IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/caa/jnlpse/v63y2017i12id499-2017-pse.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Eco-innovations in the German fertilizer supply chain: Impact on the carbon footprint of fertilizers

Author

Listed:
  • Kathrin HASLER

    (Plant Nutrition and Crop Production Group, University of Applied Sciences Osnabrück, Osnabrück, Germany)

  • Stefanie BRÖRING

    (Chair for Technology and Innovation Management in Agribusiness, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany)

  • Onno S.W.F. OMTA

    (Chair of the Management Studies Group, Wageningen University,)

  • Hans-Werner OLFS

    (Plant Nutrition and Crop Production Group, University of Applied Sciences Osnabrück, Osnabrück, Germany)

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to analyse to what extent the existing eco-innovations in the German fertilizer domain might reduce the fertilizer carbon footprint without compromising on crop productivity. The continuously growing demand for agricultural products will require a further increase in agricultural production mostly achieved with additional external inputs (fossil energy, pesticides, irrigation water and fertilizers). Fertilizer in general and nitrogen fertilizers in particular are major factors for yield increases in crop production. On the other hand, emissions of greenhouse gases play a dominant role in the debate on the environmental burden of fertilizers. Typical mineral fertilizers were compared with so-called stabilized nitrogen fertilizers and secondary raw material fertilizers in this study. Additionally, an effect of the combination of irrigation with fertilization (i.e. fertigation) was investigated. With an adopted life cycle assessment approach focusing on CO2 and N2O emission, the carbon footprints of the different fertilizer options were considered. The calculations showed that especially the use of stabilized nitrogen fertilizer reduced the fertilization-related carbon footprint up to 13%. However, because of higher costs or incomplete supply chain relationships, adoption of these innovations is expected to be rather limited in the near future. Fertilizers made from secondary raw materials resulted in similar carbon footprints as mineral ones, but they can help to close nutrient cycles and use by-products of other production processes.

