Starch Europe, the association of European Starch producers, published the results of their 2022 sector-wide Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) study, our broadest and most comprehensive study to date, in April 2022.

The updated LCA study confirms that:

• For almost all the starch products and environmental impact categories, it is the agricultural phase which has the largest environmental impact.
• Compared to 2012, the updated secondary data for the agricultural phase are deemed more representative for the current standard growing conditions of European raw materials processed by the starch industry. Nevertheless, some uncertainty remains around the exact impact of the agricultural phase.
• When looking only at the manufacturing phase, the main environmental impact comes from the use of energy. In the last decade, the EU starch producing companies have invested significantly to improve their energy efficiency, and hence reduce the extent of this impact. The majority of the EU starch production now uses High Efficiency Combined Heat and Power (CHP) generation.
• At less than 10% of the total environmental impact, the transport phase impact is very low. This is because the industry typically has suppliers located close to the production plants and/or uses efficient means of transport, such as barge or rail.
• The starch industry produces close to zero waste.
• For some starch products (bio-based products, with a long life cycle, and used in non-food/non-feed applications), the carbon uptake of the crops will in fact outweigh the greenhouse gas emissions during the (agricultural and manufacturing) production phases.

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The European Starch Industry Association, AAF, published the summary report of its Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) study of its products. Following on from an earlier LCA study in 2001 for some products, this new study uses the most updated and recognised methodologies and databases, making the EU starch industry one of the first agri-food sectors to conduct such a detailed and multi-product study on a sectoral level.

Some of the main conclusions of the study are: 

• For almost all the starch product categories, it is the agricultural phase which has the largest environmental impact. For most starch products the agricultural phase constitutes around 2/3 of carbon footprint and 3/4 of the water depletion impact (and 100% of the agricultural land occupation impact).
• It is also important to note that a high level of uncertainty (25% at least) exists around the exact impact of the agricultural phase depending on the published data set used (which will in turn depend on the raw material used, and the cultivation place and method).
• When looking only at the manufacturing phase, the main environmental impact comes from the use of energy. The EU starch producing company invested significantly in the last decade to reduce the extent of this impact, as the majority of the EU starch production now use High Efficiency Combined Heat and Power (CHP) generation.
• At less than 2% of the total environmental impact, the transport phase impact is very low. This is because the industry typically has suppliers located close to the production plants and/or uses efficient means of transport (e.g. barge or rail).
• The starch industry produces close to zero waste.
• For some starch products (those with a long life cycle, i.e. being used in non-food/feed applications), the carbon uptake of the crops will in fact outweigh the greenhouse gas emissions during the (agricultural and manufacturing) production phases.

Click here to view the full publication