Phosphorus Footprint Model656668/... · 2013. 10. 16. · Phosphorus Footprint Model A Model...

Phosphorus Footprint Model A Model Development and Application to the

Swedish Bovine and Poultry Industries

Kim Dahlgren Strååt

Master of Science Thesis

Stockholm 2013


Master of Science Thesis STOCKHOLM 2013

Phosphorus Footprint Model A Model Development and Application to the

Swedish Bovine and Poultry Industries

PRESENTED AT

INDUSTRIAL ECOLOGY ROYAL INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

Supervisor:

Monika Olsson, Industriell ekologi, KTH Jonas Svensson, Senior advisor and Business developer, Atkins Examiner:

Monika Olsson, Industriell ekologi, KTH

TRITA-IM 2013:15

Industrial Ecology,

Royal Institute of Technology

www.ima.kth.se

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Abstract

For this master’s thesis a Phosphorus footprint model is developed for and applied to the Swedish bovine and poultry industries. The flows of phosphorus are identified and quantified to create an input-‐output balance of phosphorus per single life stage of a meat product. The Phosphorus footprint model is validated by applying it to Kronfågel, part of the food production sector at Lantmännen. The results are presented as a “Phosphorus declaration” for one kg of fresh, boneless chicken meat. The declaration shows potential for Kronfågel to be more effective in their phosphorus management by closing the loop between their core processes (animal husbandry and livestock industry) and the upstream process (crop production) and re-‐circulating manure plus slaughter waste back to agricultural land. The largest losses are identified in feed production and animal husbandry.

The conclusion is that the Phosphorus footprint is the accounting methodology framework for creating a quantified flow chart and the Phosphorus declaration illustrates the losses and management improvement possibilities. Also the declaration can be used to label products, increase consumer awareness, as well as implement conscious consumption and a life cycle perspective on all levels related to Swedish bovine and poultry industries.

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Sammanfattning

I denna master uppsats har en ”Phosphorus footprint” modell utvecklats för och applicerats på svensk livsmedelsproduktion med fokus på kött. Livscykeln och flödena av fosfor är identifierade och konsumtionen är kvantifierad för att skapa en substansflödesbalans för varje enskilt livssteg i en köttprodukt. Phosphorus footprint modellen är validerad och exemplifierad genom att applikation på Kronfågel, som är en del av matproduktionssektorn hos Lantmännen. Resultaten presenteras som en ”Fosfordeklaration”.

Beräkningsmetodiken är retrospektiv och konsumtionsbaserad.. De beräknade in-‐ och utflödena används för att skapa ett kvantifierat flödesschema som illustrerar var i livscykeln hushållningen av fosfor kan förbättras. Genom att skapa ett flödesschema över kända flöden, så kan förlusterna identifieras och beräknas som skillnaden. Resultatet presenteras som en fosfordeklaration för den studerade köttprodukten, vilken kan användas som underlag för att effektivisera fosforhushållningen.

Phosphorus footprint modellen är validerad på ett verkligt fall som är utvecklat tillsammans med Lantmännen och applicerat på Kronfågels kyckling. Den analyserade produkten är ett kg av färsk och kyld kycklingfilé, det vill säga kött utan skinn och ben.. Resultaten visar att det finns potential för Kronfågel att bli bättre med avseende på deras fosforhushållning. Detta kan göras genom att sluta loopen mellan deras kärnproduktioner som är djurhållning och livsmedelsproduktion och uppströmsprocessen odlingen av grödor genom återföring av stallgödsel och slakteriavfall till jordbruksmark. De största förlusterna är identifierade i odlingen av grödor och hushållningen av djur. Appliceringen visar att det är brist på grundläggande data för fosfor, framförallt i konsumtions-‐ och slutstegen. Beräkningarna har gjorts genom att använda statistisk and genomsnittliga värden, vilket negativt påverkar noggrannheten i resultaten.

Phosphorus footprint modellen är begränsad till att visa kvantitativ och inte kvalitativ data, alltså den beräknar endast mängden fosfor i de identifierade flödena utan att redogöra för detaljer kring förening eller kvalité. Modellen saknar även en koppling till de ekonomiska och miljömässiga fördelarna av förbättrad och mer medveten konsumtion. Emellertid resulterar den i ett illustrativt och kvantifierat flödesschema där förbättrings-‐ och recirkulationsmöjligheter enkelt identifieras. Dessutom kan fosfordeklarationen användas för att märka produkter och öka konsumenters medvetenhet, samt för att skapa en mer eftertänksam användning och ett livscykelperspektiv på alla nivåer inom svensk köttproduktion.

Slutsatsen är att Phosphorus footprint modellen bistår med beräkningsmetodiken för att skapa ett kvantifierat flödesschema och att fosfordeklarationen illustrerar förlusterna och möjligheterna till förbättrad hushållning. Generellt presenterar studien viktiga insikter om användningen och förlusterna av fosfor, medan de identifierade begränsningarna (brist på data och en ekonomisk koppling) borde undersökas för att vidare förbättra den värdefulla Phosphorus footprint modellen.

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Acknowledgements

During the process I have had the privilege to meet many talented people that gave valuable insights, guidance and advice along the way. I would like to thank my academic supervisor Monika Olsson, Director of studies in the Industrial Ecology department at the Royal Institute of Technology, which has shown great patience and understanding throughout this process; without you I would have lost my way plenty of times. Also, I would like to thank my business contact and supervisor Jonas Svensson, Senior advisor and business developer at Atkins, with whom every meeting stirred my thoughts around the project mixing it with new ideas and points-‐of-‐view; leaving it to settle into something better every time. Furthermore, a big thank you to Sofie Villman at Lantmännen for believing in the project by allowing me to exemplify and apply the Phosphorus footprint model on the Kronfågel chicken production. In addition, a big thank you to Markus Hoffman at the Federation of Swedish Farmers and Kersti Linderholm for your time and interest put into my project, as well as for your comments and expertise in this field.

Thank you to all the people at the Sweco Environment department in Stockholm and in particular Petra Carlenarson, head of the Environmental Strategies group, for having me and for your support. I would also like to give a special thank you to Annika Börje, Environmental consultant at Sweco, who took an orphan under her wing and showed her the ways around the office. Without your mentoring I would have missed out on the all the social pleasures and benefits of the everyday working life.

Finally a great thank you to my family and friends, you built me the solid ground I needed to power through until the end.


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Table of contents Abstract I

Sammanfattning II

Acknowledgements III

1. Introduction 1 1.1. Aim and scope ............................................................................................................................... 2 1.2. System boundaries and limitations ............................................................................................... 3 1.3. Methodology and structure of report ............................................................................................ 4

2. Literature background and overview of phosphorus 6 2.1. Three aspects of phosphorus ......................................................................................................... 6 2.2. Natural and anthropogenic flows ................................................................................................. 8

3. Model development: Phosphorus accounting and flow methodology 10 3.1. Aims and accounting methodology ............................................................................................. 10 3.2. Phosphorus flow chart ................................................................................................................. 12 3.3. Phosphorus declaration ............................................................................................................... 15

4. The Phosphorus footprint model 17 4.1. System definition and setting the aim ......................................................................................... 17 4.2. Identification of life stages and flows .......................................................................................... 19 4.3. Data collection and calculation ................................................................................................... 20 4.4. Interpretation and phosphorus declaration ................................................................................ 22

5. Model validation: Case study -‐ Kronfågel 23 5.1. System definition and aim ........................................................................................................... 23 5.2. Identification of life stages and flows .......................................................................................... 25 5.3. Data collection and calculation ................................................................................................... 27 5.4. Interpretation and Phosphorus declaration ................................................................................ 34

6. Discussion 38 6.1. Objectives of the Phosphorus footprint model ............................................................................ 38 6.2. Model application ....................................................................................................................... 39 6.3. Final comments ........................................................................................................................... 40

7. Conclusions and future recommendations 42

8. References 43

Appendix 1: The Phosphorus Footprint Manual 48

Appendix 2: Model validation data and calculations 53

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1. Introduction The world’s population is increasing; in 2011 it passed the seven billion mark and it is predicted to continue to increase 2.8% annually (World Bank, 2013). This puts pressure on our planet and its resources and in realization of this; the concept of planetary boundaries was introduced in 2009 (Rockström, et al., 2009). The boundaries identify and quantify the safe operating space for humanity with respect to nine Earth System processes; climate change, ocean acidification, stratospheric ozone depletion, atmospheric aerosol loading, biogeochemical flows including interference with phosphorus and nitrogen cycles, global freshwater consumption, land-‐system change, rate of bio-‐diversity loss and chemical pollution. Information on the planetary boundaries and the overshoot our consumption cause is spreading and initiatives to support the development of sustainable business is increasing (Stockholm Resilience Centre, 2012; Sustainable Business, 2013). Scientists call for a shift in mind-‐set from linear, command-‐control to an adaptive and more flexible approach as the resilience of Earth behaves in a non-‐linear way; with dips and transition states (Rockström, et al., 2009).

As globalization increases, so does the complexity regarding where in the world the environmental effects connected to our consumption occur. This complexity makes it increasingly complicated for companies, municipalities and consumers to investigate and identify the environmental consequences connected to the goods they consume. Still, there are many positive incentives, e.g. companies have the possibility to increase the efficiency in their production chain, increase profits and, strengthen its brand and competitiveness (Wiedmann, 2009). More importantly however is the escalating pressure our consumption puts on our limited natural resources and soon the peak will be reached for many of them. Phosphorus is one example where some scientists predict a “Peak Phosphorus” in 50-‐100 years (Cordell, et al., 2009). Phosphorus is a multifaceted substance and its inherent intricacy is further complicated by global market systems, which decouple source and consequence; geopolitics that inevitably follow natural resource distribution; and a lack of information and data.

The mining and search for phosphate rock is intensifying in order to accommodate the growing demand in agriculture and food production and at the same time as the known reserves and their quality are diminishing (Cordell, et al., 2009). But even though phosphorus is an essential and finite resource, only about 20% of the mined phosphorus ends up in the goods we consume (Cordell & Rosemarin, 2011). Large amounts are lost along the chain, in waste, wastewater, in surrounding streams or as store fertilization to soils causing disruption in the ecosystems and eutrophication, one of today’s major environmental issues. Municipalities are evaluating their possibilities of becoming phosphorus and nitrogen neutral and actors within the agricultural sector are realizing the importance of good management and adjust their business accordingly. The lens through which we view sustainable development is too small and the focus lies to a great extent on reactive, end-‐of-‐pipe solutions instead of proactive, circular system. For phosphorus, a broader focus is needed that includes not only the environmental issues, but also the scarcity of the resource (Cordell & Rosemarin, 2011). This could help secure access and availability of phosphorus in the future, along with preventing and limiting further imbalance of the ecosystems. So by dealing with this shortage, the imbalance and to improve the

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resource management; the environmentally disruptive losses and leakages can be limited. For this a shift in focus is essential; from linear to looped systems, end-‐of-‐pipe to recirculation techniques, reactive to proactive solutions. The first step towards doing this is investigating and mapping the resource use. For this a model needs to be developed.

Water footprint, Carbon footprint and Ecological footprint models have all been developed to account for consumption, assess environmental impacts and to recognize other consequences connected to a product, an industry or a population. There are several models for accounting the environmental impact caused by the production of goods, e.g. Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) measured in carbon dioxide equivalents, and by the usage of materials and substances, e.g. Material Flow Analysis (MFA) and Substance Flow Analysis (SFA) (Moberg, et al., 1999). From these concepts and this information, Environmental Product Declarations (EPD) and Climate Declarations have been developed to communicate the impact the life of products and services have on the environment (International EPDsystem, 2008; Swedish Environmental Management Council, unknown). Currently however there is no “Phosphorus footprint” model to account for the use and “Phosphorus declare” products. As Peak Phosphorous is approaching without the use or need is decreasing, it is necessary to oversee the usage and find the possible management improvements. As researchers submit that Sweden could reuse more phosphorus (Linderholm, 2012), improving its management is not only a necessity but also possible.