Suggested Citation

  • Kathrin HASLER & Stefanie BRÖRING & Onno S.W.F. OMTA & Hans-Werner OLFS, 2017. "Eco-innovations in the German fertilizer supply chain: Impact on the carbon footprint of fertilizers," Plant, Soil and Environment, Czech Academy of Agricultural Sciences, vol. 63(12), pages 531-544.
    • Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlpse:v:63:y:2017:i:12:id:499-2017-pse
    DOI: 10.17221/499/2017-PSE
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://pse.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/499/2017-PSE.html
    Download Restriction: free of charge
    File URL: http://pse.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/499/2017-PSE.pdf
    Download Restriction: free of charge
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.17221/499/2017-PSE?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Engstrom, Rebecka & Wadeskog, Anders & Finnveden, Goran, 2007. "Environmental assessment of Swedish agriculture," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 60(3), pages 550-563, January.
    2. Kathrin Hasler & Hans-Werner Olfs & Onno Omta & Stefanie Bröring, 2016. "Drivers for the Adoption of Eco-Innovations in the German Fertilizer Supply Chain," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(8), pages 1-18, July.
    3. Jerome Vanclay & John Shortiss & Scott Aulsebrook & Angus Gillespie & Ben Howell & Rhoda Johanni & Michael Maher & Kelly Mitchell & Mark Stewart & Jim Yates, 2011. "Customer Response to Carbon Labelling of Groceries," Journal of Consumer Policy, Springer, vol. 34(1), pages 153-160, March.
    4. Rennings, Klaus, 2000. "Redefining innovation -- eco-innovation research and the contribution from ecological economics," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 32(2), pages 319-332, February.
    5. Gadema, Zaina & Oglethorpe, David, 2011. "The use and usefulness of carbon labelling food: A policy perspective from a survey of UK supermarket shoppers," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(6), pages 815-822.
    6. David Tilman & Kenneth G. Cassman & Pamela A. Matson & Rosamond Naylor & Stephen Polasky, 2002. "Agricultural sustainability and intensive production practices," Nature, Nature, vol. 418(6898), pages 671-677, August.
    7. Paul Ekins, 2010. "Eco-innovation for environmental sustainability: concepts, progress and policies," International Economics and Economic Policy, Springer, vol. 7(2), pages 267-290, August.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Srivastava, Nitish & Saquib, Mohammad & Rajput, Pramod & Bhosale, Amit C. & Singh, Rhythm & Arora, Pratham, 2023. "Prospects of solar-powered nitrogenous fertilizers," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 187(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Kathrin Hasler & Hans-Werner Olfs & Onno Omta & Stefanie Bröring, 2017. "Drivers for the Adoption of Different Eco-Innovation Types in the Fertilizer Sector: A Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(12), pages 1-22, November.
    2. Kathrin Hasler & Hans-Werner Olfs & Onno Omta & Stefanie Bröring, 2016. "Drivers for the Adoption of Eco-Innovations in the German Fertilizer Supply Chain," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(8), pages 1-18, July.
    3. Laurent Muller & Anne Lacroix & Bernard Ruffieux, 2019. "Environmental Labelling and Consumption Changes: A Food Choice Experiment," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 73(3), pages 871-897, July.
    4. Feucht, Yvonne & Zander, Katrin, 2017. "Consumers' Willingness to Pay for Climate-Friendly Food in European Countries," 2018 International European Forum (163rd EAAE Seminar), February 5-9, 2018, Innsbruck-Igls, Austria 276930, International European Forum on System Dynamics and Innovation in Food Networks.
    5. Jacek Wysocki, 2021. "Innovative Green Initiatives in the Manufacturing SME Sector in Poland," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-19, February.
    6. Xie, Ronghui & Teo, Thompson S.H., 2022. "Green technology innovation, environmental externality, and the cleaner upgrading of industrial structure in China — Considering the moderating effect of environmental regulation," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 184(C).
    7. Joana Costa, 2021. "Carrots or Sticks: Which Policies Matter the Most in Sustainable Resource Management?," Resources, MDPI, vol. 10(2), pages 1-21, February.
    8. Oriana Gava & Fabio Bartolini & Francesca Venturi & Gianluca Brunori & Angela Zinnai & Alberto Pardossi, 2018. "A Reflection of the Use of the Life Cycle Assessment Tool for Agri-Food Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(1), pages 1-16, December.
    9. Antje Bierwisch & Lucas Huter & Juliana Pattermann & Oliver Som, 2021. "Taking Eco-Innovation to the Road—A Design-Based Workshop Concept for the Development of Eco-Innovative Business Models," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(16), pages 1-25, August.
    10. Sebastian Losacker & Hendrik Hansmeier & Jens Horbach & Ingo Liefner, 2023. "The geography of environmental innovation: a critical review and agenda for future research," Review of Regional Research: Jahrbuch für Regionalwissenschaft, Springer;Gesellschaft für Regionalforschung (GfR), vol. 43(2), pages 291-316, August.
    11. Alessandra Colombelli & Jackie Krafft & Francesco Quatraro, 2021. "Firms’ growth, green gazelles and eco-innovation: evidence from a sample of European firms," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 56(4), pages 1721-1738, April.
    12. Shewmake, Sharon & Okrent, Abigail & Thabrew, Lanka & Vandenbergh, Michael, 2015. "Predicting consumer demand responses to carbon labels," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 119(C), pages 168-180.
    13. Feucht, Yvonne & Zander, Katrin, 2017. "Consumers’ attitudes on carbon footprint labelling. Results of the SUSDIET project," Thünen Working Paper 266396, Johann Heinrich von Thünen-Institut (vTI), Federal Research Institute for Rural Areas, Forestry and Fisheries.
    14. Brian Chi-ang Lin & Siqi Zheng & Nicolò Barbieri & Claudia Ghisetti & Marianna Gilli & Giovanni Marin & Francesco Nicolli, 2016. "A Survey Of The Literature On Environmental Innovation Based On Main Path Analysis," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(3), pages 596-623, July.
    15. Elofsson, Katarina & Bengtsson, Niklas & Matsdotter, Elina & Arntyr, Johan, 2016. "The impact of climate information on milk demand: Evidence from a field experiment," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 14-23.
    16. Francesco Crespi & Claudia Ghisetti & Francesco Quatraro, 2015. "Environmental and innovation policies for the evolution of green technologies: a survey and a test," Eurasian Business Review, Springer;Eurasia Business and Economics Society, vol. 5(2), pages 343-370, December.
    17. Pinget, Amandine, 2016. "Spécificités des déterminants des innovations environnementales : une approche appliquée aux PME [Specificities of determinants for environmental innovation : an approach applied to SMEs]," MPRA Paper 80108, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    18. Fethi, Sami & Rahuma, Abdulhamid, 2020. "The impact of eco-innovation on CO2 emission reductions: Evidence from selected petroleum companies," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 108-115.
    19. Shihu Zhong & Jie Chen, 2019. "How Environmental Beliefs Affect Consumer Willingness to Pay for the Greenness Premium of Low-Carbon Agricultural Products in China: Theoretical Model and Survey-based Evidence," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(3), pages 1-20, January.
    20. Costantini, Valeria & Crespi, Francesco & Palma, Alessandro, 2017. "Characterizing the policy mix and its impact on eco-innovation: A patent analysis of energy-efficient technologies," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 46(4), pages 799-819.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:caa:jnlpse:v:63:y:2017:i:12:id:499-2017-pse. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Ivo Andrle (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.cazv.cz/en/home/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.