Data_Sheet_1_Environmental life cycle assessment of an on-site modular cabinet vertical farm.docx

The number of vertical farms has been expanding rapidly in recent years to provide more resilient and sustainable global food provisioning closer to consumers. However, there is a lack of empirical evidence on whether vertical farms can provide sustainable sourcing of food. The purpose of this study is to assess the environmental performance of a modular cabinet vertical farm producing lettuce and basil on-site at the end-user. To assess the environmental performance of this system, a life cycle assessment (LCA) was conducted to determine the total impact of producing lettuce and basil on-site, i.e., a kitchen for an office cafeteria, and compare to conventional sourcing. The results from this study suggest that the modular vertical farm can provide crops with environmental impacts comparable to or less than conventionally sourced options. GHG emissions ranged from 0.78–1.18 kg CO2-eq per kg lettuce and from 1.45–2.12 kg CO2-eq per kg basil from on-site production. The ranges suggest that the environmental performance is sensitive to methodological choices and life cycle inventory (LCI) data choices. These include how to treat the infrastructure for the modular cabinet, as it is often rented as a growing-service system, in addition to the LCI data choices related to the source of electricity. In conclusion, under local conditions (i.e., Stockholm, Sweden) the modular vertical farm can produce lettuce with equivalent emissions and quality to imported lettuce, despite its high energy requirement. The findings and knowledge from this study add to the growing body of literature on vertical farming, providing empirical evidence on the sustainability of an on-site commercial cabinet-based vertical farm. Such information can be used for comparisons and validation of claims in the industry, and to provide empirical evidence to this developing field.

近年来，垂直农场的规模迅速扩张，旨在为贴近消费者的全球粮食供应提供更强韧性与更可持续的保障。然而，目前仍缺乏实证证据证明垂直农场能否实现可持续的食品供应链。本研究旨在评估部署在终端用户现场、用于种植生菜与罗勒的模块化柜式垂直农场的环境表现。为评估该系统的环境表现，研究开展了生命周期评估（LCA），核算该现场生产场景（即员工餐厅厨房）中种植生菜与罗勒的总环境影响，并与传统采购模式进行对比。本研究结果表明，模块化柜式垂直农场生产的作物，其环境影响与传统采购选项相当甚至更低。现场生产的温室气体（GHG）排放范围为：每千克生菜0.78~1.18千克二氧化碳当量，每千克罗勒1.45~2.12千克二氧化碳当量。该排放区间显示，环境表现对研究方法选择与生命周期清单（LCI）数据选取较为敏感，其中包括模块化柜式设施的核算方式——由于该设施常作为种植服务系统租赁，此外还涉及电力来源相关的LCI数据选取。综上，在瑞典斯德哥尔摩的本地场景下，尽管模块化垂直农场能耗较高，但其生产的生菜在排放与品质上均可与进口生菜持平。本研究的发现与成果丰富了垂直农业领域的现有文献，为基于商用柜式的现场垂直农场的可持续性提供了实证证据。此类信息可用于行业相关宣称的对比与验证，同时为这一新兴领域提供实证支撑。