculturalemissionsforyellowpeasisshowninFigure4.Foralmonds,fieldemissionswereestimatedbasedon1.5%oftheappliednitrogenasalmondstonotresultinnitrogenfixationemissionsasshowninFigure4.

1ArgonneNationalLaboratory,ANL.(2016)."Thegreenhousegases,regulatedemissions,andenergyuseintransportation(GREET)model,Version1_2016."

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Figure3.AgriculturalGHGemissionsforRipplePeas(g/kgcrop).

Figure4.AgriculturalGHGemissionsforAlmonds(g/kgofcrop).Formostagriculturalcrops,oneofthelargestsourcesofGHGemissionsisN2Ofromappliednitrogenfertilizer.Inthecaseofnitrogenfixinglegumes,N2Oemissionsarealsoproducedfromthenitrogenassociatedwithfixation.ThusseveralsourcesofnitrogencontributetotheformationofN2O,unconvertedfertilizer,nitrogenfromfixationinnodulesaswellasabovegroundcropresidue.WhilelegumeresultinfixationemissionstheNperunitofcropiscomparabletoothercropslikecornandalmonds.TheseN2OsourceswereestimatedusingtheEuropeanCommission’sGlobalNitrousOxideCalculator,theGNOCmodel(EuropeanCommissionJRC,2014).FertilizerinputsandyieldsusedforsoybeansandyellowpeasinthisstudywereinputtedtotheGNOCmodelalongwiththegrowingregion,andthemodel

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determinedtheN2Oemissionsfromeverypotentialemissionsource,asshownforsoybeansinFigure5andforyellowpeasinFigure6.

Figure5.NitrousOxideEmissionsfromSoybeanFarming

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Figure6.NitrousOxideEmissionsfromYellowPeaFarmingFarmingemissionsaremultipliedbytheamountofplantmatterinthefinishedmilktogivethecarbonintensityoffarmingonavolumetricbasis.Thekgofplantmatterperliterofmilkaredeterminedbasedontheproteincontentofthefeedstockandtheproteincontentofthefinishedmilkproduct.Alossrateof27%isassumedforallnon-dairymilksbasedonRipple’sproprietaryprocessingdata,meaningthat1.38kgoffarmedplantmatterfeedstockwillbecome1kgofplantmatterinthefinishedmilkproduct.ProcessingdatasuchaselectricityandnaturalgasuseforproteinisolationandmilkproductionforRipplemilkwastakendirectlyfromfacilityoperatingdata.Twoscenarioswereconsideredforalmondmilkprocessing.InScenario1,almondmilkprocessingdatacopiesthemilkprocessingdataforsoymilk,takenfromapubliclyavailablestudywhichusedinventorydatafromtheEcoinventdatabase.Inscenario2,theprocessingdatafromRipple’sproductionprocesswasusedforalmondmilkprocessingandsoymilkprocessing,makingthethreeproductsequivalentforthislifecyclestage.Inallcases,processingemissionsresultfromtheuseofelectricityandnaturalgasinthefacilitythatprocessesthefeedstockintonon-dairymilk.TheresultinggreenhousegasemissionsfromelectricityandnaturalgasusageweremodeledbasedonGREET2016data.Ripplemilkispackagedinapolyethyleneterephthalate(PET)bottle,whilemostalmondandsoymilksarecontainedinaTetraPakbox,whichismadeofseverallayersofmaterialincludingaluminum,paperboard,andpolyethylene.ThePETusedinRipplemilkbottlesis100%recycledPET.Tetrapaksaremorechallengingtorecycle,butitistechnicallypossible.Thisstudy