The phosphorus flows through society and nature due to human activities in Swedish bovine and poultry industries are numerous. One of the purposes of the Phosphorus footprint model and accounting framework developed in this project is to quantify and illustrate these flows. The result is a phosphorus flow map that can be used to facilitate an optimized use of phosphorus by minimizing losses and waste, as well as illustrate recirculation possibilities.

1.1. Aim and scope The aim of this master’s thesis project is to develop, apply and analyse a Phosphorus footprint model for Swedish bovine and poultry industries. The specific aim and methodology will be explained later in the Model Development chapter. The project has four main objectives:

1) Description of phosphorus and the concept of Phosphorus footprint, focusing on the conditions for the Swedish bovine and poultry industries

2) Development of the Phosphorus footprint model, aims and framework for phosphorus accounting through the whole life cycle of a meat produced, consumed and disposed of in Sweden

3) Validation of the Phosphorus footprint model by real case application 4) Evaluation and critical analysis of the Phosphorus footprint model

The first objective includes an introduction to phosphorus with respect to three aspects essential nutrient, environmental issue and finite resource, as well as an account of the natural and anthropogenic phosphorus flows. The second objective includes a description of the aims of the phosphorus accounting model that include: to provide a life cycle view and show the use of phosphorus through all the life stages of a meat product; be used as a basis for improving phosphorus management; highlight the

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scarcity issue; illustrate possibilities for recycling; and be easy to use and apply. Also included is the development of a phosphorus flow chart, accounting methodology and an explanation to the concept of Phosphorus declaration. The third objective includes application of the Phosphorus footprint model on a Kronfågel fresh chicken. Kronfågel is part of Lantmännen, a Swedish agriculture and food production company. The fourth objective includes an account for the weaknesses and strengths of the methodology based on the aims set for the model, its transparency, applicability and accuracy.

1.2. System boundaries and limitations The report will only briefly present the status of the global use, current policies and the consequences of the environmental effects associated to phosphorus, i.e. the report will not investigate nor explain these issues in detail. The general system boundaries for the Phosphorus footprint are illustrated in Figure 1. The life stages are divided into pre-‐production, production, consumption and disposal. Flows are illustrated with arrows and those in solid black are included while those in dotted grey are excluded. The potential phosphorus footprint for biofuel used for transportation, running machines and for any bio packaging and so on is excluded from the model. The pre-‐production, i.e. the extraction of natural phosphorus and the production of mineral fertilizers, is also excluded.

Figure 1: Illustration of the Phosphorus footprint model boundaries, flows in solid, black are included while flows in dotted grey are excluded.

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1.3. Methodology and structure of report The project is performed at the Industrial Ecology Department at the Royal Institute of Technology and Sweco, an international consulting company within engineering, environmental technology and architecture. The model application and study is developed in collaboration with Lantmännen, a Swedish agriculture and food production company, on Kronfågel fresh chicken. The model is developed for mapping and accounting the flows of phosphorus through the life cycle of a meat product produced by Swedish bovine and poultry industries. The foodstuff meat was chosen after literature research on the basis of its relatively high Phosphorus footprint and the increased consumption of meat following a change in dietary trends and consumption patterns. Methodologies used are literature studies, including background studies, model development and phosphorus flow analysis, and case application. The report is divided into six main chapters explained below and illustrated in Figure 2:

1) Introduction to the relevance and importance of the thesis project including general aim, objectives and methodology

2) Background and overview to the phosphorus issue with regards to its three-‐faceted nature: essential nutrient, environmental issue and finite resource as well as a study of the natural and anthropogenic phosphorus flows

3) Model development focusing on the aims, methodology and structure for the Phosphorus footprint model. The chapter also identifies the flows of phosphorus specific to Swedish bovine and poultry industries, in addition to briefly explaining the concept of Phosphorus declaration as a way of presenting the results of phosphorus accounting

4) The Phosphorus footprint model presentation in its completeness structured according to the step-‐wise accounting methodology developed in the previous chapter and that can be directly applied to a Phosphorus footprint study

5) Model validation and evaluation through real case application on fresh, boneless chicken from Kronfågel, part of the food production sector at Lantmännen

6) Discussion, conclusion and recommendations for future work

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Figure 2: Illutration of the report structure

Model development The Phosphorus footprint model is a way for agriculture and food production companies to create a quantitative map of their phosphorus flows and identify losses on a per life stage basis. Primarily it is developed for food production companies in the bovine and poultry industries to improve collaborations between actors in the food production chain. The model is developed using literature studies to understand how the flows of and politics around phosphorus look (i.e. investigate what is being done and is missing in the field of phosphorus management), to understand the structure and methodology behind the existing footprint models, and identify the life stages and flows in meat production.

Case application The Phosphorus footprint model developed in this report is applied on Kronfågel chicken to quantify the phosphorus flows through all the life stages. For the application, the Product Category Rules (PCR) for meat of poultry, CPC group 2112 (IVL, 2010) is used along with the developed accounting methodology and Phosphorus footprint model. Also, an LCA for Lantmännen Kronfågel (Widheden, et al., 2001) and the report behind the Lantmännen Kronfågel Climate declaration (Tynelius, 2008) are used.

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2. Literature background and overview of phosphorus This first chapter supplies a background and an introduction to the phosphorus issue with regards to its three-‐faceted nature in addition to its natural and anthropogenic flows.

2.1. Three aspects of phosphorus In the middle of the 17th century the German alchemist Henning Brand attempted to create gold by condensing urine (Söderhäll, 2011). Instead Brand discovered phosphorus, named from the Greek word phosphoros meaning, “light bearer” as it became luminous when in contact with air. Phosphorus was thus one of the first elements to be discovered. This section is an introduction to the importance of and the issues around phosphorus with respect to three aspects; it is an essential nutrient, an environmental issue and a finite resource.

Essential nutrient All living things require phosphorus (Nationalencyklopedin, 2013). It is a structure element in DNA and RNA, a component in bones, teeth and cell membranes, and for several biological systems it acts as a buffer and energy currency. Also it is necessary for several essential biological processes and systems such as photosynthesis, respiration and various muscle and nerve functions. In humans it is the sixth most common element in our bodies with most of it stored in our bones as hydroxyapatite (Söderhäll, 2011). Plants take up inorganic phosphate and incorporate it into organic compounds, and this organic phosphate, which is a soluble form, is thus made accessible for humans and other animals to consume (Naturvårdsverket, 2013). Along with nitrogen, sulphur and potassium, phosphorus is one of the elements that plants often have a deficit of and consequently, is a limiting factor in cultivation (Nationalencyklopedin, 2013). Therefore fertilizers have long since been added in modern agriculture to ensure good cultivation yields.

Environmental issue During the middle of the 20th century the use of fertilizers steadily increased and created a phosphorus-‐storage in soils (Nationalencyklopedin, 2013) and, the release from waste and wastewater treatment plants has created phosphorus-‐storage in the sediments (Linderholm, 2013). These anthropogenic phosphorus stores leaks (mainly from sediments but to some extent from agricultural soils) causing disruption in the surrounding ecosystems, leading to eutrophication in waterways and putting pressure on the natural regenerative cycle. Eutrophication occurs when there is an excess of nutrients, which lead to fast-‐growing bacteria and microorganisms such as cyanobacteria to thrive and consume the oxygen in order to grow. This shakes the natural balance in biological and hydrological ecosystems causing eutrophication, and in some cases dead zones due to the oxygen deficit (Blomqvist & Gunnars, 2006).

The realization of the effects fertilizers had on the ecosystems in developed countries has led to strict environmental policies frameworks, which have contributed to food production in industrialized countries being outsourced to great extent (Cordell, et al., 2009). The production is thereby decoupled from the consumption and disposal that causes an imbalance on the global phosphorus scale. Because, when food is produced, phosphate is incorporated or invested, into the good. The good is then exported and consumed and disposed of elsewhere. The imbalance is caused, as the investment is never returned to the production site for reuse, and lead to a deficit in exporting countries and surplus in importing

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countries (Cordell, et al., 2009). The decoupling, i.e. the separation of animal husbandry from feed production, spread after the Second World War when the use and availability of mineral fertilizers increased in response to the population growth (Tidåker, 2011) and the accessibility to mineral fertilizers lessened the need for organic fertilizers (manure) in feed and feed production. Also, the separation further increased the need for mineral fertilizers, as manure was no longer available to the same extent locally, further tipping the regional and later global imbalance scale. This is the case for many other consumer goods: as the separation, globalization and expansion of markets increase, so does the complexity regarding where in the world the environmental effects connected to our consumption occur. All these factors make tracking and taking action against the effects increasingly difficult (Tidåker, 2011).

Finite resource Being the eleventh most common substance in the Earth’s crust, phosphorus can be found all over the world, but there are only a few places where there are large enough amounts to mine (Nationalencyklopedin, 2013). Today the largest reserves are in China, North America and Western Sahara (Steen, 1998). China has limited their exports to secure their own supplies, North America is consuming more than they have and the reserves in Western Sahara are a geopolitically sensitive issue (Cordell, et al., 2009). Increasing world population along with increased consumption and demand for goods and services adds to the anthropogenic pressure on nature, its reserves and services. Some scientists predict that Peak Phosphorus is soon approaching, if not already passed, and that the reserves may be depleted in 50-‐100 years (Steen, 1998). Others add that the notion of depletion is an economic and technical definition, the reserves will not run-‐out, but it will not be economically viable or technologically possible to extract them (Selinus, 2011). Most policies today are directed at handling the leakage of nutrients from croplands into lakes and streams, i.e. end-‐of-‐pipe solutions, and few mentions that phosphorus is a finite resource that has to be managed more carefully. This is both with regards to its scarcity and to the negative environmental effects. Nevertheless the issue is being investigated and discussed more frequently in academia, business and on regional levels.

Sörenby (2010) map the flows of phosphorus in Stockholm, Sweden and conclude that there is a lack of recirculation (despite the potential), of scarcity related governmental policies and of usage economization (Sörenby, 2010). The most interesting conclusion, which highlights the relevance of this project, is that the flows of phosphorus to lakes, streams and the Baltic Sea are relatively small when compared to flows within the Stockholm city area. These flows come from food import, from shops to households and from households to waste. This means that a shift in mind-‐set from end-‐of-‐pipe solutions to recirculation techniques is needed. Another example is a project commissioned by the region of Norrköping, Sweden (Andersson, et al., 2012). Its purpose was to map the flows of nutrients through the region, and propose technical solutions to obtain a better recirculation of phosphorus and nitrogen, in order to evaluate the possibility for Norrköping to be a phosphorus and nitrogen neutral state (Andersson, et al., 2012).

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2.2. Natural and anthropogenic flows The world has its natural regenerative cycles; resources are shaped, used and disposed of, then broken down to become new building material and be shaped into something else, ready to start over. These cycles occur within and between all the ecosystems compartments; atmosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere and lithosphere. Phosphorus is part of a land and water based biological cycle (Naturvårdsverket, 2013), making the biosphere and the hydrosphere its key ecosystem compartments. Below is an account for the natural flows and anthropogenic phosphorus flows, and the human pressure on the natural system, in order to understand the system and way that phosphorus moves through society. This is also the basis for developing the conceptual phosphorus flow chart under chapter Model development: Phosphorus accounting and flow methodology.

