Assessing the Environmental Impact of White Bean Consumption in Sulaimani City: A Comprehensive Life Cycle Assessment Tool

Abstract

Climate change is greatly related to greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) where the agricultural sector is responsible for approximately 14% of total emissions. In this research Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology was considered, and the carbon footprint of dry bean in the supply chain process in Sulaimani was expressed. Data was collected via an online survey and face to face administration of questionnaires among a sample of 386 adult city dwellers in Sulaimani. This paper provides for the first time a comprehensive evaluation of the life cycle environmental impacts of dry white beans consumed in Sulaimani city. The system boundary was set to cradle-to-grave with a functional unit of using different amount of dry beans in the Sulaimani household, two methods of cooking dry white beans at the consumer stage tested in the study were cooking in normal pot and pressure cooker. The aim of this research is to assess the environmental impacts of the consumption of domestic and imported white beans by using LCA methodology. The results illustrated that great number of the residents bought imported white beans which have huge impacts on the environment. Even though the dweller’s soaking the beans precooking, it boils for long time (4-6 hours) with mean (1-2 hours) that means using more energy (gas or electricity) and this stage is the hot spot of consumption white bean. Moreover, the majority eat 1-2 meal/week with amount of ¼ Kg. The research conducted that cooking time and energy use efficiency as two parameters that affect the consumption at the consumer stage. Further research is required to investigate the impact of cultivation beans in Kurdistan, Iran, and Turkey as these two countries main export for bean to Sulaimani and comparison among them.