New wool analysis outlines ‘true environmental cost’
13/04/2015
Funded by the Australian Government and Australian wool growers through Australian Wool Innovation, the study outlines a way to allocate environmental impact on the basis of the protein requirements for wool and meat production.
“As both meat and wool are protein-based products, and wool production is largely determined by protein requirements, this is a logical basis for allocation,” says IWTO.
“The method also has the benefit of generating results for environmental indicators such as greenhouse gas emissions and use of water resources, which are causally tied to production of wool and meat.”
Existing life cycle assessments (LCAs), the study found, produce different results depending on the method used in dividing the environmental impact between these two products. LCAs are used in rating systems designed to assist consumers in making product choices, such as the Higgs Index developed by the Sustainable Apparel Coalition and MADE-BY’s Environmental Benchmark.
“We should see this study influence the international standards applied to benchmarking," said Dr Paul Swan, General Manager Research at Australian Wool Innovation.
“Over time this will result in more consistent reporting of the positive environmental performance of wool, and provide assurance to the retailers, brands and marketers that are involved or have an interest in wool that they have the most accurate data set, and thus the most accurate understanding of the true environmental footprint of wool.”
The study is available to download on the IWTO’s website.
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