Natural flows Plants take up inorganic phosphate (PO4

3-‐) from the soil and incorporate it into organic compounds. Plants thus make phosphorus available for animals, fungi and bacteria to consume (Naturvårdsverket, 2013). In turn, these animals and decomposers break it down to inorganic phosphate and return it to the soil, completing the biological phosphorus cycle. Phosphorus is also part of a hydrological cycle similar to the biological, and these two are connected by a much slower (millions of years compared to months or weeks) geological cycle. The geological cycle incorporate sediments from the hydrosphere, by lifting it up into the terrestrial environments, creating phosphate rock. Through weathering of the rock, phosphates are released into the soil and enter the biological cycle. (Naturvårdsverket, 2013) This is the natural phosphorus cycle; see Figure 3 below (Selinus, 2011).

Figure 3: Illustration of the three natural phosphorus cycles and their respective time frames for regeneration without anthropogenic pressure (Source: Selinus, 2011)

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Anthropogenic flows When the athropogenic pressure is considered as in Figure 4, phosphorus flows in a different way. The raw input of phosphate rock is mined and processed for mineral fertilizer production, which is used on agricultural land for feed production. Also there is a natural addition of phosphorus to agricultural land as existing storage in soil and atmospheric deposition. The cultivated crops are fed to the animals, which proceed to food industry for slaughter, processing and packaging. The food industry produces waste and process water, which goes to wastewater and water treatment respectively. The animals produce manure that is used on agricultural land and thus part of an internal cycle. After the meat products are prepared and packaged, they are sold and distributed to the consumers. Consumers produce household food waste, mainly organic waste, for waste treatment and toilet waste for wastewater treatment. The waste is used for biogas or energy production. Losses and waste production occur in all stages; phosphate mining produce mining waste, there is leakage and losses from agricultural land in cultivation and animal husbandry, food industry, consumption and waste management.

Figure 4: Phosphorus flows induced by anthropogenic use. Blue arrow shows raw input of phosphate rock, black arrows shows the direction of flows between the life stages in agriculture and food production, green arrows shows internal recycling flows in agriculture and the red arrows show outputs and losses to the environment (Source: Selinus, 2011; Bergström, et al., 2012).

The inputs are in blue, outputs are in and the internal flows are green. The flows going through each life stage and on to the next, i.e. intermediate products are black.

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3. Model development: Phosphorus accounting and flow methodology In the same way as a foot leaves a print when walking down the beach; the life of products, services, industries, populations and individuals leave their mark on the world. Each product or service, similar as each individual or population, has an impact on the world, which is often referred to as its/their footprint. Throughout a life cycle there are stages of material extraction, production, usage and disposal, and during each of these there are inputs, outputs, accumulations and losses of energy and resources. These in turn affect the environment they came from, are consumed in and where they are disposed have, not unlike the footprint in the sand. However, the consequences of these footprints-‐of-‐consumption are more complex. The concept of Phosphorus footprint in this report is defined as a way of mapping the inputs and outputs of a phosphorus during the whole life cycle of a meat product. The result is a quantification and illustration of the amounts of phosphorus used and lost per life stage and kg of meat produced. The assessment shows where in the life stages improvements in management and re-‐circulation efforts can be done. In this section the development of the Phosphorus footprint model is accounted for. The development process is divided into three stages: first setting the aims and accounting methodology of the Phosphorus footprint model, second identifying the life stages of a meat product and establishing a flow chart with the inputs, outputs and internal flows on a per life stage basis, and finally presenting the concept of Phosphorus declaration using the PCR for meat of poultry and meat of mammals.

3.1. Aims and accounting methodology In this report five aims for the Phosphorus footprint accounting model are set. First, the developed model should provide a life cycle view and show the use of phosphorus through all the life stages of a meat product. For this purpose both the stages production, consumption and disposal are included. Second, it should be used as a basis for improving the phosphorus management by using substance flows analysis on a per life stage basis to quantify and illustrate the inputs, outputs and most importantly losses. Third, it should highlight the scarcity issue, rather than the environmental issues. This is important due to the geopolitical issues surrounding phosphorus; the increasing global necessity and approaching Peak Phosphorus; and the fact that Sweden has the potential to reuse more and to some extent be self-‐sufficient. This leads into the fourth aim, to illustrate the possibilities for recycling by creating a flow map based on the usage in each life stage, which is connected greatly to the first and second aim, and support the third. Fifth and last, the Phosphorus footprint model developed during this project should be easy to use and apply.

The phosphorus footprint model follows a four-‐step accounting methodology that results in a flow chart and an input-‐output based accounting. The accounting methodology is based on the methodology of substance flow analysis as described by Moberg, et al., 1999 and of the “Footprint family” that integrates the Water, Carbon and Ecological footprint approaches (Galli, et al., 2011). The aim is to illustrate where there are possibilities for recirculation, improved management or closing loops between life stages. Below is an illustration (Figure 5) and a brief explanation of the step-‐wise accounting. The accounting methodology is clarified further for direct application in the next chapter The Phosphorus footprint model.

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Figure 5: An illustration of the Phosphorus footprint accounting methodology (Based on: Moberg, et al., 1999 and Galli, et al., 2011)

Definition of the system and the aim Here the scope and purpose of the study is set. Besides the inherent boundaries of the model, by being developed for phosphorus and the Swedish bovine and poultry industries, there are other considerations. These include setting the functional unit, system boundaries, methodology, assumptions, allocations and data quality coverage. Other considerations are type of meat studied, the geographical boundaries and the temporal boundaries. Also where there are PCR (Product Category Rules) developed for the product, these are considered and included. The considerations of the first step will lay the base for the entire study and in the end the final result.

Identifying life stages and flows In this stage a flow chart is produced showing the life stages of the chosen meat product and the flows through each stage that is to be included in the study. The Phosphorus footprint model provides a guideline with the accounting model and identifies the life stages and flows. However, these can be added to or changed, depending on the level of detail or specific inputs/outputs for the study. This identification stage sets the scope of the data collection and in the end the footprint account. Hence it is important to be as inclusive as possible with regards to data availability and as needed with regards to the aim and scope of the analysis.

Data collection and calculation Here the goal is to put numbers on each of the flows by doing an inventory analysis. The numbers should preferably come from direct measurement by the investigator, the concerned company or third party research. Some numbers are “set” such as atmospheric deposition, which is considered a national value. When direct measurement is unavailable, data from commonly available sources is used; this is in accordance to the PCR meat of poultry (IVL, 2010) and meat of mammals (Boeri, et al., 2012). The PCR are helpful by supplying allocation rules for when the production of meat generates more than one product, and how the in-‐ and outputs of those stages should be divided (IVL, 2010). The PCR also supply a standardised format for how the result of the data should be presented.

Interpretation and phosphorus declaration Here the results are evaluated, analysed and formulated into recommendations or indicators if the accounting is done frequently and a trend can be produced. The result is a quantified flow chart and identification of losses on a per life stage basis. Losses are accounted as the difference between the sums of all outflows per single stage minus the sum of all inflows for that stage; see Equation below.

𝐿𝑜𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑠! = 𝑜𝑢𝑡𝑓𝑙𝑜𝑤𝑠!

− 𝑖𝑛𝑓𝑙𝑜𝑤𝑠 (1) !

Definimon of system and the

aim Idenmfy the life stages and flows

Data collecmon and calculamon

Interpretamon of results

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The internal flows do not affect the overall footprint, i.e. for the entire life cycle, but they are essential for the construction of a complete life cycle analysis, give valuable information on possible improvements and indicate where efforts are needed.

3.2. Phosphorus flow chart There are several examples of substance flow analysis’ done for phosphorus. Sörenby (2010) map the total flows of phosphorus through and in the Stockholm County, Linderholm et.al. (2012) account the in-‐ and outputs, and internal flows of phosphorus for the Swedish agriculture and food chain, and Cordell et.al. (2009) highlights the issues of phosphorus scarcity for global food security. Based on their results and on the flows illustrated in Figure 4 above; a general flow chart adapted to the aim and boundaries of this report is developed and illustrated in Figure 6, explained below.

Figure 6: General flow chart illustrating the phosphorus flows in Swedish agriculture and food production

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Inputs Below is an account of the flows of phosphorus entering the system as raw phosphorus input, i.e. does not go through the use of recycled source, these internal flows are discussed together with the outputs at the end of this section under Outputs and internal flows.

• Fertilizer: To help farmers, there are plenty of self-‐monitoring tools available to calculate the flows of fertilizers on agricultural soils as a way of optimizing the use. These include taking soil concentrations, kind of crop produced and the foodstuff security into account when distributing fertilizers on agricultural land, keeping livestock or producing meat products (Lantbrukarnas Riksförbund, 2012). Also, there are yearly fertilization guidelines published by the Swedish Board of Agriculture (Albertsson, 2012); information from “Focus on Nutrients” (Greppa Näringen, 2011); and a self-‐supervision checklist by the Federation of Swedish Farmers and the Swedish Board of Agriculture (Miljöhusesyn, 2013). For this project, mainly information from SIK -‐ the Swedish Institute for Food and Biotechnology is used. They have collected lifecycle analysis (LCA) data for feed and feed ingredients commonly used in Swedish animal feed (SIK, 2011). The LCA data is prepared by SP Technical Research Institute of Sweden, funded by the Swedish Farmer´s Foundation for Agricultural Research and SIK. The purpose is to present information on the environmental issues related to feed from a lifecycle perspective until feed factory. All the data is public, the system boundaries and sources used are clearly stated, and can be found on the website: sikfoder.se

• Atmospheric deposition: Phosphorus deposition was officially monitored until the early 1990s, but due to low concentrations and data measuring and analysing difficulties, this is no longer done (Linderholm, et al., 2012). The most commonly used value is 0.3 kg phosphorus year-‐1 ha-‐1 of land (Bergström, et al., 2012).

• Phosphorus storage in soil: There are large differences in phosphorus concentration depending on the ground hydrology, soil type and agricultural production (Börling, et al., 1999). In Sweden, the total phosphorus content in agricultural soils can vary between 200-‐800 mg phosphorus year-‐1 kg-‐1 of soil (Bergström, et al., 2012). However these amounts are not equal to the amount available for the plants. The phosphorus in soils exists in bound and soluble form, and only the soluble phosphorus is available for plants to take up (Linderholm, 2011). This is about 0.1-‐1 mg of phosphorus year-‐1 liter-‐1 of soil or approximately 1 kg of phosphorus year-‐1 ha-‐1 of agricultural land (Bergström, et al., 2012). Soil mapping is a way for farmers to get valuable, direct and site-‐specific information when accounting for the phosphorus flows on their land and to help optimize the use of fertilizers. The results are accounted for on a map or within a protocol (Albertsson, 2012).

• Import of feed and feed minerals: In Sweden, the majority of dietary fibre and grain needed for animal production is produced nationally (Linderholm, et al., 2012). LCA results on most of these can be found on sikfoder.se (SIK, 2011). However, a lot of minerals and concentrates are imported. The phosphorus content of these imports can be calculated using information from the Swedish Board of Agriculture and Statistics Sweden (Linderholm, et al., 2012). Also, at sikfoder.se LCA results from some common minerals and supplements is available.

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Outputs and internal flows Below is and account of the flows of phosphorus leaving the system and the internal flows.

• Manure: Manure is both an input and an output, and thus it does not affect the overall balance of phosphorus in Sweden. It is excreted by the livestock in the breeding phase and used as fertilizer in the cultivation of feed. Today 7 kg manure year-‐1 ha-‐1 is added to the Swedish arable soils (Bergström, et al., 2012). In a study by Wivstad, et.al, (2009), which discusses the possibilities to decrease eutrophication through ecological production, the phosphorus flows is identified and quantified. The study shows that the amount of recirculation within the agricultural sector in the form of manure is larger than the addition of mineral fertilizers.

