Water Footprint and Ecosystem Services Integration in the Organizational Life Cycle Assessment (O-LCA) Framework

Agriculture is facing the challenge of assuring a suitable level of production while reducing impacts on ecosystem quality and natural resources. In this context, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) can provide useful information to support agriculture sustainability, providing quantitative information on the environmental impacts of agriculture activities. However, there is still a lack of harmonization and application of LCA indicators to assess the impact on water resources, carbon emission, ecosystem functionality, and the associated ecosystem services. This study tries to develop a protocol for framing the agricultural organization complexity, environmental impact, and ecosystem services through an Organizational LCA (O-LCA).