Abstract themes

Theme 1: Methods

This theme addresses methodological developments in life cycle assessment (LCA) applied to food and agricultural systems, including approaches for quantifying impacts of deforestation, land use change, and agricultural plastics. It further covers advances in life cycle impact assessment (LCIA), integration of planetary boundaries, and prospective assessments of bio-based technologies.

Keywords: LCA methodology, plastics, land use change, deforestation, LCIA, planetary boundaries, prospective assessment, bio-based systems

Theme 2: Data and Tools

This theme focuses on the generation, structuring, and application of life cycle inventory (LCI) data for food systems. Emphasis is placed on database development, modeling approaches, and the integration of digitalization and artificial intelligence (AI) to improve data quality, representativeness, and decision-support capabilities.

Keywords: life cycle inventory, LCI databases, modeling, digitalization, artificial intelligence, data quality, decision support

Theme 3: Sustainable diets and nutrition

This theme examines approaches to integrate environmental impacts with nutritional quality in the assessment of food items, meals and dietary patterns. It addresses methodological frameworks and indicators that enable combined evaluation to inform sustainable and health-promoting dietary transitions. 

Keywords: sustainable diets, nutrition, environmental assessment, combined indicators, methodological frameworks, dietary transitions, nutritional LCA, dietary recommendations, social LCA

Theme 4: Sustainable food systems and supply chains

This theme explores system-level sustainability challenges across global food systems, including supply chain sustainability, food security, and institutional innovations. It considers the impacts of packaging, deforestation, and land use change, including contexts in developing and emerging economies.

Keywords: sustainable food systems, supply chain sustainability, food security, institutional innovation, packaging, land use change, emerging economies

Theme 5: Sustainable food production

This theme investigates sustainability performance in agricultural, livestock, fisheries, and aquaculture systems, as well as in food processing and transformation. It includes analysis of agricultural plastics and technological practices aimed at reducing environmental burdens across primary production and processing stages.

Keywords: sustainable agriculture, livestock systems, fisheries, aquaculture, food processing, agricultural plastics, production technologies

Theme 6: Communication and implementation of results and actions

This theme focuses on strategies for translating LCA outcomes into actionable insights for consumers, policymakers, and businesses. Topics include communication of environmental footprints, integration of environmental and nutritional dimensions, incorporation of ESG criteria, and alignment with policy and regulatory frameworks.

Keywords: communication strategies, consumer behavior, policy integration, regulation, ESG, environmental footprint, nutrition-environment linkages, labelling, communication, product environmental footprint (PEF)

Theme 7: Circularity (including food waste and loss)

This theme examines circular economy strategies within food systems, including the prevention and valorization of food waste and losses, sustainable packaging, and bio-economy pathways. It also considers food-water-energy-material interlinkages in designing resource-efficient, closed-loop systems.

Keywords: circular economy, food waste, food loss, packaging, bio-economy, resource nexus, resource efficiency

Theme 8: Innovative production systems and products

This theme addresses technological and systemic innovations in food production, including urban agriculture, novel protein sources, and advanced processing technologies. It also explores emerging crop and livestock management practices such as soil microbiome management and probiotic applications, with attention to their sustainability implications.

Keywords: innovation, novel proteins, urban agriculture, food processing, agricultural technologies, microbiome, probiotics, sustainability assessment, packaging