Positive aspects in a Social Life Cycle Assessment of a handicraft product: the case study of a wheels of semisoft juniper-smoked ricotta cheese

Context In Italy handicraft products are important drivers of the economic growth, and key elements that distinguish the Italian creative and design activities production worldwide. These products are made mainly by hand, and... [ view full abstract ]

Context
In Italy handicraft products are important drivers of the economic growth, and key elements that distinguish the Italian creative and design activities production worldwide. These products are made mainly by hand, and are characterized by a short and traceable supply chain, the presence of non-traditional business models (e.g. social innovation). Moreover, they distinguish themselves for their uniqueness, the bond with the territory and with the traditions, and particularly for their quality, all aspects that make them not directly comparable with products of the same category.
The increasing concerns by consumers about the potential social and socio-economic impacts of products has driven an increasingly number of publications of Social LCA (S-LCA) studies in the last years. However, among the studied products, the handcraft ones have not been addressed so far to the best knowledge of the authors.
Objectives
This paper aims at presenting the application of the S-LCA methodology to the study of a wheels of semisoft juniper-smoked ricotta, with the ultimate goal of capturing the positive effects its production system generates. The product under study is produced in an agritourism-farm located in Abruzzo-Italy , which adopts a business model based on handcraft. The main activity is the breeding of sheep, from which chees, wool and meat are produced. In-addition, also accommodation, food-service and teaching-farm are services provided.
Method
The S-LCA methodology as structured in the UNEP/SETAC Guidelines has been adopted, with a twofold purpose: i) to test its applicability to such a complex product system; ii) to develop suitable indicators and an approach able to highlight whether and when win-win situation occur (Petti et al., 2014). Among the complexities, the definition of the functional unit is particularly challenging: the peculiarities of the place in which the production takes place (e.g. around 120 aromatic species per sq of grazing land), and the way in which the production process is organized, cannot be captured by setting the functional unit to e.g. 1 kg of cheese.
Findings and contributions
Preliminary findings show that handcraft products, in particular those belonging to the agri-food sector, require a different approach when assessing their potential socio-economic impact, due to the several interdependencies existing between a product, a territory and the actors within. This complexity requires a revised definition of the quality concept, able to embrace a multitude of aspects, and an integrated assessment in which the social counterpart cannot be carried out by a stand-alone methodology.