(MDPI, 2022) González Peñalver, José Miguel; Armijos Piedra, María Alejandra; Soret Lafraya, Beatriz; Martínez Aldaya, Maite; Agronomía, Biotecnología y Alimentación; Institute on Innovation and Sustainable Development in Food Chain - ISFOOD; Agronomia, Bioteknologia eta Elikadura
Worldwide, more than 1.3 billion tonnes of food are wasted each year, which is equivalent
to releasing 4.4 Gt of CO2 equivalents (CO2e). In this context, the Food Bank of Navarra (FBN)
annually avoids the waste of approximately 3000 tons of perfectly consumable food. The aim of this
study was twofold: on the one hand, to analyse the carbon footprint of the FBN and, on the other
hand, to perform a comparative analysis of the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in two scenarios,
“with” and “without” the actions of the FBN, in order to identify and quantify the environmental
benefits, in terms of GHG emissions reduction, associated with the reduction in food waste. The
analyses were conducted in two different years. The carbon footprint associated with the FBN’s
activities was 147 t of CO2e in the year 2018. The quantification of GHGs in the scenario “without
the FBN” showed that if the FBN did not exist 4715 t of CO2e would have been emitted. The results
obtained in consecutive years were similar, highlighting the importance of the FBN—not only in
social terms but also environmental terms—as it prevented a large amount of GHGs from being
emitted into the atmosphere. A detailed account of the carbon emission reduction associated with the
food bank’s operations and the knowledge of the benefits involved could boost their positive effects
in facilitating the integration of their activities into policies aimed at climate neutrality.
