Environmental assessment of food loss and waste prevention and reduction solutions: Navigating the complexity of integrating stakeholders' decisions

Abstract

The objective of this research is to analyze the inherent complexity associated with decision-making concerning food losses and waste prevention or reduction, considering a multi-stakeholder approach and the possibility of contradictory environmental impact results derived from different solutions. This research defines six scenarios with the support of expert knowledge to assess the environmental impact of food loss and waste prevention and reduction (FLWPR) solutions that cover food valorization, redistribution and consumer behavioral change. After applying life cycle assessment consistent with the Environmental Footprint methodology, the results are fine-tuned with three groups of stakeholders' preferences: decision-makers, experts and business students. Although the perceptions of the three groups are different across several impact categories, the proposed aggregated environmental impact indicator reveals minimal changes in the prioritization of scenarios among the three group of stakeholders and shows that it is possible to choose the best option while minimizing environmental impacts from an aggregated perspective. Analyzing the detailed results, the values of the impact categories show contradictory outcomes, i.e. when a specific solution is implemented, some impact categories worsen while others improve.

This requires deciding to what extent and which aspects the decision-makers are willing to sacrifice, as these choices can influence the decision on the best option. This study includes two novelties, the dual perspective, which combines technical information and stakeholder preferences, and the proposal of an assessment method that assigns the environmental load to the quantities of product consumed, instead of assigning it to the total quantity produced through a balancing process.