Abstract

Nowadays the discussion about environmental sustainability and sustainable development is a current issue and the perception of relations between agriculture and environment to obtain environmentally friendly products is increasing and it represents a new approach for organizations' policies and strategies. Many companies are looking for eco-friendly crops, improving their production technologies in order to obtain more efficiency from an economical and environmental point of view, working for a green economy. The one of the critical consumers is an expanding category, formed by people that take care of companies behavior and decide if it is a good or bad one. The decision of the customer is transformed into a vote, by the purchase or not of a certain product labeled by the brand of the company.In the last years, the world's biggest companies in the agri-food sector started a voluntary communication of their social responsibility to the customers and this issue can be achieved by environmental labels. So, if a company aims to be on the new market wave it is mandatory to become part of the game. Starting from this point of view, the first objective of the present study is to figure out the strategies that can be used to assess the environmental performance of berry fruit and strawberries labeled «Delizie di Bosco del Piemonte» produced by Cooperativa Agrifrutta of Peveragno (Cn), Italy. The target of the label is to distinguish the brand on the market, emphasizing the link between environment and produce. The governance of the company aspires to foster the brand not only producing high quality fruit but even quantifying the sustainability of their production. To achieve the goal two strategies have been adopted: a. Life Cycle Assessment (Lca) of strawberry and berry fruit supply chains, using the impact methods global warming potential (Gwp) and non-renewable energy. b. Evaluation of the carbon sequestration operated by chestnut woods belonging to the growers of the Cooperative, in order to balance the emissions of the considered supply chains using the Ipcc method. The amount of the emissions of the supply chains considered according to Ipcc Gwp are 209 t CO2 eq. for the year of study (2010). To balance this emissions 21 ha of chestnut woods are needed. Furthermore the study figured out the critical points of the chain and mainly due to the use of plastic materials, both in nursery and in post-harvest. The calculation of the emissions and their compensations through carbon sequestration of the chestnut woods allows the governance to improve a model for future strategies of sustainable development. In this way the company hopes to offer to the consumers high quality fruit, strictly linked to the area of production and at impact zero.