Environmental Assessment of Green Rebel's Beefless Rendang through Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) Approach

Abstract

Plant-based meats (PBMs) are becoming more popular, as researches suggest that the employment of plant-based diet can be beneficial not only for health but also for the environment. One way to prove the environmental benefits of PBMs is by conducting a life cycle assessment (LCA), a common technique used to quantify the environmental impacts of a product. Therefore, this study aims to assess the environmental impacts of Green Rebel’s Beefless Rendang (GRBR), a plant-based rendang, through an LCA approach, as well as to study its impact distributions and identify its hotspots. The selected impact categories were climate change, energy use, and water use, which were analyzed using Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s Global Warming Potential of 100 years (IPCC GWP 100a), Cumulative Energy Demand (CED), and Available WAter REmaining (AWARE) impact assessment methodologies, respectively. Results showed that 1 pack (225 g) of GRBR has an environmental profile of 0.849 kg CO2 equivalent (eq.) of GWP, 11.7 MJ of energy use, and 0.876 m3 eq. of water use. These impacts are mostly dominated by the ingredients. To all three impact categories, dried shiitake mushroom always appears to be the biggest contributor. Texturized soy protein (TSP) and coconut milk are in the top three contributors to water use, while rendang seasoning, which contains turmeric, is a top contributor to the GWP. Moreover, the cold storage of GRBR gives significant impacts to climate change and energy use. The low-density polyethylene (LDPE) packaging film, as the rendang’s primary packaging, is also a top contributor to energy use. Judging from the results, environmental improvements can be made by modifying the amount of the high-impact ingredients, especially shiitake, using other materials for the primary packaging, or finding other preservation methods to eliminate the need for cold storage.