Press releases

 

A major innovation in Canada's agri-food industry - Québec dairy processors launch guidelines for the life cycle assessment of their products

L'Estérel, Quebec, October 28, 2011

Today at its annual convention, the Conseil des industriels laitiers du Québec (CILQ) unveiled a leading study that sets the guidelines for the life cycle assessment (LCA) of dairy products. These guidelines aim to foster and facilitate the conduct of LCAs by dairy processors in Québec. LCA is a methodology that enables organizations to draw up a general profile of their activities and evaluate the complete ecological and socioeconomic assessments of a product or process or even an organization as a whole.

Initiated by the CILQ with the financial support of the Fonds de développement de la transformation alimentaire (FDTA), the study was jointly carried out by experts at AGÉCO Group and QUANTIS, firms whose expertise in LCA is widely recognized (see attached).

  • In keeping with the guidelines set out in the study, organizations will now be able to carry out their own life cycle assessments and benefit from the significant funding for LCA offered by the FDTA until March 31, 2014. Support may be granted for one of the following phases: environmental performance diagnostic, LCA solution reliability testing and optimization or environmental certification.

At the launch, CILQ CEO Pierre Nadeau expressed his enthusiasm for the perspectives that lie ahead: “Our businesses now have a new tool to bolster the sustainable development of their productions and gain an effective competitive edge in the dairy processing market.”

The two firms that carried out the study are very pleased to have taken part in the project: “We are happy to have contributed to the creation of a tool that will provide concrete support to the businesses in Québec's agri-food industry that are working towards the implementation of more socially and environmentally responsible production methods,” said Catherine Brodeur, representing the AGÉCO Group. “There is no doubt that the life cycle approach will spark significant operational changes for businesses in the dairy processing industry by making it possible for members to optimize their production and follow the path of sustainable development,” said Édouard Clément of Quantis.

LCA: For the environment and society

LCA is an internationally-recognized method that, through the years, has become a reference to enhance the environmental and social performances of products and processes. Organizations that implement LCA are able to better meet the ever-increasing standards of various stakeholders, including the public, workers, suppliers and partners, consumers and several others.

A life cycle assessment provides valuable information on each phase in the life cycle of a product, from raw materials extraction to end-of-life management, and documents the various environmental and social impacts, taking all aspect of sustainable development into account.

One tool, many benefits

The guidelines set out for dairy processors are driven by environmental and social aspects and provide a methodological framework to ensure the quality, rigour, coherence and credibility of all eventual life cycle assessments. The guidelines are therefore mainly aimed at the consultants who will carry out the LCAs, without superseding their expertise. 

The guidelines yield several advantages for businesses by:

-Reducing the unit costs of the LCA projects, especially with regards to the early phases of the assessment (determining the scope of the study and assessment methods), which are often similar for businesses in a specific sector;

-Focusing resource investments on the concrete application of the LCA within the organization,in keeping with the targeted results, eventual recommendations and necessary support;

-Align and standardize processes to ensure the quality and coherence of the studies carried out in a specific sector;

-Facilitating results comparison and communication.

It is important to note that these guidelines are the first in a series that will be published shortly.

A product that must adapt

LCA methodology is constantly evolving, and the guidelines will require periodic reviews to take factors into account including available data, the evolution of impact assessment methods and the technological modifications and enhancements in the dairy processing sector.  

Project partners believe that the implementation of such guidelines for the industry is in line with numerous international initiatives in the sectors of environmental performance, governance and corporate social responsibility. These guidelines reflect the significant shift within organizations to put sustainable development principles into practice and constitute an important step for the dairy processing industry.

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Source


Jean Filion
For the Conseil des industriels laitiers du Québec
(514) 802-7372

The study will be available at one of the following links: http://www.cilq.ca, http://www.fdta.qc.ca/ .
(available in French only)

Appendix 1 – Life cycle assessment: Beyond the carbon footprint

LCA makes it possible to determine a complete ecological and socioeconomic assessment of a product or process or even an organization. The environmental component of an LCA takes some 15 potential impact indicators into account, including green house gases. The social component of an LCA is also based on some 15 impact indicators, including socioeconomic consequences and working conditions.

The life cycle approach

Copyright Quantis

 

Appendix 2 – About our partners

Groupe AGÉCO

Founded in 2000, AGÉCO Group provides high-quality expertise in agricultural, agri-food and environmental economics, sustainable development and corporate social responsibility. AGÉCO Group possesses unique expertise in socioeconomic analysis for life cycle, carrying out the very first application projects to implement this innovative methodology in the past two years.

QUANTIS

Quantis is a leading life cycle assessment (LCA) consulting firm specialized in supporting companies to measure, understand and manage the environmental impacts of their products, services and operations. Quantis is a global company with offices in Canada, the United States, Switzerland and France and employs close to 70 people, amongst which several are internationally renowned experts in the LCA field.

FDTA

Funding for this project was chiefly provided by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada through the Canadian Agricultural Adaption Program (CAAP). In Québec, the food processing component of the program is managed by the Fonds de développement de la transformation alimentaire inc (FDTA), constituted under Section III of the Bill Governing Québec Companies. The FDTA aims to contribute to the development of the food processing sector in Québec by providing financial support for business projects to enhance productivity, competitiveness, market development and research to meet the sector's industrial challenges.

CILQ

The CILQ brings together industrial and commercial businesses that manufacture, transform and distribute dairy products and derivatives. The CILQ represents its members and asserts their positions and ensures the dynamic development of the dairy industry through partnerships and dialogue with sector stakeholders.