Smail ALHILALI

Cleaner & Sustainable Production Unit

Environmental Management Branch

UNIDO

3rd Global Networking Conference on RECP

(RECPnet)

Sustainable Agro Value Chains

3 September 2013Montreux, Switzerland

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Developing an environmental tool for the agro-industry

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GII• Achieving equitable economic growth without

harming the environment• Seizing opportunities in terms of sustainable

industrial development• Growing global demand for green solutions

3ADI• Accelerating the development of agribusiness

and agro-industries• Promoting sustainable development• Adding value to agricultural commodities

Designing a tool for the diagnosis and remediation of environmental sustainability of agro value chainsTool

Millennium Development Goals• Accelerating the development of agribusiness and agro-industries• Promoting sustainable development• Adding value to agricultural commodities

UNIDO’s visionAchieving economic progress and environmental sustainability simultaneously

The tool will help to take sound decisions

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Guiding principles12345

Focusing on environmental sustainabilityFacilitating sound, evidence-based decisionsBeing of practical natureEnabling rapid useEnsuring transferability

Key characteristics1234

Taking into consideration the whole value chain and multiple stakeholders; being applicable in all sectorsCovering multiple environmental parametersRequiring little skills and resourcesRequiring little data

Taking sound decisionsIdentifying greatest hot-spots in a value

chain

Benchmarking impacts of different

value chainsDesigning scenarios Designing

interventions

Monitoring and evaluating

interventions

No current tool can fulfill all requirements; hence it is necessary to develop a new one

The tool will encompass a five step process

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Identifying benefits for sta

keholders

Five step process

Flexibility is key• The tool can be used by a variety of decision makers working at different levels at different stages in the chain• Data of different type from different sources and in different formats can be integrated• Environmental indicators can be selected according to the needs of a specific value chain

The value chain mirrors the businesses, activities and relationships

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Functional activities

Business organizations

Technology provision Production Transformation Distribution Consumption

Researching, developing,… Planting, harvesting,… Sorting, packaging,… Storing, transforming,

… Consuming

Breeders Farmers Packaging station Traders Consumers

Definition of the value chain (UNIDO)A value chain can be understood as a set of businesses, activities and relationships involved in creating a final product of services. It builds on the idea that a product is rarely consumed in its original form, but becomes transformed, combined with other products, transported, packaged and marketed until it reaches its final consumer. In this sense, a value chain describes how producers, processors, buyers, sellers and consumers – separated by time and space – gradually add value to products as they pass from one link in the chain to the next.

The value chain can be applied in environmental management

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Land resourcesEnergy resourcesMaterial resources

Emissions to landEmissions to waterEmissions to air

Mining and extraction Fertilizer production

Chemical production and formulation

Crop cultivation

Crop storage

Bread or bear or oil production Packaging

Retail outletExpired food and

packaging disposalConsumption phase

Transport

A number of environmental indicators have been developed

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EEA NFICA Defra• Air pollution• Biodiversity• Chemicals• Climate Change• Environment and health• Land use• Natural resources• Noise• Soil• Waste and materials• Water

Removals from the environment

• Energy• Water• Other materials

• Emissions to air• Emissions to water• Emissions to land• Resource use

Emissions and discharges to the environment

• Air• Water• Land

Various indicators Few indicators• Holistic• Complexity

• Simplicity• Incompleteness

Trade-off

GRI• Materials• Energy• Water• Biodiversity• Emissions, effluents and

waste• Products and services• Compliance• Transport• Overall

The nine boundaries may serve as a checklist for the tool

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Nine planetary boundaries (SRC, ANU)Climate change, stratospheric ozone depletion, land use change, freshwater use, biodiversity loss, ocean

acidification, nitrogen and phosphorus inputs, atmospheric aerosol loading, chemical pollution

• Help to focus on the essential environmental factors; serve as a checklist

• Allow to adapt according to the needs of different agro-industry sectors, locations or actors in the value chain

Eleven dimensions of human deprivation (Oxfam)Water, food, health, gender equality, social equity, energy, jobs, voice, resilience, education, income

• Help to prioritize the essential social issues• Eradicate poverty and inequity

A number of approaches and tools have been studied and evaluated

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Method or tool Does it apply to the whole value chain?

Is it multi-parameter?

Does it require specialist skills to

implement?

Level of data required (1=low;

3=high)

Australian Agriculture environmental reporting

frameworkYes Yes No 1

ECoSCAn Yes Yes No 1

Hot spot analysis Yes Yes No 1

Integrating poverty and environmental concerns into value-chain analysis

Yes Yes No 1

ESP X Yes No 1

GSCP reference tools Yes Yes No 1

Exact carbon balance tool Yes No No 1

A number of approaches and tools have been studied and evaluated

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Method or tool Does it apply to the whole value chain?

Is it multi-parameter?

Does it require specialist skills to

implement?

Level of data required (1=low;

3=high)

SMRS Level 1 Yes Yes No 2

Fieldprint Calculator No Yes No 1

AgBalance Yes Yes Yes 2

Environmental sustainability indicators Yes Yes Yes 2

Material Flow Accounting Yes Yes Yes 2

Cool Farm Tool for measuring GHG

emissionsNo No No 1

Footprint Expert Yes No No 2

A number of approaches and tools have been studied and evaluated

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Method or tool Does it apply to the whole value chain?

Is it multi-parameter?

Does it require specialist skills to

implement?

Level of data required (1=low;

3=high)

Product Environmental Footprint Yes Yes Yes 3

GAIA biodiversity Yardstick No No No 1

LCA Yes Yes Yes 3

Rise 2.0 No Yes Yes 1

SMRS Level 2 Yes Yes Yes 3

Sustainable Value Chain Analysis Yes Yes Yes 3

Sustainability LCA Yes Yes Yes 3

Habitat Hectares Yes No Yes 2

A number of approaches and tools have been studied and evaluated

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Method or tool Does it apply to the whole value chain?

Is it multi-parameter?

Does it require specialist skills to

implement?

Level of data required (1=low;

3=high)

Water Footprint Assessment Manual Yes No Yes 2

Exergy Analysis Yes No Yes 3

SWAT No Yes Yes 3

Calculation of carbon footprint Yes No Yes 3

Sustainability Performance Assessment No Yes X X

Water Footprint Assessment Tool Yes No X X

A number of things have to be done

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Tasks1 Review and confirm or amend the description of intended uses for the tool

2 Review and confirm or amend the guiding principles and key characteristics

3 Use the above two elements to form the core of a brief for the design of a tool

4 Consider further a conceptual framework for the tool

5 Review current methods and tools

6 Develop the 5-stage process

7 Design the tool in an innovative way

8 Ensure that developers of the tool liaise directly with ultimate users of the tool

9 Put in place appropriate training and support for the future use of the tool

10 Embed a mechanism that ensures the tool is kept under review and is improved

Thank you

Smail ALHILALI

Cleaner & Sustainable Production UnitEnvironmental Management Branch

UNIDO, Vienna , Austria

s.alhilali@unido.org

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