• Leakage and losses: The magnitude of the leakage from arable lands depends on soil composition, topography and type (Linderholm, et al., 2012). The leakage is larger in the north of Sweden due to soil freezing, but on average the leakage are 0, 4 kg phosphorus year-‐1 ha-‐1 from arable land to water (Bergström, et al., 2012). In each stage losses occur and for this Phosphorus footprint model is used. As explained under section Aims and accounting methodology, the losses for each life stage are calculated as the difference between the inputs and the outputs for that stage. This is based on substance flow analysis where the flows entering a system should be equal to the amount leaving the system, and thus the difference in this report is considered as losses.

• Food industry waste: In the food industry stage the livestock is slaughtered and the meat is processed and prepared for wholesale. This includes removing feathers, intestines, head, and bone etcetera, the amount and extent of removal depend on the end product, and also packaging. Most of the low-‐risk organic waste from the food processing industry, e.g. from slaughterhouses, is used as fertilizers or pet and mink feed (Linderholm, et al., 2012; Wivstad, et al., 2009), and some goes to waste treatment facilities. The high-‐risk waste and discard goes to destruction (Villman, 2013).

• Sludge and ashes: Sludge is a by-‐product from the wastewater treatment process. The more effective the treatment is, the more sludge is produced and the more unwanted substances and organisms ends up in the sludge (Johansson, 2011). Sludge is also produced in waste treatment when the waste is biologically treated to produce biogas. When the waste is incinerated for energy production, ash is the by-‐product. Returning the phosphorus from the waste treatment system to productive land can be done in three ways; sludge spreading, sorting toilet systems and extraction from wastewater, using sludge or ashes after sludge incineration (Holm & Staaf, 2011). The use of sludge on agricultural land as a source of nutrients has decreased from 40 % in the 1980s to about 25 % today (Johansson, 2011) and through nutrient flow analysis it is shown that little of the phosphorus in food stuff is returned to agricultural land. Each year approximately 6 150 tons of phosphorus in feedstuff is consumed (Wivstad, et al., 2009), from this most ends up as toilet waste, 4 730 tons or 77 % and goes to wastewater treatment. The residual 1 420 tons or 23 % ends up as household waste that goes for waste treatment. Out of the yearly flows into wastewater

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treatment only 840 tons is used on agricultural land, this represents about 18 %. For waste, only 100 tons or 7 % of the yearly input in household waste are used on agricultural land (Wivstad, et.al, 2009). However, in the Swedish Environmental Objective A god built environment, 60 % of the phosphorus in sewage water is to be extracted and reused it on productive land, where half is agricultural land, by the year 2015 (Svenska Miljömål, 2012) and for this purpose extraction techniques are assessed and evaluated (Naturvårdsverket, 2013).

3.3. Phosphorus declaration PCR are a product unique set of rules for data collection, calculation and presentation developed for Environmental Product Declarations (EPD) and also used for Climate declarations (International EPDsystem, 2012; Swedish Environmental Management Council, n.d.). For the purpose of the Phosphorus footprint model development, two PCRs are used: PCR Meat of Poultry (IVL, 2010) and PCR Meat of Mammals (Boeri, et al., 2012). These are applied to ensure a similar inclusiveness with regards to system boundaries and life stages for meat production, as is used when performing EPDs and Climate declarations. They are also useful when dealing with issues of allocation between e.g. products and by-‐products. Allocation rules differ between Meat of Poultry and Meat of Mammals, thus it is important to study the relevant set of rules applicable to the study at hand. Later in the report, under section 7 Model validation, the PCR Meat of Poultry is applied. The system boundaries of the PCRs are structured into upstream, core and downstream processes. The set of rules for Meat of Poultry and Meat of Mammals are summarized in Table 1. Note that manure management is listed as its own process for mammals whereas for poultry it is included in the breeding of poultry stage.

Processes: Meat of Poultry PCR Meat of Mammals PCR

Upstream Production of feed Feed cultivation Breeding of poultry Feed products preparation Animal breeding Manure management Core Production of final product Slaughter activities Downstream Retailer/Consumer use Primary packaging end of life Recycling/Waste Table 1: Summary of the PCR processes for Meat of Poultry and Mammals respectively (IVL, 2010; Boeri, et al., 2012)

As the rules are created for calculating the environmental impact expressed in carbon dioxide equivalents some processes are excluded from the summary as not all are applicable for a phosphorus flow analysis. The excluded processes are: transportation, production and process of packaging, cold or frozen storage and final product distribution. The inherent boundaries of the model exclude the potential phosphorus footprint for all stages of transportation, distribution and packaging including packaging production. The process of cold or frozen storage is also excluded on the basis of it not being applicable when accounting phosphorus.

The PCRs are used for structuring the results presentation format in the shape of a Phosphorus declaration to state the phosphorus losses through the studied product’s life cycle. The declaration

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includes a specification of the declared product, the result of the study, i.e. the map or phosphorus flow illustration (created from the accounting sheet) and the amount of phosphorus losses, what stages that are included in the study and an account and interpretation of the flows through the different life stages. Also included on the declaration is information about the studied, manufacturing company.

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4. The Phosphorus footprint model In this section the Phosphorus footprint model is developed by using the information and conceptual flow chart from the previous sections Literature background and overview of phosphorus and Model development: Phosphorus accounting and flow methodology. Here the model is further developed with the aim of being directly applicable for phosphorus accounting. Appendix 1: The Phosphorus Footprint Manual is attached and there the process condensed. In full scale the model can be used for tracking the use of phosphorus during the whole life cycle of a meat product, but it could be condensed and only focus on the crop production for human consumption. This would remove the breeding and livestock processing steps.

The Phosphorus footprint accounting methodology is retrospective and consumer-‐based. The flows of phosphorus are identified and the usage quantified to create an input-‐output balance of phosphorus for each single life stage of a meat product. The accounted flows are used to create a quantified flow chart map that illustrates where in the life cycle management improvements can be made. Also, by creating a flow chart with the known input and output amounts, the losses for each life stage can be calculated as the difference. The result is presented as a Phosphorus declaration for the studied meat product. Values are measured in mass units, i.e. g of phosphorus. For a production process or business it can also be calculated as g of phosphorus per unit produced or per time unit. The unit depend on what the end use is.

4.1. System definition and setting the aim In the first stage of the accounting the footprint the aim and system is defined. This is includes; setting the aim and scope of the study; defining the functional unit; system boundaries and methodology; and discussing the assumptions, allocations and data quality demands.

Goal Setting the goal of the study is done by clearly formulating the purpose of the footprint accounting; some examples of plausible purposes are listed below:

• Is it evaluative, e.g. finding points for recirculation, examine a whole production line, a single process step or business strategy in order to find possibilities to improvements? Improvements include finding points for recirculation, management improvements and closing loop solutions.

• Is it informative, i.e. for consumers, farmers or other stakeholders to see the consumption and footprint caused by the product? This information could be used for usage improvement or to change consumption or production patterns by increasing awareness.

• Is it comparative by analysing different technologies, processes or production strategies and compare their respective strengths and weaknesses?

• Is it for internal or public use, e.g. for brand strengthening, increased competitiveness etc.?

Scope The scope definition is a short walk-‐through of the process and life cycle of the studied product. The model is developed to include and handle the entire life cycle, from cultivation to disposal; however it can be condensed depending on the purpose of the study.

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Functional unit The functional unit defines in which form the data results are presented, inherent in the model is that all results are listed as grams of phosphorus per functional unit, which can based on various factors, examples listed below:

• Production based: definition based on what is produced and/or sold, e.g. per amount of product unit, production facility or business division.

• Geographically based: classifies flows per geographically limited area, a city, region or country, depending on the size of the company. Note that the model is developed with respect to Swedish conditions and production conditions may differ in other countries.

• Temporally based: presenting consumption within a specific time frame, e.g. per production year, which if followed up annually can result in a trend prognosis and a year-‐to-‐year comparative study.

• Spatially based: focus on the usage of a production unit, factory or farm.

The functional unit can be a combination of factors, but keeping it simple and straightforward is recommended as this is the basis for data collection and the availability can be a limiting factor.

System boundaries The general system boundaries are set in the model, which include the life stages of a meat product and the flows through each stage. Also the model exclude the potential phosphorus footprint for biofuel used for transportation, running machines etcetera and for any bio packaging that might be used is excluded from the model. The pre-‐production, i.e. the extraction of natural phosphorus and the production of mineral fertilizers, is also excluded. Besides these boundaries, there can be product and study specific boundaries that should be defined and explained. These depend on the aim and scope of the study.

Accounting methodology The accounting methodology describes how the accounting and study is performed, where data is collected and sources used. The Phosphorus footprint accounting methodology is a four-‐step process:

• Definition of the system and the aim • Identification of life stages and flows • Data collection • Interpretation and phosphorus declaration of results

Assumptions Here exclusions and assumptions made for the study and what these are based on are presented. For example, flows that will not be considered because their impact on the overall study are deemed too small and stages prior, between or after those defined in the Phosphorus footprint system boundaries that are excluded and on what basis.

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Allocations This section describes how the question of allocating phosphorus flows with respect to different products, by-‐product and waste in the production and processing. The allocations can be done with respect to mass or economic value. The PCRs supply flow specific guidelines and should be used to deal with allocation issues.

Data quality The demands on data quality are discussed with respect to several aspects: temporal coverage, geographical coverage, technical coverage, precision and range, accuracy and robustness.

4.2. Identification of life stages and flows In this step the production process of the studied system is explained to produce a flow chart showing the life stages of the chosen meat product and the flows through each stage that is to be included in the study. The Phosphorus footprint model provides a guideline with the accounting model, which identifies the life stages and flows. The general flows and life stages defined in the Phosphorus Footprint model are illustrated in the flow chart below, Figure 7. Note the difference in the format of the flow chart. This is an adaption the accounting sheet in the subsequent step. The dividing lines between the life stages are to simplify the assembly of a combined flow and accounting sheet. In general, all the life stages are to be included for a complete study. Any exceptions, additions or exclusions, should be listed and defined. This includes any changes regarding flows: inputs, internal or outputs. The flow chart should be adjusted according to these changes and each addition shall be defined and explained.

Figure 7: General phosphorus flow chart illustrating the phosphorus flows in Swedish agriculture and food production

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4.3. Data collection and calculation When the system is defined, the aims are set and the flows are identified for the study, the data is collected. The purpose of the third step is to quantify each of the identified flows by doing an inventory analysis. The inventory lists the amount of phosphorus entering and leaving each life stage. After all the numbers for the known inputs and outputs are calculated, a substance flow balance is created. The balance for each life stage should be zero, i.e. what goes in should be equal to what goes out, and thus the losses in each stage can be identified and quantified. All quantified data is calculated and presented in the functional unit. The resulting data is summarized in the flow and accounting sheet (Figure 8), which connects the phosphorus flow chart created in the previous stage with the input-‐output based inventory analysis or substance flow balance.

For the calculations primary data or site-‐specific data shall be used in the core module, which is the animal husbandry and food industry. The data is gathered on or directly from the sites where the processes take place. This is to ensure high accuracy in the results. When primary data is not available, as is usually the case principally in the disposal stages, statistical and selected generic data is used. Also, some numbers, such as atmospheric deposition, are considered national values. For the upstream process of feed production, life cycle analyses done by SIK are available for some of the most common feed components and additives on their website (SIK, 2011). The PCR are helpful by supplying allocation rules for when the production of meat generates more than one products and how the in-‐ and outputs of those stages should be divided (IVL, 2010).

