Sustainable Supply Chains Test::Chapter 4 - Customer Perspective

Question 1

What is the main factor influencing the level of CO2 emissions per capita?

Answer 1

The disposable income, which usually increases with age

Question 2

What components make up the average ecological footprint in Germany?

Answer 2

Nutrition: 35%

Housing: 25%

Mobility: 22%

Consumerism: 18%

Question 3

What are the problems with existing product labels (in the textile industry)?

Answer 3

Testing usually only takes place at product level, not along the supply chain

Question 4

Other consumption- and production-side measures:

Answer 4

More efficient and adapted agricultural production
e.g. through precision agriculture, CO2-sink conservation and genetic engineering
Possible emission reduction: up to 55%.
Reduction of food waste and loss
Along the entire supply chain and at end consumption
Potential emissions reduction if food waste is halved: up to 25%.
Consumption of regional, seasonal and, as far as possible, minimally processed foods
Possible emission reduction: up to 8%.

Question 5

Name well-known product labels in Germany:

Answer 5

Stiftung Warentest-Siegel
Deutsches Bio-Siegel
TÜV Süd-Siegel
Öko-TEST-Siegel
Fairtrade-Siegel

Question 6

Name product labels in the textile industry:

Answer 6

Certified Cotton
GOTS
Öko Tex Made in green
Blauer Engel
EU Ecolabel
FWF
Grüne Knopf

Question 7

Meta-Label

Answer 7

• Green Button is „Meta-Label”
  → If a fashion brand already meets the criteria of
  existing sustainability labels in the textile sector, it can
  also apply for the Green Button.
• Existing labels often only test at the product level
  instead at the company level

Question 8

Intention-behavior gap:

Answer 8

Gap between many people’s recognition of
major social problems (such as climate
change) and their actual willingness to draw
consequences for their own behavior.

Question 9

How high are the average CO2 emissions of 18-29 year olds?

Answer 9

4,7tCO2-eq/a

Question 10

Greenhouse gas emissions of animal products per weight unit

Answer 10

beef 15-65 kgCO2e kg^-1
fish 5-45
dairy 5-22
cheese 5-23
red meat 4-15
eggs 2-4
mild 2-3

Question 11

Explain the development of CO2 emissions in relation to heating

Answer 11

Heating
* Increasing age → Increasing living space
→ Greater CO2 emissions due to heating

Question 12

Explain the development of CO2 emissions in relation to electricity:

Answer 12

Decreases with increasing age (less media use)

Question 13

Explain the development of CO2 emissions in relation to consumption:

Answer 13

Increases with income, decreases with age

Question 14

Explain the age-related development of CO2 emissions in relation to mobility:

Answer 14

Highest between 30-65 year olds (everyday mobility & travelling)

Question 15

Ecological Footprint: Unit of measurement

Answer 15

“global hectares” = biologically productive area

Question 16

Ecological Footprint: Regional food

Answer 16

Regional food is not necessarily climate-friendly. → Most emissions occur in agricultural production or through land use changes.
Plant-based foods imported by ship produce lower overall emissions than locally produced beef.
For long storage periods, refrigeration emissions from regional foods can exceed transportation emissions from corresponding imported foods.

Question 17

Ecological Footprint
Environmental Impact of Diets

Answer 17

• Even if all fossil fuel emissions were eliminated, meeting climate targets is not likely to be possible because of the food sector.
• Reasons for this are
  – The main agricultural emission sources cattle farming (methane emissions) and land use change (reduction of CO2 sinks).
  – Global trends: population growth, rising prosperity -> rising food consumption, especially meat consumption
• While the 1.5°C and 2°C targets are (politically) clearly defined limits, average food-related emissions vary widely.
  -> They range between 1 and 4 tCO2-eq per capita per year in Europe.

Question 18

Ecological Footprint
Basic idea

Answer 18

• Idea developed by scientists Mathis Wackernagel and William Rees in the 1990s
• “Accounting system” for the earth’s environmental resources
• Unit of measurement “global hectares” = biologically productive area
• Supply = Earth’s biocapacity, i.e. areas the planet has considering the “biological productivity” of the Earth’s surface
• Demand = human use of biocapacity for energy production, building land, livestock, processing of waste and waste gases

Question 19

Average ecological footprint in global hectares per capita

Answer 19

Europe 5-7 gha
North amerika > 7 gha
South amerika 1,75-3,5 gha
Afrika < 1,75 gha to 1,75-3,5 gha (north)
China 1,75- 3,5 gha