The Sostenipra Research Group, based at the Institute of Environmental Science and Technology (ICTA-UAB) of the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB), is pleased to announce an upcoming symposium dedicated to LCA and circular resource management for food production.
AIM OF THE SYMPOSIUM
Providing access to safe, affordable, local and sustainable food products is crucial given the current environmental crises that we are facing. Food production mainly relies on scarce natural resources, such as water, mineral fertilizers and soil, especially in highly urbanized areas. While innovative forms of local food production are slowly catching up, several new trends still need to be better discussed and quantified. One of them is the application of circularity principles in the production of food, which are conceived as a way of reducing resource consumption but carry with them new concerns. Such is the case of using reclaimed water or recovering fertilizers from wastewaters, which result in benefits and impacts on water, soil and human health. In this sense, life cycle assessment (LCA) is a powerful tool that is helping us to quantify the environmental impacts of food production but the challenges of new circular practices still need to be integrated.
This Symposium invites academics and practitioners in the fields of LCA and circular economy to discuss how we can evaluate these new forms of food production and whether they hold potential to reduce our impacts on the environment. In particular, we welcome submissions relating to:
- LCA of circular water management: case studies on the application of reclaimed water to local agriculture, rainwater harvesting in cities and new technologies for wastewater treatment, recovery and reuse.
- LCA of circular nutrient management: case studies on the recovery of nutrients (e.g. urine, struvite, compost) from cities, new technologies for nutrient recovery from wastewater treatment plants.
- Impacts of circular strategies on water, soil and human health: integration of microplastics and micropollutants into the LCA of circular practices, soil health indicators applied to the LCA of local food production.
- LCA of urban agricultural case studies applying circular practices: vertical farms, building-integrated agriculture, community gardens
- Material flow analyses or empirical models quantifying flows of nutrients, water, emissions or land use to produce local food with circular practices.
INSTRUCTIONS FOR AUTHORS
- Authors interested in presenting at the Symposium must submit an abstract by March 15, 2025 (max. 250 words) that clearly aligns with one of the 5 topics listed above.
- The Symposium has a limited capacity of maximum 50 participants. Please note that submitting an abstract does not automatically grant your participation in this event.
- Registration is free of charge but mandatory to participate in the event.