To some extent the processes of life stage and flow identification, data collection and calculation are iterative, as sources and flows of phosphorus will likely be found during the quantification in stage three, which may not have been considered when establishing the flow chart in stage two. In these cases, the flow chart is modified accordingly and the additions defined and explained. The same applies if flows are removed. Removal could be due to non-‐applicability or inability to quantify. Flows that are unable to quantify should not be removed from the flow chart or accounting sheet, but remain as a dotted line and noted “unknown”. This is to maintain the complete overview supplied by the Phosphorus footprint model and as an indication of what is still needed.

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Figure 8: The Phosphorus footprint flow and accounting sheet, unit in general sheet is defined as kg of P year-‐1, but depending on the aim of the study the functional unit can change

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4.4. Interpretation and phosphorus declaration Last is results interpretation and phosphorus declaration. The accounting sheet will show the consumption and losses of phosphorus per each life stage and for the entire life cycle. The sheet also shows in which stages and for which flows improvements to the system can be done. This is the goal of the Phosphorus footprint -‐ to illustrate where there are possibilities for recirculation, improved management and closing loops between life stages. Either the accounting sheet is used for interpretation or an illustration of flows can be constructed by using the quantified values and the constructed flow chart in the accounting sheet (see chapter Model validation: Case study) where the arrows in the illustration can be used to represent the size of the flows.

To interpret the results, the aims of the Phosphorus footprint model are used. These include provide a life cycle view and show the use of phosphorus through all the life stages of a meat product, be used as a basis for improving phosphorus management, highlight the scarcity issue, illustrate possibilities for recycling and be easy to use and apply. Based on these the results are evaluated with respect to the following aspects:

• Assessing the life cycle view in the studied system: Is the system linear or a closed loop system? If the system is closed, describe to what extent. Are there policies, framework or other structures aimed at implementing a closed loop system or is it possible to employ?

• Assessing the possibilities for improved phosphorus management: Where are the large, consumption flows and if so could they be smaller, i.e. where are the possibilities for decreased raw resource use?

• Assessing the possibilities for recycling: Where there are large flows leaving the system, could these complement and decrease the need of a raw resource input or even replace it? Are there recycled flows already and if so could they increase, i.e. more re-‐circulation?

The results are then presented in the form of a Phosphorus declaration. The declaration includes a specification of the declared product, the result of the study, i.e. the map or phosphorus flow illustration (created from the accounting sheet) and the amount of phosphorus losses, the stages included in the study, an account of the flows through the different life stages and information about the studied company.

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5. Model validation: Case study -‐ Kronfågel The Phosphorus footprint model is applied to Kronfågel, part of the food sector at Lantmännen, and their fresh chicken product. Kronfågel consists of 46 chicken farms in Sweden (Lantmännen Kronfågel, u.d.). The production is located in Valla, Sörmland, where about 38 million chickens each year are slaughtered and prepared for wholesale (Lantmännen Kronfågel, u.d.).

5.1. System definition and aim The first step in phosphorus accounting is definition of the system and the aim. Here the scope and goal of the study, system boundaries, allocation issues and data quality coverage is set.

Goal The purpose of this study is to validate and help evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the Phosphorus footprint model developed during this master’s thesis project. This is done by phosphorus declaring the Lantmännen Kronfågel fresh, boneless chicken. The declaration is done using the meat of poultry PCR (IVL, 2010), an LCA done on Kronfågel chicken (Widheden, et al., 2001) and the underlying report to the Climate declaration of Kronfågel chicken (Tynelius, 2008).

Scope The study includes the whole life cycle of the Lantmännen Kronfågel chicken, from feed production to end-‐of-‐life treatment. Data on the flows of phosphorus through each stage are collected and in some stages calculated from statistics to account the footprint. The grandparents of the chickens are imported and after a 24-‐week long breeding period, they produce eggs for a total of 40 weeks (Widheden, et al., 2001). This is followed by a three weeks hatching period of the parents. The parents share the life pattern of the grandparents, i.e. 24 weeks breeding, 40 weeks egg producing and three weeks of hatching. After a 35-‐week breeding period, the third generation of chickens are slaughtered and prepared for wholesale.

Functional unit The functional unit for this study is 1kg of chilled, boneless chicken meat. This enables a comparison between the resulting phosphorus declaration and the climate declaration done by Lantmännen on the same product.

System boundaries The system boundaries for the study are listed in the Phosphorus footprint model. Besides these boundaries there are some set specifically for the study. For example, for the consumption and disposal, the study applies data and statistics for the Stockholm region. These in-‐ and outflows are identified and motivated under this section.

Accounting methodology The accounting methodology defined by the Phosphorus Footprint model is used. The study is performed with Lantmännen Kronfågel and the data used is total elementary data and mean values from five farms are used to calculate the flows of phosphorus, supplied by Villman at Lantmännen, personal communication (2013). The five farms stand for about 13 % of the chicken production and are

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considered representative for the total production by Kronfågel (Villman, 2013). Also statistics and average values are used in the final stages, for the disposal stage, where elementary data is not available or accessible.

Assumptions Based on a LCA report done by SIK – the Swedish Institute for Food and Biotechnology on Swedish turkey production (deemed comparable for the study by Villman, 2013), the impact of the life stages before animal husbandry and slaughter, on the overall life cycle balance are assumed too small and are excluded from this study (Wallman & Sonesson, 2010). These include breeding of the grandparents and parents and the by-‐products they produce, e.g. eggs and manure.

Allocations Allocations are done based on mass and economical values using an average market price of the last five years (IVL, 2010). The environmental impact of fresh chilled chicken products and frozen, two of many yields from the food industry and processing, is allocated on the basis of weight (Widheden, et al., 2001). The phosphorus-‐amount in manure and the impact of that in the accounting is spread over the entire cultivation line, i.e. not only allocated to the singular crop that was fertilized with it.

Data quality Below the demands put on data quality are discussed.

• Temporal coverage: The study is an inventory to describe the current status of the phosphorus flows by using average yearly data.

• Geographical coverage: Lantmännen Kronfågel consists of 46 Swedish chicken farmers who produce and sell their products in Sweden. Also, the model is designed to account the Phosphorus footprint for Swedish agriculture and food production. This is what the data used in the study will represent. Regarding consumption and disposal treatment the study is limited to applying data and statistics for the Stockholm region.

• Technical coverage: As the study is a description of the current status of the phosphorus usage, the data used will represent the average technical baseline for chicken production in Sweden.

• Precision and range: The goal is to acquire as a high precision and coverage on the data quality as possible, but there is an aim of the Phosphorus footprint model to be user friendly and easy to use, also a limit of resources and time available for the study. Thus there is a compromise between data precision and range, user friendliness and the resource limitations of the project.

• Accuracy: Accuracy is a qualitative assessment on how well the data represents the reality (Widheden, et al., 2001), which will be discussed in step 4 Interpretation and phosphorus declaration.

• Reproducibility: The study is performed using the highest possible transparency during the accounting to ensure reliable results and reproducibility.

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5.2. Identification of life stages and flows In accordance with the Phosphorus footprint model, the PCR Meat of Poultry and the specifics for Lantmännen Kronfågel, the life stages and the flows through them are illustrated in figure 9.

Figure 9: The life stages and flows through Lantmännen Kronfågel chicken (Source: IVL, 2010; SIK, n.d.; Svensk fågel, 2013)

The young chickens are bought from the hatchery in Flyinge and fed with a mixture of grains, protein fodder and mineral and vitamin supplements (Widheden, et al., 2001). Some farms produce all or parts of the feed, while others buy. The manure is thus, in some cases, used on the own farm or sold to the neighbour (Villman, 2013). For this study, it is assumed that all the feed is bought and that the manure is not used on the farm. Also, since all feed is assumed to be important, information regarding the soil to assess the concentration of nutrients, is missing, this flow has not been included.

At 35 days of age, the broilers, i.e. grown chickens for food production, have an average weight of 2 kg. In the food industry life stage, the broilers are slaughtered and the different products are prepared for wholesale. All the slaughterhouses that are members of the Swedish Poultry Meat Association are monitored and follow the standards set by National Food Agency (Svensk fågel, 2013), this include Lantmännen Kronfågel. The chickens produced by Lantmännen Kronfågel farmers are all slaughtered and prepared at the production facility in Valla, Sörmland. A modern slaughterhouse has the capacity to slaughter from 5000 to 12 000 animals per hour (Svensk fågel, 2013). The animals are sedated before they are quickly emptied of blood with a knife incision. They are scalded in a bath for easier removal of

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the feathers and then the intestines are removed. After a general inspection the chickens are chilled in a water bath or in air. Last they are classified and sorted for the different meat products. (Svensk fågel, 2013). The packaged chicken meat is then transported to stores and sold to consumers. The household waste goes to waste treatment for biogas production or incineration for heat generation. The toilet waste goes to wastewater the treatment plant Rosenholm in Katrineholm.

Before data collection and calculation a conceptual mass and product flow chart based on the functional unit is developed, Figure 10. This is used for final calculation of the phosphorus flows to get the data per grams of phosphorus in flow per kg of fresh, boneless chicken meat.

Figure 10: A conceptual mass-‐ and product flowchart expressed with respect to the functional unit (Based on Villman, personal communication, 2013 and Widheden, et al., 2001)

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5.3. Data collection and calculation Site-‐specific data for the core module, i.e. animal husbandry and food industry, is supplied by Sofie Villman at Lantmännen and from the Lantmännen Kronfågel webpage and the LCA report on Kronfågel chicken by Widheden, et al., 2001. Also used for reference is an LCA report done on turkey by Wallman and Sonesson, 2010. Complimentary sources of information for the upstream processes are LCA-‐results for Swedish feed production by SIK and for the downstream processes a report on the phosphorus flows through society done by Wivstad, et.al, (2009). Other complimentary sources are listed with the numbers. All the raw data and calculations behind the results are in Appendix 2 (confidential data, not included). The mass-‐ and product flowchart (Figure 9) is used for calculating the yield of fresh boneless chicken meat from whole chicken for slaughter under section Food industry. The yield is calculated to 1.98 kg broiler (chicken for slaughter) per 1 kg of fresh, boneless chicken meat (functional unit).

Feed production Chickens are highly efficient feeders; according to the Swedish Poultry Meat Association, approximately 1.7 kg of feed results in 1 kg of meat (Svensk fågel, 2013). This efficiency is ensured by good quality and highly nutritious feed.

• Mineral fertilizers and leakage: Lantmännen Kronfågel chickens are fed with a mixture of grains (wheat, corn and oats), protein (based on soy and rapeseed) and nutrient supplements. The feed is produced in Sweden (SIK, 2010a; SIK, 2010b), except for the soy, which is imported from Brazil (SIK, 2010c). Data on the phosphorus flows for the production of the feed components show that the average amount of phosphorus in mineral fertilizers used for feed production is 15.4 g P kg-‐1 of feed and the leakage is 2.6 g P kg-‐1 of feed produced, Table 2.

Table 2: Amount of P in mineral fertilizer and leakage per kg of feed produced

Type of feed Average amount of P in mineral fertilizer [g P/kg feed]

Average amount of P leakage [g P/kg feed] Source:

Wheat 1,01 0,28 (SIK, 2010a) Corn 1,10 0,37 (SIK, 2010a) Oat 1,77 0,47 (SIK, 2010a) Rapeseed 2,70 0,61 (SIK, 2010b) Soy 8,8 0,89 (SIK, 2010c) Total [g P/kg feed] 15,38 2,62

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Based on the amount of feed one kg of chicken consume, the approximate feed composition that the farmers at Lantmännen Kronfågel use and data from SIK on phosphorus, the amount of phosphorus in mineral fertilizers used to produce the feed and the leakage from the agricultural soils is calculated. The total amount of phosphorus in mineral fertilizer is 9.2 g P kg-‐1 of chicken meat and in leakage is 1.4 g P kg-‐1 of chicken meat, Table 3.

