Life Cycle Assessment for the Pork Industry (2020, 2022)

The goal of this project was to update key environmental impact metrics for the Australian pork industry, to track progress and provide an input into future planning.

This study tracked improvements and identified opportunities for low environmental impact pork  from farm to retail shelf.

It determined the carbon footprint, fossil energy, freshwater consumption, water stress, land occupation and eutrophication potential for Australian pork production for the years 2020 and 2022. In the largest Australian study of its kind, data were collected for around 70% of pigs produced using a stratified design. It also captured data from processors to estimate processing and down chain emissions to estimate retail impact.

Value for producers

• Demonstrates how industry progress has contributed to a reduction in environmental impact.
• Improved ability to communicate and measure performance moving forward.

Key Findings

Over the past 42 years (from 1980):

• 74% reduction in GHG emissions (excluding land use and direct land use change)
• 61% reduction in fossil energy use
• 90% reduction in freshwater consumption
• Eutrophication potential for Australian pork was reported for the first time and was low compared with meat produced from grazing systems and European pork production.