Measuring the environmental impact of a livestock feeding robot life cycle

Abstract

The pursuit of sustainability is at the forefront of international conversation in an era marked by urgent environmental challenges. This research aims to shed a light on tools, indicators, and methodologies used to assess sustainability, paving the way for informed decisions, actionable insights, and a brighter tomorrow.

The Paris Climate Accords urges the importance for sustainability and the reduction of environmental impact. At the same time, the demand for animal protein is growing due to an increase in world population and changing diets, resulting in growing challenges regarding the environmental impact of the agricultural and livestock sector. Firms aim to provide technological solutions that contribute to a sustainable way of farming. One of the technological solutions that lack scientific research is the livestock feeding robot. This knowledge gap offers the opportunity to investigate measuring the sustainable performance of livestock feeding robots. Additionally, scientific literature describes Life Cycle Assessment as a common and fitting methodology to measure the environmental impact of products. Furthermore, firms want to become more sustainable for competitive advantage and to be able to meet future regulations. Measuring sustainability is essential in the transition towards sustainability because the measurement can provide insights for decisions about strategic planning, product design, and supply chain design. Therefore, this research examines how the Life Cycle Assessment methodology measures the environmental impact of a livestock feeding robot life cycle by executing a case study.

A literature review was conducted to gain more detailed information on the Life Cycle Assessment methodology and environmental impact. But also, to identify multiple types of Life Cycle Assessment methodologies. The Fast Track Life Cycle Assessment methodology was selected based on data availability and compatibility with the goal of the research t0 measure the environmental impact of a livestock feeding robot. Carbon Footprint and Eco-costs were selected as impact indicators due to their practical characteristics for firms. The case study resulted in a Carbon Footprint of 34944 kg CO2 equivalents, equal to the offset of 1588 mature trees existing for one year. Additionally, the Eco-costs results in 9192 euro, representing the required investment to lower the environmental impact to a sustainable level by selecting the best available alternative technology which is needed to meet the required level of emission allowances.

To conclude, this study provides a case study about measuring the environmental impact of a product life cycle. Although this study focuses on the assessment of a livestock feeding robot, the same case study design can be used to measure the environmental impact of similar products. Therefore, other firms can replicate the case study design to measure environmental impact and meet future regulations, as well as maintain or improve their competitive advantage.