Table 3: Amount of P in mineral fertilizer and leakage to produce one functional unit (Based on LCA-‐results from SIKa-‐c)

Type of feed Amount of P in mineral fertilizer per kg chicken [g P/kg chicken]

Amount of P leakage per kg chicken [g P/kg chicken]

Wheat 1,06 0,29 Corn 0,10 0,03 Oat 0,15 0,04 Rapeseed 0,24 0,05 Soy 3,08 0,31

Total [g P/kg chicken] 4,63 0,73

Expressed in [g P/kg chicken meat] 9,2 1,4

• Atmospheric deposition: Phosphorus deposition was officially monitored until the early 1990s, but due to low concentrations and data measuring and analysing difficulties, this is no longer done (Linderholm, et al., 2012). Using the most commonly used value of 0.3 kg P ha-‐1 (Bergström, et al., 2012) the atmospheric deposition on the agricultural land is 1.0 g P kg-‐1 of chicken meat, Table 4.

Table 4: Approximate calculation of atmospheric deposition on the agricultural land used to produce one functional unit (Based on SIKa-‐c, 2010; Bergström, et.al, 2012)

Deposition [g P/m2]

Agricultural land used for cultivation of the feed [m2/kg feed]

Agricultural land used for cultivation of chicken [m2/kg chicken]

Atmospheric deposition [g P/kg chicken meat]

0,03 10,1 17,7 1,0

• Phosphorus storage in soil: The phosphorus in soils exists in bound and soluble form and only the soluble phosphorus is available for plants to take up (Linderholm, 2011). This is about 0, 1-‐1 mg liter-‐1 or some single kg P ha-‐1 (Bergström, et al., 2012). Assuming some single kg per hectare is 1kg P ha-‐1 and based on the average land use for feed cultivation per chicken 17.7 m2 land kg-‐1, the phosphorus storage is estimated to 1.8 g P kg-‐1 chicken meat, Table 5.

Table 5: Approximate phosphorus storage in the agricultural soil used to produce one functional unit (Based on Bergström, et al, 2012)

Assumed storage [kg/ha]

Assumed storage [g/m2]

Phosphorus storage [g P/kg chicken meat]

1 0,1 0,1*17,7 = 1,77

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Animal husbandry In 2012 about 36, 2 million chickens were produced (Villman, 2013) and these consume about 82 000 tons of feed per year and produce about 37 000 tons of manure per year (own calculation based on Villman, 2013). The phosphorus flows in animal husbandry are based on Widheden, et.al. (2001) and recalculated to g P kg-‐1 of flow. The amounts of phosphorus entering animal husbandry are shown in Table 6 and the amounts exiting are shown in Table 7.

Table 6: Phosphorus flows into animal husbandry (Based on Widheden, et.al, 2001; Villman, 2013)

Flows into animal husbandry [g P/kg chicken meat]

Young chicken 11,9 Fodder 8,7 Mineral fertilizer 0

Table 7: Phosphorus flows out from animal husbandry (Based on Widheden, et.al, 2001; Villman, 2013)

Flows out of animal husbandry [g P/kg chicken meat]

Grown chicken (Broiler) 11,9 Manure 7,1 Losses 0,3

The manure produced by is either spread on the own farm or goes to the neighbours (Villman, 2013). However, based on personal communication with Villman (2013) it is assumed for this study that all feed is purchased, thus manure is noted as an output and not an internal flow. Losses are based on an average loss of 0.31 kg ha-‐1 (Widheden, et al., 2001) and given the average production of 1 800 tons chicken year-‐1 ha-‐1 (based on Villman, 2013), the approximate amount of loss is 0.3 g P kg-‐1 chicken meat produced.

Food industry The grown chickens for slaughter are called broilers and these enter the food industry with an average weight of 2 kg. After slaughter and wholesale preparation including packaging, the different chicken products are transported to the stores and sold. The chicken products are either sold fresh and chilled or frozen. The allocation between these chicken products is based on mass and shown in Table 8.

Table 8: Allocation between chilled, fresh chicken products and frozen (Source: Villman, personal communication, 2013)

Products Allocation based on mass [%]

Chilled, fresh chicken 73,9 Frozen chicken 26,1

An description on how the yield from the food industry is calculated, i.e. the amount of whole chicken that has to enter the stage in order to produce one kg of fresh, boneless chicken (which represents the functional unit), is given below. According to Widheden, et.al, (2001) the approximate composition of a chicken is 70 % meat, skin and bone and 30 % feathers, head, intestines etc. The composition is illustrated in more detail in Figure 11. Other includes head, legs, intestines and other by-‐products, is sold

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as mink feed. Waste includes skin, bone and other low risk waste not sold as mink feed goes to waste treatment (Widheden, et al., 2001).

Figure 11: The approximate composition of a chicken (Source: Widheden, et.al, 2001)

Using the amount of broilers produced every year and the amount of fresh and frozen chicken products produced (note: these are including bone and skin), a mass balance can be calculated. To calculate the amount of by-‐products and waste, the amount of fresh and frozen chicken products is subtracted from total amount of chickens for slaughter. By subtracting the amount of “other”, which is 30 % of the total amount of chickens for slaughter, the amount of skin and bone in the waste and by-‐products fraction is calculated. The rest of the skin and bone follows the chicken products. To calculate the amount, the skin and bone that end up in the waste and by-‐product fraction is subtracted from the total amount of skin and bone in the chicken for slaughter, i.e. the 15 % and 2.5 %. Assuming that the relation of skin and bone is the same in the chicken products fraction as in the whole chicken, 85.7 % is bone and 14.3 % is skin out of the total amount of skin and bone that goes with the products fraction. Also assuming that the same amount of skin and bone goes with each product fraction, 73.9 % of the skin and the ends up with the fresh chicken products and 26.1 % go with the frozen chicken products (see Table 8). Finally, to calculate the amount of fresh, boneless chicken meat with some skin that is produced, which is the functional unit and the amount needed, the amount of bone with the fresh chicken product is subtracted from the total amount of fresh chicken products.

To calculate how much chicken is needed to produce one kg of fresh, boneless chicken meat with some skin, one functional unit is multiplied by the total amount of fresh chicken product, i.e. 73.9 % of the total chicken amount of chickens for slaughter, divided by the amount of fresh, boneless chicken meat produced and the result is the yield. Lantmännen Kronfågel calculated the amount of fresh, boneless chicken meat produced per 1 kg broiler and the calculations were based on economic allocations between chicken and by-‐products and mass allocation to separate meat from the bone. Using the calculated yield and data from Widheden, et.al, (2001) the flows through food industry can be calculated, see Table 9.

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Table 9: Phosphorus flows through food industry (Based on Widheden, et.al, 2001)

Food industry [g P/kg chicken meat]

In: Broiler 11,9 Out: Chicken meat: prepared and sold for consumption 6,0 Other: intestines, head and some skin and bones is sold as pet and mink feed 3,6 High-‐risk waste: diseased or discarded animals goes to destruction 0,2 Food industry waste: the rest of the skin and bones goes to waste treatment 2,2

Kronfågel has an internal treatment plant for the wastewater streams in the food industry stage before it goes to the municipal water treatment plant Rosenholm, in Katrineholm (Villman, 2013). At Rosenholm the treatment consists of mechanical, biological and chemical purification, as well as treatment of the sludge that is produced (Lundahl, 2011). Phosphorus is removed in the chemical purification stage by adding a chemical causing the phosphorus to cluster and be removed. The sludge produced is ReVAQ-‐ certified and is thus approved to be used on agricultural land (Lundahl, 2011). The total phosphorus load at Rosenholm is 132 kg/day (Lundahl, 2011); however the amount of phosphorus in the process water leaving the Valla slaughterhouse is unknown.

At Kronfågel the waste and product output is divided into three fractions: human food, animal feed and high-‐risk waste. The human food is the chicken meat prepared for wholesale and sold for consumption. The animal feed fraction is the other fraction, which is sold as pet food and mink feed. The high-‐risk waste such as diseased or discarded animals goes to destruction. The rest of the skin and bones, which is denoted as food industry waste goes to waste treatment (Villman, 2013).

Consumption It is assumed that the organic waste from the consumption of chicken meat is thrown with the unsorted household waste, which goes to the incineration plant for energy generation or biogas production. On a yearly basis approximately 6 150 tons of phosphorus in feedstuff is consumed (Wivstad, et al., 2009). Leaving society was 1 420 tons in household waste and 4 730 tons in wastewater (toilet waste), see Table 10.

Table 10: Flows of phosphorus through consumption (Based on Wivstad, et.al, 2009)

Consumption [g P/kg chicken meat]

In: Foodstuff 5,9 Out: Household waste 1,4 Wastewater 4,6

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The allocation of phosphorus from food consumption to household waste and wastewater respectively is done based on the percentage calculated from Wivstad, et.al, (2009) and the amount of phosphorus per kg chicken that enters consumption.

Disposal After consumption, the household waste and wastewater goes to their respective treatment facilities. The wastewater treatment (WWT) handles the toilet waste; the waste treatment handles the food industry waste (excluding the high-‐risk and animal food fractions) and the household waste. The yearly flows of phosphorus in wastewater is 4 730 tons and in household waste it is 1 420 tons. After wastewater treatment about 0.8 g P kg-‐1 chicken meat is used on agricultural land (Table 11) and after waste treatment about 0.3 g P kg-‐1 chicken meat is used (Table 12).

Table 11: Flows of phosphorus through wastewater treatment (Based on Wivstad, et.al, 2009)

Wastewater treatment [g P/kg chicken meat]

In: Wastewater 4,6 Out: Agricultural use 0,8 Rest 3,8

Table 12: Flows of phosphorus through waste treatment (Based on Wivstad, et.al, 2009)

Waste treatment [g P/kg chicken meat]

In: Household waste 1,4 Food industry 2,2 Out: Agricultural use 0,3 Rest 3,3

Phosphorus flow and accounting sheet for Lantmännen Kronfågel The results from the phosphorus flow calculations for Lantmännen Kronfågel chicken is show in the Phosphorus footprint flow and accounting sheet below in Figure 12.

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Figure 12: The resulting Phosphorus footprint accounting sheet for Lantmännen Kronfågel chicken, all numbers are in g P kg-‐1 chicken meat

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5.4. Interpretation and Phosphorus declaration Using the flow and accounting sheet that summarizes the results from the initial three stages of the accounting process a quantified flow chart is created, Figure 13. The results are converted to this format to be more illustrative and communicable. The thickness of the arrows corresponds to the amount of phosphorus in that flow. The results are interpreted based on the three assessment-‐criteria life cycle view, management improvements and recycling possibilities. Then they are presented in the format of a Phosphorus declaration.

Figure 13: Illustration of the phosphorus flows through the life cycle of Lantmännen Kronfågel chicken; all numbers are in g P kg-‐1 chicken meat. The thickness of the arrows represents the amount of the flow. The solid, black arrows show the flows of intermediate products, the blue show the inflows to the system and the red show the outflows leaving the system. The green arrows show the re-‐circulated, internal flows and the dotted, black arrows indicate potential amounts of phosphorus in the flows but for which information have not been found.

