Analysis of Greenhouse Gas Emissions for Flower Producers in Ecuador (PDF)

The goal of this study is the calculation of greenhouse gas emissions which occur during the production of Ecuadorian Flowers. Emissions are considered beginning with the production of raw materials up to the point where the flowers are sold to the final wholesale.
This book describes the current status of international standardisation with their relevance to the calculation. Currently there are no official regulations for CO2 calculations. Because most of the flowers are sold to Europe the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) regulations ISO 14040 ff have been applied for the methodology and the creation of the system model. The importance of this standard has been pointed out as it will be the basis for upcoming European CO2 regulations. Nowadays a widely accepted method is the greenhouse gas protocol which has been used partly for the calculations because only few sectors (e.g. transportation) are covered. Further on the model of flower production is introduced. The model includes all processes and the system boundaries. Significant factors contributing to the greenhouse gas emissions are defined as airfreight of flower to the final market, consumption of electricity and usage of fertilizers on the farm.
The process of collecting data is another subject of this study, including the last audit data from the Flower Label Program (FLP) as well as independently created inquiries and visits on the pilot farms. The calculation of CO2 emissions is comprised. The sources of the emissions factors are described in the beginning, which are mostly extracted from LCA software.
Furthermore this book proposes the next steps on the way to CO2 neutral flowers. Firstly the calculation has to be certified by an independent organisation. Subsequently a decision on CO2 compensation has to be taken. The purchase of CO2 certificates from official or voluntary stock exchanges was recommended because self managed CO2 projects need start-up time. The last step is the marketing of the new product, which should be realized with a CO2 label widely accepted in the distribution markets. Parallel the farms should start to optimize their farms according to CO2 emissions.
Since global warming potential is only one measurement of interference with nature other criteria should be investigated as: How is the quality of ground water? To what extend occurs acidification in the cultivated areas? An integrated LCA analysis would give answers to these questions.