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Adopting sustainability: A vital assessment of PEF in the Agrifood industry

Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) has emerged as an essential metric in the search for sustainable agriculture, aiming to measure the environmental impact of products at some stage in their life cycle. However, the current discussion has highlighted the limitations of PEF, in particular within the agrifood industry. Our comprehensive evaluation delves into these shortcomings, supplying insights and viable methods ahead.

PEF logic: Summary

Product Environmental Agrifood industry Footprint (PEF) is a European Commission initiative designed to standardise the manner in which environmental overall performance is measured and communicated throughout the EU Considering a wide range of environmental indicators, PEF aims to lessen environmental impact and create sustainable markets.

Disadvantages of PEF in Agrifood industry

While the targets of the PEF are laudable, its software for agri-meals highlights sizable, demanding situations:

Complexity and cost

The implementation of the PEF device is resource-extensive, making it a hard task for small- and medium-sized agri-meal producers. Complexity and associated expenses can hinder enormous adoption, disrupting smaller gamers within the market.

One-length-fits-all approach

A standardized PEF approach may not be as effective as it should be to replicate the precise environmental effects of various agricultural ingredients. This blanket technique runs the risk of oversimplifying the rural microcosm, failing to seize the specificity of ecosystems and agricultural practices.


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