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Interpretation Below is an interpretation of the results from the model validation

• Assessment of the life cycle view: The phosphorus flow illustration shows that there is a closed loop system, to some extent, between the first and the last stage. After the waste and wastewater is treated, some of the phosphorus in the sludge/ashes is reused on agricultural land as fertilizer, however this represents only about a fifth of the phosphorus amounts. For Kronfågel, closing this loop further does not fall within their core processes, i.e. livestock husbandry and food industry, but for their agricultural division and the farmers that combine feed production and animal husbandry there is potential.

• Assessment of the possibilities for improved phosphorus management: The only raw phosphorus flows occur in the feed production, due to the mineral fertilizer is used. This is about 9.2 g of phosphorus per kg of chicken meat. Adding the atmospheric deposition, phosphorus storage and the recycled sludge/ashes, the input to the life stage is 13.2 g of phosphorus. If the intermediate products and leakage, which have been quantified, is subtracted this leaves 3.1 g of phosphorus in losses in the feed production stage in order for the substance flow analysis to break even. The values for atmospheric deposition and soil storage are national values and are not specific for the studied production area. Thus these values are associated with uncertainty. Especially soil concentrations, which depend greatly on the agricultural production, soil type and ground hydrology. Despite the uncertainty of the quantity, there is potential for improving the phosphorous management in this stage in terms of decreasing raw resource use and perhaps decreased consumption. Site-‐specific soil mapping of the nutrient availability on the agricultural areas is recommended when exploring this potential further.

• Assessment of the recycling possibilities: By viewing the flow illustration, several potential sources for recycling are identified. The procedure regarding manure management differs between farms, some use the manure themselves depending on what they grow themselves, while other give it to their “neighbour” or drive it to a biogas production plant (Villman, personal communication, 2013). Generally at Kronfågel there is no standard regarding manure management, so this could be a suggestion for the future. For example develop a system for manure distribution within the close region or on a larger geographical scale. Regarding the by-‐products flow, which consists of animal waste, it is not reused within the system but sold as pet and mink feed and thus used elsewhere, outside the studied system. Nevertheless, the assessment of the phosphorus flows in Sweden by Wivstad, et.al, (2009) shows that a lot of the organic waste produced in food industry is reused in animal husbandry as feed and feed production as fertilizer. So also here there are possibilities for reuse within the core system.

A lot of effort has been put into finding the amount of phosphorus in the process water from the food industry, but due to lack of information this flow has not been able to be included. But research indicates that that could also be a potential recirculation flow, for example there it could potentially be used as irrigation water on agricultural land, assuming there are no issues with hazardous substances.

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Phosphorus declaration of Kronfågel fresh chicken This Phosphorus declaration summarizes the results from the phosphorus accounting done as a Phosphorus footprint model validation and describes the consumption of phosphorus during the life cycle of chilled chicken meat from Kronfågel.

• Specification of declared product: The functional unit for the phosphorus declaration is one kg of chilled, boneless chicken meat from Kronfågel.

• The chicken’s phosphorus consumption: Based on a life cycle perspective the total phosphorus losses are 4.7 g P kg-‐1 chilled chicken meat.

• Stages included in the study: o Feed production including cultivation of crops o Animal husbandry including breeding, rearing of the chicken and manure management o Food industry including slaughter and wholesale preparation o Consumption o Disposal including waste treatment of household food industry waste as well as

wastewater treatment

Excluded from the study is the breeding of the parents and grandparents of the chickens and their by-‐products, the potential phosphorus footprint for any biofuel used for transportation or biodegradable materials in packaging, the mining of phosphate rock and the production of mineral fertilizers. Also excluded is the production of secondary products such as detergents and handling of by-‐products.

The results are declared in grams of phosphorus and to enable a comparison of “Climate declared” products the functional unit kg chilled chicken meat and the standardized system of PCR meat of poultry is used. The PCR meat of poultry is prepared by IVL Swedish research Institute for the International EPD (Environment Product Declaration) System.

• Phosphorus outputs per life stage: Below is a diagram of the phosphorus the losses leaving the studied system, expressed per life stage, see Diagram 1. The largest unidentified losses occur in the feed production. These losses could occur during e.g. harvest or preparation of the crops. Also there are large amounts leaving the stage as leakage. This ends up in the soils as storage or waterways. The other source of unidentified losses is animal husbandry. Here the losses could occur in the handling of the manure or when cleaning the area where the chickens are kept. From livestock husbandry there is a large output of manure and as mentioned the procedure and management of manure on the farms differ greatly. However based on the assumption made in the study that manure is not used, the conclusion is that there is potential for fulfilling all three of the assessment criterions by closing the loop between livestock husbandry and feed production through recycling of the manure and thus improving the management by decreasing the raw resource use. There are outputs from food industry that leave the system, however these amounts are not unidentified losses. Some is sold as mink and pet feed, while the rest goes to waste treatment and the sludge/ashes from this is used to some extent on agricultural lands. There is potential and efforts aimed

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at reusing more of the phosphorus amounts remaining in the sludge and ashes after waste and wastewater treatment.

Diagram 1: An illustration of the phosphorus losses through the life cycle of a Kronfågel fresh, chilled chicken product (Based on the results of the data collection and calculation as summarized in Figure 12: The Phosphorus footprint accounting sheet for Lantmännen Kronfågel chicken)

• Information about the studied company: Kronfågel is part of the food sector at Lantmännen, which one of the largest groups within food, machinery, energy and agriculture in Scandinavia (Lantmännen, u.d.). Kronfågel consists of 46 chicken farms in Sweden (Lantmännen Kronfågel, u.d.). The hatchery Lantmännen SweHatch is located in Flyinge, Skåne and delivers the day-‐old chickens for the breeders in Sweden and for export. The production is located in Valla, Sörmland, where about 38 million chickens each year are slaughtered and prepared for wholesale (Lantmännen Kronfågel, u.d.). Kronfågel has an internal treatment plant for the wastewater streams in the food industry stage before it goes to the municipal water treatment plant Rosenholm, in Katrineholm (Villman, 2013).

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6. Discussion The concept of taking the whole life cycle of a good (product or service) into account is becoming increasingly more common and implemented. Tools are available for companies and consumers to oversee the consequences of their business and consumption. These include Carbon, Water and Ecological footprint accounts, LCA, MFA and SFA, among others. Policies and regulations are set to improve awareness on the pressure humans put on the environment and its services. Information on the planetary boundaries and the overshoot our consumption cause is spreading and initiatives to support the development of sustainable business is increasing. A life cycle view in the field of phosphorus is needed in order to secure the availability of this essential nutrient. Researchers discuss the concept of Peak phosphorus and predict that the resources will run out in 50 to a 100 years time. This means that it will become economically and/or technically unviable to extract them. Considering the potential for Sweden to be self-‐sufficient, closing loops between the production, consumption and disposal stages and implementing a life cycle view in the agricultural and food production industry, could enable long-‐term sustainability in terms of phosphorus. The discussion section is divided into three parts. The first part covers the model with respect to its objectives, the second covers the case application and Phosphorus declaration and the final part covers the evaluation, conclusions drawn and recommendations given.

6.1. Objectives of the Phosphorus footprint model The objectives set for the Phosphorus footprint model are to provide a life cycle view, illustrate possibilities for improved management and recycling, expand the view and highlight the scarcity issue, also be easy to use and to communicate results.

To improve the resource management, the Phosphorus footprint account is a good basis for information as it provides an indication on where efforts are best invested. Within the agricultural sector, among fertilizer producers, distributers and farmers alike, there is an increasing awareness regarding phosphorus and the consequences of its use. This had led to several self-‐monitoring tools that take soil concentrations, type of crop produced and foodstuff security into account when distributing fertilizers on agricultural land, keeping livestock or producing meat products. Also, end-‐of-‐life actors, i.e. waste and water management companies, deal with the consequences of the phosphorus usage by developing techniques for treating and extracting the phosphorus in their ashes and sludge. However, as discovered in the model application chapter there is a lack of management of and information transfer to the consumption stage, something that affects the entire life cycle. The Phosphorus footprint model helps to improve the management within and between each life stage by observing all the life stages and their respective ins and outs. Also it connects the actors in each life stage and shows their interrelationship with each other. This bridging between the different life-‐stage-‐actors is important for improving the management and making recycling possible. The section Interpretation and Phosphorus declaration clearly illustrate the possibilities for improved management and recycling, thus the first objective of the Phosphorus footprint model is fulfilled.

A lot of attention has been given to phosphorus as an “environmental issue” and the issues of disposal or when dealing with leakage. However the issue of scarcity is much less mentioned and taken into account. The fact that phosphate rock is a finite and limited resource, where the reserves are either

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diminishing in amount and quality or are connected to geopolitical issues, is not only an environmental problem, but an economic and social one as well. When the demand increase and supply and quality do not or even decrease, the price of the good goes up. As the price of a resource goes up, it affects the rest of the life cycle, causing in this case food prices to increase as well, making it a social issue. Consumer behaviour such as increased demand for food and changes in dietary trends, currently more meat and dairy products, e.g. GI-‐diet and LCHF (Low Carb, High Fat), also affect the prices. By highlighting the scarcity issue the model gives incentives for all aspects of sustainability and for a broadening of perspective regarding phosphorus management, to include all life stages and the importance of proactive solutions along with the existing reactive. As a consequence, the needs for reactive solutions could in the future decrease, as the end-‐of-‐pipe pressures will lessen along with improved management upstream.

The model is developed with the target user in mind, a food production company or actors within that sector, where user ability is the key while still taking accuracy and result reliability into account, but compromising in favour of the first. Transparency is also a focus in the model to ensure accountability and traceability and has been achieved by clearly stating all incoming and outgoing flows that have been considered. To ensure this, the issue of transparency has been discussed with some stakeholders and experts.

6.2. Model application During the model application the Phosphorus footprint framework was applied and the step-‐wise accounting followed. The results are also discussed under section Interpretation and Phosphorus declaration. In this section the four stages of the accounting methodology are discussed with respect to the model application.

The first step, establishing the aim and scope of the study, gave a clear goal and good starting point for the study. Having an idea of what the purpose and guidelines are is essential for any project. These provided a platform on which to build the information and boundaries within which to look during the process of the study.

For the second stage, flow and life stage identification, the Phosphorus footprint supplied an inclusive flow chart and additions or alterations specific to the study was either easily identified from the start or during the third stage, data collection and calculation. The difficulty was establishing a mass-‐ and product balance for the study based on the functional unit. This balance was the basis for converting the amounts in each stage to the same unit, i.e. g phosphorus/kg of chicken meat and a crucial piece of information for the core processes, animal husbandry and food industry.

In the third stage, data collection and calculation, there were some difficulties with either lack of data or site specific information. The broad scope of the study, which cover the chicken production at the 46 farms that are part of Kronfågel and spread out in Sweden, meant assumptions and approximations necessary. The processes and procedures on the farms differ, not only with respect to what is produced or how by-‐products are handled (e.g. manure) but also in terms of location, which affect site-‐specific data. For example leakage and losses from agricultural land, the amount of phosphorus in the flows is

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highly site specific and depends on the several natural conditions such as topography, soil composition and weather conditions. These natural conditions also affect the existing phosphorus concentration in the soil. Furthermore, the assumption made in the food industry stage when the chicken meat is separated from the bones, skin etc. affect the accuracy as well. The allocations of phosphorus amounts are done based on mass and economic value, thus assuming that these chicken parts contain the same amount of phosphorus. All these issues influence the accuracy of the results, though as the main purpose of the study was model validation this is not crucial. For future reference, when conducting a Phosphorus footprint assessment, it is important to keep in mind that: the broader the scope and boundaries -‐ the more general the results. In the fourth and final stage, interpretation and phosphorus declaration, the lack of site-‐specific data became evident.