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assumesarecyclingrateof12.66%forTetraPaks.ThegreenhousegasemissionsassociatedwithPETcollectionandrecyclingweretakenfroma2011LCAofPETbeveragebottlesconsumedinCalifornia(Kuczenski,2011).Thegreenhousegasemissionsassociatedwithtetrapackproduction,collection,andrecyclingweretakenfroma2012lifecycleassessmentofItalianTetraPakproduction,andassumea1000mLcontainerwithapolyethylenecap(Scipioni,2012).Inaddition,watermovementandpumpingcontributetotheenergycostofthetransportationofwaterinthestateofCalifornia,wheremuchofthepopulationlivesincitiesthataredistantfromfreshwatersources,especiallyintheSouthernhalfofthestate.Manyagriculturalregionsareinareasthathavelimitednaturalwaterresources,whereagricultureismadepossiblebythevastnetworkofcanalsthattransportwaterfromtheColoradoRiver,SanJoaquinRiver,andSierramountains.Californiaproduces83%oftheworldalmonds,andthemajorityofthesearegrownintheSanJoaquinValleyregion(Geisseler,2014).TheenergyrequiredtodeliverywatertoagriculturehasbeenstudiedandwasreportedoninaCaliforniaEnergyCommissionreportonCalifornia’sWater-EnergyRelationship(Klein,2005).Onaverage,thedeliveryofwatertoafarm,excludingirrigationpumpingenergy,whichisalreadyincludedinGREET’sestimatesforfarmingGHGemissions,amountsto0.0003kWh/gallon.Thisnumberwasmultipliedbytheamountofsurfaceandrainwater(i.e.greenandbluewater,asdefinedinsection7onwaterfootprinting)requiredforalmondgrowinginCaliforniatodeterminetheaddedenergyforwatertransportinCalifornia.

DairyMilkThelifecycleofdairymilkinvolvestheproductionofcornandotherfeedforcows,manuremanagementandentericemissions,andtheallocationofemissionsbetweenmilkandmeatproduction.Anin-depthanalysisofdairyfarmingwasoutsidethescopeofthisstudy.Instead,thecarbonintensityofdairymilkwastakenfromtwo2013studiesthatexaminedthecradletofarmgateandthefarmgatetoendoflifeemissionsofAmericanproduceddairymilk(Thoma,2013a,2013b).Thesestudiesusedabiophysicalapproachtoallocationasdescribedintheir2012publication(Thoma,2012).EmissionsfromtransporttoretailandrefrigerationweresubtractedfortheRippleanalysisinordertobeconsistentwiththeassumptionsandscopefortheLCAofnon-dairymilklifecycles.Dairymilkisassumedtobepackagedinahigh-densitypolyethylene(HDPE)containerwith29%recycledcontent.ThegreenhousegasemissionsfordairypackagingaretakenfromtheThomaet.allifecycleassessmentofdairyproduction(Thoma,2013a).

InventoryDataSourcesThesourcesofdataforthelifecycleinputsforeachproductwereselectedtobeasrecentandgeographicallyrelevantaspossible.ArangeofpublishedliteratureandnationaldatasourceswereusedinthisLCA.Table1showsthesourceofdataforeachaspectofthelifecycleassessmentmodeldescribedabove.

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Table1.LifeCycleInventoryDataSourcingLifeCycleStage RippleMilk AlmondMilk SoyMilk DairyMilkFeedstockproduction

(Muehlbauer,2016);(USDA,2016)

(Kendall,2015) (USDA,2016) *farm-to-farmgate(Thoma,2013b)

Proteinisolation RippleData Ecoinvent Ecoinvent N/AMilkproduction RippleData Ecoinvent Ecoinvent (Thoma,2013a)Packaging&EOL (Kuczenski,2011) (Scipioni,2012) (Scipioni,2012) (Thoma,2013a)WaterConsumption

(Mekonnen,2010b)

(Mekonnen,2010b)

(Mekonnen,2010b)

(Mekonnen,2010a)

