Life Cycle Assessment of Cheese in Terms of Climate Change

Milk products are important sources of nutrients in the human diet; however, they have a significant impact on the environment, particularly because of the greenhouse gases that are generated during the production of these products. Therefore, this study aims to analyze the impact of life cycle of Cagliata cheese on climate change. In this study, the selected functional unit is 1t of Cagliata cheese produced in Lithuania and exported to Italy. The environmental impact evaluation of the product in terms of CO2 eq. covered four stages: milk production, cheese production, packaging, and transportation. Emission factors for each stage was recalculated based on data from the cheese producer and the literature review. Results show a total carbon footprint of 2.109 t CO2 eq./1t of Cagliata cheese throughout the life cycle. The primary production stage of milk contributed the most - some 1.058 t CO2 eq./1t (50% of the total life cycle carbon footprint), cheese production phase - 0.65 t CO2 eq./1t of cheese. Based on the results improvement options are suggested for producer to minimize cheese contribution to the climate change.