Feeding cities sustainably: an environmental assessment challenge
Why is an assessment framework necessary now?
Eléonore Loiseau: Feeding cities sustainably involves reducing the environmental impact of food, which accounts for a quarter of global greenhouse gas emissions, and consumes many resources. It also entails creating supply chains that are resilient to global change.
To support the deployment of new territorial food systems, we need to develop environmental impact assessment methods to quantify their impacts and their ability to fully meet the needs of territories. The URBALIM project therefore aims to provide a complete diagnosis of food supplies in cities with a view to identifying the main levers for improving environmental performance; to characterise, from a life cycle perspective, the system’s vulnerability to environmental or socio-economic disturbances (resource depletion, climate change, economic crises, etc.); and, finally, to compare the eco-efficiency of different strategies.
How can we assess food supply systems?
Methodological developments are based on the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) framework, a standardised and recognised method for assessing the environmental impact of food. Its multi-criteria perspective - “from the cradle to the grave” - helps identify pollution transfers between stages in the life cycle and the categories of environmental impacts. Initially designed to study systems at the “micro” scale, the LCA framework has been adapted to assess overall territorial environmental performance. To deepen and operationalise territorial LCA approaches, we are striving to develop new metrics including concepts such as planetary limits and system vulnerabilities to several disturbances, and to propose simplified methods for collecting data.
This involves integrating various concepts within a single assessment framework, and applying it to a case study, the French city of Montpellier, in order to provide local decision-makers with objective information for co-developing more sustainable food supply schemes.
The project’s success rests upon the mobilisation of different disciplines (environmental sciences, agronomy, economy, applied mathematics, etc.) as well as the involvement of territorial stakeholders.
What analyses did you make for Montpellier?
Our initial results have shown the possibility of applying these processes at city and regional level, with a view to identifying the primary opportunities for reducing the impact on food supply. The main impacts are caused by agricultural production (70-90% of impact for animal products), while that of logistical chains (excluding the last few kilometres) can be low, even if they extend over very long distances. In a more preliminary stage, new metrics on food supply vulnerability were proposed, based on resource criticality assessment methods (minerals, water, land). Their application helps identify potential compromises between environmental impact reduction and system vulnerability. For instance, with respect to bread, it was shown that some supply chains can be more efficient environmentally, but they depend on more critical resources.
How can territorial stakeholders use these results?
Our initial results presented to the city of Montpellier provide objective information to identify courses of action. One of the key levers is a behavioural change in terms of food consumption, namely moving towards less meat-based diets. Another promising avenue is to rethink the last few kilometres, from the point of sale to the consumer, by using soft mobility and new routes. The next stages aim to complete the existing metrics and apply them to Montpellier on alternative networks, in order to discuss with local officials regarding potential compromises between environmental performance and system vulnerability.
The ANR URBALIM project (2021-2024) brings together scientists from 4 institutes: INRAE, the Institut Agro de Montpellier (Montpellier Institute for Agricultural Research), CIRAD, and the Joint Research Centre. It is also supported by the ELSA-PACT Industrial Chair, and the UNESCO Chair on World Food Systems, and has a partnership with the city of Montpellier.