4. GreenhouseGasLCAModelLifecycleinventory(LCI)datareflectstheemissionsassociatedwithfarminginputs,processfuels,transportsegments,andanyprocessorinputrelevanttoproduction.Emissionscanoccurdirectly,asinthecaseoffertilizeroff-gassingornaturalgascombustion,orindirectly,asinthecaseofinputstofarmingsuchasfertilizerorpesticides,whichreflecttheemissionsrequiredforproduction.InthisLCA,emissionsthatwerecalculatedfromprocessinventorydatausetheemissionfactorsintheGREET2016model.LCIdatainGREET2016areorganizedasacolumn(orarray)ofenergyuseandemissionsvalues.AnLCIarraycanrepresentasingleprocessfuelorfeedstock,suchasnaturalgasusedforfuelproduction,oritcanrepresentaggregatedfuelcycleresults,suchasethanoltransportanddistribution.Forexample,theLCIarrayresultforU.S.averagenaturalgascombustedinastationaryreciprocatingengineispresentedinTable2.Thelifecycledataareorganizedintwoarraysinthiscase,usingthemethodologyoftheGREETmodel,buttheresultscanbepresentedatanylevelofdisaggregation.ThefirstcolumnaccountsfortheWTTenergyuseandemissionsassociatedwithnaturalgasrecovery(extraction)andtransport,processingtopipelinegas,andpipelinedeliverytothepointofuse.ThesecondcolumnshowsnaturalgasengineemissionfactorsandthethirdcolumnindicatesthetotalnaturalgasLCIarray.Thetableindicatesthatmostoffuelcycleemissionsfornaturalgas(andallfossilfuels)arisefromthefuelcombustion(thecarboninfuel)ratherthanfromfuelproduction.

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Table2.ExampleLCIDataforNaturalGasCombustedasaStationaryFuel(GREET_12015)

NaturalGasLifeCycleEmissionFactors(g/mmBtu)

Recovery,Processing,&Pipelinetransport

StationaryFuel

CombustionTotal

EmissionsVOC 10.36 2.54 12.90CO 32.19 24.97 57.16NOx 40.56 41.05 81.61PM10 0.56 3.51 4.07PM2.5 0.49 3.51 3.99SOx 12.02 0.27 12.29BC 0.15 0.58 0.73OC 0.16 1.50 1.66CH4 207.42 1.06 208.48N2O 1.42 0.35 1.77CO2 6,747 59,363 66,110CO2c 6,830 59,413 66,243

TheLCIdataarecombined(multiplied)withlifecycleinputparameterstomodellifecycleenergyuseandemissionsassociatedwitheachpathwayinput.Lifecycleinputparameterscharacterizeallpathwaysteps,includingfeedstockproduction,chemicalsandnaturalgasorwasteheatforprocessing,fuelfordistribution,andfuelcombustion.Table4showsthemodelinputsfortheRippleLCAmodel.

AllocationMethodAllocationreferstothepartitioningofinputsandoutputstomorethanoneproductoutput.ISO14044providesguidelinesonhowtohandleallocation.First,wheneverpossible,itshouldbeavoidedbydividingtheunitprocessessothatthereisnoco-production,orbyexpandingthesystemtotakeintoaccountthefunctionsoftheco-products.Whenallocationcannotbeavoided,inputsandoutputsshouldbepartitionedbasedontheunderlyingphysicalrelationshipsbetweentheproductsandtheiruses,suchasbyenergycontentormass.Ifphysicalrelationshipscannotbeusedasabasisforallocation,theninputsandoutputsshouldbeallocatedinawaythatreflectstherelationshipoftheco-productstooneanother,suchastheirrelativeeconomicmarketvalue.TheproductionofpeaisolateforRipplemilkresultsintheco-productionofstarchandfiberthatareusedasanimalfeed.Likewise,almondandsoymilkalsohaveco-products.Almondshellsareburnedforelectricityandalmondhusksareusedforanimalfeed.Soymilkproductionalsoresultsinananimalfeedco-product.TheRippleprocessconvertspeafeedtopeaisolate.Peastarchisaco-productthatissoldasanimalfeed.AsimplifiedflowdiagramisshowninFigure7.ForthepurposesoftheLCA,energyinputsandemissionswereallocatedtotheprocessedmaterialandthepeastarch.

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SeveraloptionsforallocationarepossiblewiththeresultsshowninTable3.Thestarchhasalowervaluethantheprocessedprotein.Thereforeaneconomicallocationwasselectedasthemostrepresentativeapproach.ThismethodisconsistentwiththeLCAofalmondsperformedbyUCDavis.

Figure7.EconomicAllocationProcessFlowDiagramforRipplePeasThevalueoftheprocessedpeaproteiniscalculatedfromthedifferenceinthepriceofthepeafeedandthestarch.Starchisvaluedatthepriceofcorn.Thereforethevalueofthepeafeedisdeterminedbydifference,whichprovidesthebasisfortheeconomicallocation.

