Which environmental impacts are important for agricultural production? How can these be quantified? To answer such questions, we continue to develop the environmental LCA methodology and create the necessary databases and calculation tools.
Agroscope's environmental LCA research provides sound scientific evidence for policymakers in the agri-food sector. Our aim is to use this research to promote environmentally friendly agriculture, to furnish information on the eco-friendliness of foods, and to provide strategic principles for the sustainable use of resources.
The wide range of issues demands a solid and long-lasting basis for environmental accounting. To this end, Agroscope is developing the SALCA (Swiss Agricultural Life-Cycle Assessment) method. This encompasses an LCA method adapted to the agri-food chain (emission-calculation models, methods for assessing environmental impacts such as biodiversity and soil quality), the SALCA Life-Cycle Inventory Database, building on the ecoinvent Database, as well as IT tools for efficient and reliable calculation.
