Cradle-to-gate sustainability tools for assessing greener manufacturing: Case study of pesticides for agricultural production in Japan

Abstract

In the pesticide industrial sector, an emerging issue is stakeholder and customer interests in the life cycle profile of specific agricultural chemicals, often known as the carbon footprint. The origins of this issue are a general expectation that manufacturers 1) have begun to understand the broader aspects of their products (referred to as a cradle-to-grave analysis), 2) have a quantitative profile of these life cycles, and 3) can, as appropriate, show sustainability improvement over time. While this is a new issue, it does not displace the significant progress of the agricultural chemicals industry in such developments as efficacy, lower toxicity, worker health, etc. This paper addresses the challenges of conducting life cycle analyses of complex chemicals with inherently large supply chains. The design-based life cycle methodology is used, which provides substantial transparency, science-based rules, and to some extent global manufacturing implications. Seven agricultural chemical life cycles (herbicides, fungicides, and insecticides, for the National Agriculture and Food Research Organization of Japan) have been done and will be used to help explain the benefits of such life cycle analyses.