The calculations of the final stages, consumption and disposal, is based to a great extent on statistics and approximations from total phosphorus flow analysis through society as a whole, where the unknown flow is based on the measurable flow, resulting in an even balance and no impact to the overall footprint.

The interpretation of the results is primarily difficult due to the lack of comparison. Most studies analyse the total flows within a region, which puts the resulting losses of 4.7 g P/kg of chicken in some perspective, but does not provide a satisfactory comparison. Also using the PCR meat of Poultry gave good guidelines and a framework for the study, especially in the first step when setting the aim and scope. However, the PCR is developed for environmental and climate product declarations that are expressed in carbon dioxide equivalents. Thus it is important to keep in mind that not that all stages and flows listed in the PCR are applicable, and that there are other additions.

6.3. Final comments The methodology of the model is based on a step-‐wise accounting for performing an input-‐output analysis based on each single life stage of a meat product, produced, consumed and disposed of in Sweden. The methodology is simply and uses basic mass balance calculations. The accounting sheet provides a clear view of the accounting process by connecting it to the flow chart. During the model application however, the generality of the methodology became evident and the effect of the objective of being user-‐friendly on accuracy was clear. In order to develop a model for wide applicability, there was a compromise on accuracy. This does not need to be a weakness if the transparency including scope, boundaries and assumptions of the accounting is good and it is clear what the limitations of the model are.

The Phosphorus footprint model lacks a link between the consumption, which is analysed on a mainly regional and to some extent national scale, with the global resource availability. Unlike the Ecological and Water Footprints, the Phosphorus footprint model does not show the pressure human activities put on Earth’s resources, biological regenerative cycle or ecological assets. Because the geological-‐inorganic cycle that connects the water and land based cycle that regenerates the phosphate rock, is too slow (up to millions of years), like the regenerative cycle for carbon into oil. Hence it does not cover all aspects of sustainability or the full impact of anthropogenic pressure on the environment. The lack of elementary data leads to inconsistency and difficulty when comparing with other countries, companies and other.

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Developing a model for tracing an elemental substance through the different life cycles of meat production proved most difficult when the results were to be analysed. What is a phosphorus footprint? For the model it is defined as the consumption or usage of phosphorus, but in the interpretation of the results, the definition becomes unclear, as the substance is not consumed.

The model is limited to showing only quantitative and not qualitative data, i.e. it only account for the amounts of phosphorus in the identified flows without details about the compound or quality. Also it does not clearly link the environmental issues and monetary effects of the consumption. However, it results in an illustrative and straightforwardly communicative map or quantified flow chart, where flows, amounts and improvement possibilities are easily identified. The Phosphorus declaration can be used as a basis for making the phosphorus management more effective and consequently it can encourage a decreased use of raw phosphorus. The declaration can illustrate the possibilities for Sweden to become self-‐sufficient in terms of phosphorus through recycling and resource extraction. This can lead to beneficial changes in both monetary and ecological terms by linking environmental effects and economical activities. Finally, the phosphorus declaration is easily communicated to both suppliers and producers, which is a great benefit for highlighting the scarcity issue and encourage conscious raw resource use. Also, the Phosphorus declaration can be used to label products, increase consumer awareness and implement conscious consumption and a life cycle perspective on all levels related to Swedish agriculture and food production.

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7. Conclusions and future recommendations Besides issues with data avalability for calculations and comparison, there are two recommendations for future work. First, develop similar methods or models for tracing other essential nutrients for cultivation, such as nitrogen, sulphur and potassium. Researchers argue in a article published by DN Debatt (2012) that the resources for the production of nitrogen and sulphur are even scarcer than for phosphorus and that the economic value of the plant accessible nitrogen and potassium in excreta is four and 40% (for N and K respectively) higher than for phosphorus (Jönsson, et al., 2012). Second, integrate the economical aspects of phosphorus accounting. This would fully enable the final objective of highlighting the scarcity issue to be better represented in the model by including the market prices and how they are affected by the availability. Furthermore, this intergration would highlight the value of a hollistically and fully developed model.

The here presented study gives some main insights into the usage and losses of phosphours during the whole life cycle of a meatstuff produced in the Swedish bovine and poultry indutries. The conclusion is drawn that the Phosphorus footprint model is the accounting methodology framework for creating a quantified flow chart and a Phosphorus declaration of the losses and management improvement possibilities. For future research the named limitations of data availability and a lack of economic connection should be targeted to further improve the highly valuable Phosporous footprint model.

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Appendix 1: The Phosphorus Footprint Manual This is a manual for the Phosphorus Footprint Model developed in the master’s thesis “Phosphorus footprint – A model development, analysis and application in Swedish bovine and poultry industries”.

The Phosphorus footprint model is a way for agriculture and food production companies to create a map over their phosphorus flows from a consumption point of view. It is a consumer-‐based accounting model based on input-‐output-‐balances of phosphorus for each single life stage of a meat product that is produced, consumed and disposed of in Sweden. The model is primarily developed for food production companies and collaborations between actors in the food production chain. In full scale the model can be used for tracking the use of phosphorus during the whole life cycle of a meat product. The model is a retrospective accounting analysis tool, where flows and supplies are overseen and a quantitative map is produced. Values are measured in mass units, kg of phosphorus. For a production process or business it can also be calculated as kg P per unit product produced or per time unit for e.g. a geographical area, depending on what the end use is.

The model follows a four-‐step accounting methodology and result in an easily communicative and illustrative flow chart and input-‐output based accounting sheet. The Phosphorus Footprint accounting model is illustrated in Figure I. The goal is to illustrate where there are possibilities for recirculation, improved management or closing loops between life stages. The accounting sheet is developed from the schematic phosphorus flow chart and consists of two parts, a flow chart illustrating the flows with arrows and an inventory input-‐output-‐sheet. The inputs are in blue marked with a plus sign, outputs are in red marked with a minus sign and the internal flows are green. The flows going through each life stage and on to the next are in black. These flows are: the cultivated crops used to feed the livestock, the reared livestock to food industry, the prepared meat products to consumption and waste to waste treatment and excreta to wastewater treatment.

System definition and setting the aim In the first stage of the accounting the footprint the aim and system is defined. This is includes setting the aim and scope of the study, defining the functional unit, system boundaries and methodology, and discussing the assumptions, allocations and data quality demands.

Goal Setting the goal of the study is done by clearly formulating the purpose of the footprint accounting.

Scope The scope definition is an account of the process and life cycle of the studied meat product. The model is developed to include and handle the entire life cycle, from cultivation to disposal; however it can be condensed depending on the purpose of the study.

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Figure I: The Phosphorus footprint flow and accounting sheet

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Functional unit The functional unit defines in which form the data results are presented, inherent in the model is that all results are listed as grams of phosphorus per functional unit, which can based on various factors; production, geographically, temporally or spatially. The functional unit can be a combination of factors, but keeping it simple and straightforward is recommended as this is the basis for data collection and the availability can be a limiting factor.

System boundaries The general system boundaries are set in the model, which include the life stages of a meat product and the flows through each stage. Besides these boundaries, there can be product and study specific boundaries that should be defined and explained. These depend on the aim and scope of the study. There are PCR for meat of poultry (IVL, 2010) and meat of mammals (Boeri, et al., 2012) available and explained on the International EPD System website environdec.com.

Methodology This section describes how the accounting and study is performed, where data is collected and sources used. The Phosphorus footprint methodology is defined as; system and aim definition, life stage and flow identification, data collection and Interpretation and phosphorus declaration. If a PCR is used, there might be other applicable stages to take into account when defining the methodology. Also if there are any other study-‐specific considerations taken into account when performing the study, these should be listed here.

Assumptions List exclusions and assumptions made for the study, and what these are based on. For example, flows that will not be considered because their impact on the overall study are deemed to small and by who or what study confirms this exclusion or if stages prior, between or after those defined in the general system boundaries are excluded and on what basis.

Allocations How the question of allocating the phosphorus flows with respect to different products, by-‐product and other in the production and processing. The allocations can be done with respect to mass or economic value. The PCR give good guidelines and help on how to deal with allocation issues.

Data quality The demands on data quality are discussed with respect to several aspects; temporal, geographical and technical coverage, precision and range, accuracy and robustness.

Reporting Present in what format the results will be presented if it is in an additional format than the Phosphorus footprint model, which result in a combined accounting sheet and flow chart. Additional reporting formats may be as defined in the PCR, Climate compensation or similar structures.

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Identification of life stages and flows In this step a the production process of the studied system is explained to produce a flow chart showing the life stages of the chosen meat product and the flows through each stage that is to be included in the study. The Phosphorus footprint model provides a guideline with the accounting model, which identifies the life stages and flows. The general flows and life stages defined in the Phosphorus Footprint model are listed and illustrated in the flow chart below, see Figure 2.

Figure II: General phosphorus flow chart illustrating the phosphorus flows in Swedish agriculture and food production

The flows illustrated are broad and may differ depending on the specificities of the studied meat product and the boundaries set for the study. In general, all the life stages are to be included for a complete study, and any exceptions, additions or exclusions, should be listed and defined. This includes any changes regarding flows – inputs, internal or outputs. The flow chart should be adjusted according to these changes and each addition shall be defined and explained.

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Data collection and calculation The third step the goal is to put numbers on each of the flows, identified in the previous stage, by doing an inventory analysis. The PCR are helpful by supplying allocation rules for when the production of meat generates more than one product, and how the in-‐ and outputs of those stages should be divided (IVL, 2010). The PCR also supply a standardized format for how the result of the data should be presented.

For the calculations primary data or site-‐specific data shall be used in the core module, which is the animal husbandry and food industry. The data is gathered on or directly from the sites where the processes take place. This is to ensure high accuracy in the results. When primary data is not available, as is usually the case principally in the last stages; consumption and disposal, statistical and selected generic data is used. Also, some numbers, such as atmospheric deposition, are considered national values. For atmospheric deposition this value is 0.3 kg per hectare. To some extent the processes of life stage and flow identification, and data collection and calculation are iterative, as sources and flows of phosphorus will likely be found during the quantification in stage four, which may not have been considered when establishing the flow chart in stage three. In those cases, the flow chart is modified accordingly and the additions defined and explained. The same applies if flows are removed. Removal could be due to non-‐applicability or inability to quantify.

Interpretation and phosphorus declaration Last is results Interpretation and phosphorus declaration. The accounting sheet will show the footprint or the consumption, of phosphorus for each life stage and for the entire life cycle. The sum of the flows per life stage shows where improvements to the system can be done. If there are large flows entering the life stage AND leaving the same stage, there might be possibilities for recirculation and/or improved management.

The goal of the Phosphorus footprint is to illustrate where there are possibilities for recirculation, improved management or closing loops between life stages. Either the accounting sheet is used for Interpretation and phosphorus declaration. Or by using the quantified values and the constructed flow chart in the accounting sheet, an illustration of flows can be constructed where the arrows in the illustration represent the size of the flows.

The results are interpreted and evaluated with respect to the following aspects:

• Assessing the life cycle view in the studied system: Is the system linear or a closed loop system? If yes, to what extent is the system closed? Are there policies, framework or other structures aimed at implementing a closed loop system or is it possible to employ?

• Assessing the possibilities for improved phosphorus management: Where are the large, consumption flows, and if so could they be smaller, i.e. where are the possibilities for decreased raw resource use?

Assessing the possibilities for recycling: Where there are large flows leaving the system, could these complement and decrease the need of a raw resource input or even replace it? Are there recycled flows already and if so could they increase, i.e. more be re-‐circulated?

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Appendix 2: Model validation data and calculations Removed due to confidential data

TRITA-IM 2013:15

Industrial Ecology,

Royal Institute of Technology

www.ima.kth.se

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