Table3.RippleCo-productAllocationMethod

ComponentPrice($/kg) Mass(kg)

EconomicValue($)

Protein(kg)

Pea $0.25 1000 $249.12 220Starch $0.14 411.6 $59.14 82.5ProcessedPea $0.32 588.4 $189.98 137.5PeaAllocationFactor 58.84% 76.26% 62.50%

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Table4.LCAModelingInputs

ParameterRippleMilk

AlmondMilk

SoyMilk DairyMilk1

FarmingInputs Nitrogen(lb/lb) 0.0052 0.1070 0.006 P2O5(lb/lb) 0.0074 0 0.017 K2O(lb/lb) 0.0148 0.1070 0.028 Diesel(Btu/tonne) 519,149 519,149 519,149 Pesticides(g/tonne) 42.9 42.9 42.9 Herbicide(g/tonne) 300 300 300 CAWaterTransportEnergy(kWh/tonne) 531.8 Processing Electricity(kWh/kgmilk) 0.213 0.2182 0.218 NaturalGas(MJ/kgmilk) 3.191 2.0432 2.043 Additives Sunfloweroil(%bymass) 1.40% CaneSugar(%bymass) 2.37% 2.88% 2.84% AdditionalParameters Proteincontentoffinishedmilk 3.31% 0.41% 3.29% 3.38%Plantcontentoffinishedmilk(kg/kg) 0.208 0.026 0.123

1.Dairymilkinputsarenotshownsincedairymilklifecycleemissionsarebasedonliteraturesourcesonly.2.Almondmilkprocessinginputsareassumedtobethesameassoymilk.

LifeCycleImpactAssessmentTheGREETmodelisconfiguredtodetermineenergyinputs,GHGemissions,andcriteriapollutantimpacts.ThisanalysisfocusesonGHGemissions.GHGemissionsareexpressedasgramsofcarbondioxideequivalentperliterofmilk(gCO2e/L),andarereferredtoasthecarbonintensity(CI).TheGHGemissionsconstituentsconsideredinthisanalysisareCO2,N2O,CH4,CO,andvolatileorganiccompounds(VOCs).Globalwarmingpotentials(GWP)(gCO2e/gconstituent)forCH4andN2OaretakenfromtheIntergovernmentalPanelonClimateChange(IPCC)globalwarmingpotential(GWP)values(IPCC2007)fora100yeartimehorizon.COandVOCareoxidizedtoCO2intheatmosphere,andthushaveaGWPof1whenexpressedasCO2(fullyoxidizedform).Theanalysisexcludestheclimateimpactofsecondaryandhigherorderatmosphericspeciesthatarisefromdirectemissions,includingozone,oxidesofnitrogen(NOx),andsecondaryaerosols.

5. GreenhouseGasLCAResultsTwoscenarioswereconsideredinthisanalysisduetothelackofprimarydataontheprocessingofalmondmilk.Inthefirstscenario,electricityandnaturalgasfacilityinputsforalmondmilkproductionaretakenfromEcoinvent(Weidema,2013).Inthesecondscenario,theprocessingenergyreportedbyRipplefacilitieswasusedforalmondprocessingaswell.

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Twofunctionalunitswerealsoconsideredinbothscenarios.Inthefirstcase,GHGemissionresultsareshownonaperliterofmilkbasis.Inthesecondcase,GHGemissionresultsareshownintermsoftheamountofproteininaLofmilk.Theco-productcreditforRippleandAlmondmilkiscalculatedbasedonthefollowingformula:Credit=(1-AllocationFactor)*(Farming+ProcessingEmissions)Thefeedco-productresultsfromthefarmingandprocessingsteps,sotheallocationfactorisonlyappliedtothesetwosteps.

Table5.Scenario1:GHGLifeCycleEmissions

Scenario 1: Baseline1a. Volume Basis

Results (g CO2e/L milk) Ripple Almond Soy DairyFarming 64.8 33.5 31.2 1,273 Processing 343 259 262 112 Packaging & EOL 76.1 104.4 104.4 82.3 Co-Product Credit (96.9) (16.5) Total (g CO2e/L milk) 387 396 397 1,467

1b. Protein Basis

Results (g CO2e/kg protein) Ripple Almond Soy Dairy Farming 1,959 1,013 942 38,461 Processing 10,373 62,917 7,956 3,305 Packaging & EOL 2,300 25,412 3,174 2,434 Co-Product Credit (2,928) (4,016) Total (g CO2e/kg protein in a L of milk) 24,467 149,831 19,627 44,199

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Figure8.LifeCycleGHGsEmissionsonaProteinBasis

Table6.Scenario1:GHGLifeCycleEmissions

Scenario 2: Almond Milk Modeled Using Ripple Processing Data2a. Volume Basis

Results (g CO2e/L milk) Ripple Almond Soy DairyFarming 64.8 33.5 31.2 1,273 Processing 343 337 341 112 Packaging & EOL 76.1 104 104 82.3 Co-Product Credit (96.9) (20.9) Total (g CO2e/L milk) 484 475 476 1,467

2b. Protein Basis

Results (g CO2e/kg protein) Ripple Almond Soy Dairy Farming 1,959 8,159 948 38,695 Processing 10,373 81,915 10,360 3,305 Packaging & EOL 2,300 25,412 3,174 2,434 Co-Product Credit (2,928) (5,089) Total (g CO2e/kg protein in a L of milk) 24,467 194,709 24,376 44,433

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Figure9.LifeCycleGHGEmissionsonaProteinBasis

6. WaterFootprintModelTheamountoffreshwaterusedtoproduceacroporafoodproductcanbesubstantial.Waterfootprintingisamethodforestimatingtheamountofwaterconsumedintheproductionanduseofaproduct.Thewaterfootprintofaproductisdefinedasthetotalvolumeoffreshwaterthatisusedtoproducetheproduct(Hoekstraetal.,2009).Thegrid-baseddynamicwaterbalancemodeldevelopedbyMekonnenandHoekstra,2010,computesadailysoilwaterbalanceandcalculatescropwaterrequirements,actualcropwateruse(bothgreenandblue)andactualyields.Awaterfootprintcanincludethreedifferentcategoriesofwaterconsumption:

• Bluewater:Consumptivewateruseoriginatingfromground/surfacewater• Greenwater:Consumptivewateruseoriginatingfromrainwater• Greywater:Volumeofground/surfacewaterpolluted(requiredforassimilationof

fertilizersorpesticides)

Inthecaseofrainfedagriculture,bluewaterfootprintiszeroandgreenwateruseiscalculatedbysummingupevapotranspirationperdayoverthegrowingseasonoftheplant.Inthecaseofirrigatedcrops,greenandbluewaterconsumptioniscalculatedbasedonsoilwaterbalance.ThegreywaterfootprintmodeledbyMekonnenandHoekstrarefersonlytothewaterrequiredtoassimilatenitrogenfertilizerrunoff.Allthreecategoriesofwaterconsumptionareincludedinthiswaterfootprintanalysis(Mekonnen,2011).WaterconsumptiondatacomefromtheMekonnenandHoekstraUnescoValueofWaterResearchReportSeriesnumbers47and48.RipplepeasaregrownintheNorthernUSandCanada.U.S.averagevaluesareusedfortheotherthreeproductssinceRippleproductsmaybecompetingagainstarangeofmilkproductsfromalloverthecountry.Drypeas,almonds,andsoybeanwaterconsumptionareoriginallyreportedincubicmeterspertonofcropandareadjustedbasedonthe

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amountofcropthatendsupinthefinishedmilktoshowthewaterfootprintperliterofmilkonaproteinbasis.Dairymilkwaterconsumptionisalreadyallocatedtothefinishedmilkproductandisreportedintermsofcubicmeterspertonofmilk.Sincenon-dairymilksallhavesomeamountofaddedsugar,thewaterassociatedwithcanesugarproductionwasalsoincluded.Table7showsthewaterfootprintoftheeachcropandfinishedmilkproduct.Theamountofwaterittakestoproduceatonofalmondsisapproximately6.8timestheamountofwaterittakestoproduceatonofpeas.Butcomparedonaproteinbasisperliterofmilk,almondmilktakes5.7timesasmuchwaterasRipplemilk.DairymilkwaterconsumptionisapproximatelydoublethatofRipplemilk,andsoymilkwateruseisroughlyhalfthatofRipplemilk.

Table7.WaterFootprintResultsProduct Peas,dry1 Almonds2 Soybeans3 Milk,1-6%fat4

Region Saskatchewan USAvg USAvg USAvgWater(m3/toncrop) 1,928 13,055 1,662 8215Water(m3/kgcrop) 2.1 14.4 1.8 N/AWater(gal/Lmilkonaproteinbasis) 4,855 26,263 2,182 7,321

1. Peas dried, shelled, whether or not skinned or split (Product code HS 71310) 2. Almonds, fresh or dried, shelled or peeled (Product code HS 080212) 3. Soya beans (Product code HS 120100) 4. Milk not concentrated & unsweetened exceeding 1% not exceeding 6% fat (Produce code HS 040120) 5. Dairy milk water use is reported in m3/ton of finished milk

Sources: Mekonnen, M.M. and Hoekstra, A.Y. (2010).Value of Water Research Report Series No. 47, UNESCO-IHE, Delft, the Netherlands. The green, blue and grey water footprint of crops and derived crop products; Mekonnen, M.M. and Hoekstra, A.Y. (2010). The green, blue and grey water footprint of farm animals and animal products, Value of Water Research Report Series No. 48, UNESCO-IHE, Delft, the Netherlands. Figure10showstherangeofwaterusevaluesacrossdifferentgeographicregions,brokendownbytheamountofblue,green,andgreywater.AsshowninFigure10,reportingonlythetotalamountofwaterobscurestherelativeamountofblue,green,andgreywaterthatcontributestothattotal.Drypeasuseverylittlebluewaterinallofthelocationscited,andnoneinSaskatchewan.GreywateristhelargestcontributortoUSaveragewaterusefordrypeas,muchhigherthantheglobalaverageortheSaskatchewangreywaterpollutionnumbers.Almondsaretheonlycropshownthatuseslargeamountofbluewater,inadditiontogreenandgreywater.ThisislikelybecausealmondsintheUSaremostlygrowninthewaterscarceCaliforniaregionoftheSanJoaquindelta,meaningthereisverylittlerainfallandmostofthewaterusedisirrigationbasedorfromgroundwater.

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Figure10.WaterUseComparisonbyGeographicRegionWaterscarcityreferstoeitherthelackofenoughwater(quantity)orlackofaccesstosafewater(quality).Areaswithpoormanagementorlowrainfallandgroundwaterresourceareliabletoexperiencemorewaterscarcity.TheUNEP/SocietyforEnvironmentalToxicologyandChemistry(SETAC)LifeCycleInitiativefoundedthewateruseLCA(WULCA)in2007tofocusonwateruseassessmentandwaterfootprintingfromalifecycleperspective.TheyhavesincedevelopedamethodologyforassessingwaterscarcityisknownastheAWAREmethod(AvailableWaterRemaining),representingtherelativeAvailableWAterREmainingperareainawatershed,afterthedemandofhumansandaquaticecosystemshasbeenmet(WULCA,2016).WaterScarcityFootprint=WaterConsumption× !

"#$%&$'%&%()*+,-$./

Thegrouphasmadepublicthegoogleearthfileswiththeircalculatedwaterscarcityfactorsbywatershedforthewholeplanet.Warmercolorsindicatehigherlevelsofyearroundaveragewaterscarcityandcoldercolorsindicatelowerlevelsofscarcity.Ascouldbeexpected,thedrierclimateoftheSouthwesternUSresultsinhigherlevelsofwaterscarcity.

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Figure11.WaterScarcityMapofNorthAmericaTakingintoaccountthewaterscarcityfactorsforCalifornia,Idaho,andSaskatchewan,whichare88,1.7,and6,respectively,yieldtheresultsshowninTable8.Withwaterscarcitytakenintoaccount,growingalmondsrequiresabout100timesasmuchwaterpertonofcropasdrypeas.Theamountofalmondthatendsupinalmondmilkrequires93timesmorewateronaproteinbasis.AssumingthewaterscarcityfactorforCaliforniaresultsindairymilkrequiringabout28timesmorewaterperliterofmilkonbothavolumetricandproteinbasis.

Table8.WaterFootprintResultsProduct Peas,dry1 Almonds2 Milk,1-6%fat4

Region Saskatchewan USAvg USAvgWaterScarcityFactor6 6 88 88Water(m3/toncrop) 11,568 1,148,840 72,248Water(m3/kgcrop) 12.8 1,266.4 Water(m3/Lmilk) 2.86 33.153 82.43Water(gal/Lmilk) 755 8,758 21,775Water(gal/Lmilkonaproteinbasis) 22,816 2,131,354 644,229

1. Peas dried, shelled, whether or not skinned or split (Product code HS 71310)

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2. Almonds, fresh or dried, shelled or peeled (Product code HS 080212) 3. Soya beans (Product code HS 120100) 4. Milk not concentrated & unsweetened exceeding 1% not exceeding 6% fat (Produce code HS 040120) 5. Dairy milk water use is reported in m3/ton of finished milk 6. http://www.wulca-waterlca.org/project.html

7. DiscussionTheGHGemissionsassociatedwithgrowingyellowpeasaremuchlowerthantheemissionsassociatedwithalmondgrowing.However,duetotherelativelysmallamountofalmondsthatendupinalmondmilk,thelifecycleimpactsofalmondmilkonavolumebasisareverylow.However,theactualnutritionalvalueofthemilkiscloselylinkedtotheproteincontent.WhenyoucompareRipplemilktoalmondmilkonaproteinbasis,almondmilkhasGHGemissionsthatareeighttimesashighasRipplemilk.Sincedairymilkishighinproteincontent,whileitsGHGemissionsarethreetimesashighasRipplemilkonavolumetricbasis,theyareonlyabouttwiceashighonaproteinbasis.SoymilkhasaverysimilarGHGprofiletothatofRipplemilk,whichistobeexpectedgiventhattheyarebothnitrogen-fixinglegumeswithahighproteincontent.Animportantsourceofuncertaintyinthisstudyistheenergyusedintheprocessingofalmondandsoybeancropsintoaproteinisolateandfinishednon-dairymilk.TheprocessenergyforRipplemilkcomesfromRipplefacilities,andhasahighlevelofconfidenceassociatedwithit.However,theprocessenergyforsoymilkwastakenfromastudythatreliedontheEcoinventdatabase,whichtypicallyincludesEuropeanprocessdata,wherepracticesmaydifferfromthoseintheUnitedStates.Almondmilkprocessdatawasnotavailableatall,andsotwoscenarioswererun,oneusingthesoyprocessingdatafromEcoinventandoneusingthepeaprocessingdatafromRipple’sprimarydata.However,thealmondlifecycleresultswerecomparedtotherecentUCDavisstudyofalmondfarming,andthetotallifecycleGHGswerefoundtobecomparable,withourstudyfindingacarbonintensityofroughly1.2kgCO2e/kgalmondscomparedtotheUCDavisstudy’sfindingof1.6kgCO2e/kgalmonds.Alimitationofthestudyisthatmostnon-dairymilkshaveseveraladdedingredientsinordertoimprovethetasteprofile,nutritionalcontent,andtextureofthefinishedproduct.Theaddedsugarinnon-dairymilkwasincludedboththeGHGanalysisandthewaterfootprint.Ripplemilkalsocontainssunfloweroil,andtheGHGemissionsfromthiswereincludedintheRippleLCA.However,otheradditivessuchasemulsifiers,flavorenhancers,andvitaminswereexcludedfromthisstudy.Inaddition,theexactformulaforsoymilkandalmondmilkproductswasnotknown,andthereforemayincludeadditionalingredientssimilartosunfloweroilthatwerenotincluded.

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AcronymsBtu BritishthermalunitsCO2e Carbondioxide-equivalentGHG GreenhouseGasHHV HigherheatingvalueLCA LifecycleassessmentLCI Lifecycleinventory LHV LowerheatingValueMJ Megajoule(=947.83Btu)mmBtu MillionBritishthermalunitsMWh megawatt-hour

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