The olive tree (Olea europaea L.) is the most emblematic and widespread horticultural species in the Mediterranean, well adapted to its climate (Kaniewski et al., 2023). Historically linked to dietary habits, olive cultivation is deeply rooted in the region’s culture, economy, and agro-industrial sector, with olive oil playing a key economic role in the EU and several Mediterranean countries.
In this regard and according to the most recent data (2022/2023 season), more than 1.4 Mt of olive oil were produced only in the European Mediterranean countries, accounting for over 60 % of world production (Guerrero, 2023). Around 70 % of the European olive oil is produced in Spain, the world’s biggest producer (0.77 Mt), followed by Italy (0.30 Mt) and Greece (0.18 Mt) (Guerrero, 2023).
Olive oil production represents a strategic sector for European countries, as it faces emerging competition with the arrival of new producing countries outside the EU. The main competitors include a few countries in the Middle East (e.g., Turkey, Syria) and North Africa (e.g., Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria), United States, Australia, Argentina and Chile (Torrecillas and Martínez, 2022).
Recent data indicate that, while not reaching the production levels of Spain, the olive oil industry plays a vital role within the Italian agri-food sector, representing a source of livelihood for approximately 600,000 farmers across Italy (MASAF, 2024).
Focusing on Italy, the area under olive cultivation exceeds 1.15 Mha, concentrated mainly in the southern regions of the peninsula. Apulia, Sicily, and Calabria account for between 70 % and 80 % of national oil production. Apulia alone contributes to 50 % of the production, with over 375,000 ha (MASAF, 2024).
Despite the economic relevance of olive oil production, there is no doubt that it harms the environment. Different practices and techniques are considered either for the agricultural production of olives and their processing into olive oil, and depending on these procedures, olive oil is associated with negative impacts on the environment. In this sense, the agronomic practices related to olive cultivation have serious consequences in terms of resource use (soil, water), pollutant emissions and waste generation (Maffia et al., 2020, Blanco et al., 2022). In this regard, due to the increasing demand for olive oil since it is considered to be one of the main nutritional components in the well-known Mediterranean diet (Espadas-Aldana et al., 2019), mechanisation and intensification of agricultural systems strongly increased in the last decades and as a consequence, olive cultivation is shifting from traditional low-density to intensive and high-density cultivation systems, which leads to higher environmental impacts in the form of run-offs to water bodies, soil erosion and biodiversity loss (Fernández-Lobato et al., 2021).
On the other hand, although olive can tolerate drought stress and different temperature regimes (Arenas-Castro et al., 2020), climate change and new emerging diseases are expected to severely affect olive cultivation in the future (Fanelli et al., 2022).
These scientific evidences have been obtained mainly through the use of the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) approach, a well-known and comprehensive methodology which has allowed the analysis of the environmental impacts of the olive oil supply chain and also proposed implementations that could increase its sustainability. Previous research has explored the environmental aspects of olive growing systems in the two European leaders in olive production, Spain and Italy.
One of the pioneers was Salomone and Ioppolo (2012) who conducted one of the first studies in which they evaluated different olive oil production scenarios in the province of Messina with the aim of identifying eco-design-based solutions to reduce the impacts related to olive oil production. The study highlights the relevance of the agricultural phase, where the greatest impacts fall on the use of agrochemicals (fertilisers and pesticides), as well as the key role played by the disposal of spent olive pomace through combustion. Consequently, the authors suggested adopting practices based on the circular economy to limit the impacts, such as the plant-specific co-composting of vegetation water and wet pomace, which can then be used as fertiliser. But at the same time encouraging quality production also through a better traceability and data collection of the most important processes, to have the most accurate results possible on the impact of agricultural practices and oil extraction for a given region.
In 2016, Pattara et al. conducted an in-depth analysis of the carbon footprint derived from olive growing and oil production in central Italy (Abruzzo region) considering five different case studies. This study emphasizes once again the relevance of the agricultural phase over the cradle-to-gate analysis together with the production of the glass bottle. Accordingly, the authors proposed and analysed the benefits of a hypothetical scenario in which various agronomic practices were applied, and aluminium cans were used instead of glass.
Guarino et al. (2019) carried out a comparative analysis of the environmental impacts of different olive growing systems in Calabria region (flat vs hilly land) and of different oil extraction procedures. According to these authors, optimisation of fertilisation, together with the incorporation of innovative technologies based on eco-design, should be the priority to guide the olive oil supply chain towards sustainability.
Recently, Ncube et al. (2022) analysed how circular economy practices can bring benefits to the olive oil sector. In this sense, the adoption of practices that allow large-scale valorisation of the by-products obtained (prunings, pomace and exhausted cooking oil) would make it possible to replace fossil resources and meet energy demand.
Other studies have focused solely on agricultural practices and their effects on the environment. Bernardi et al. (2018) set out to evaluate different olive harvesting scenarios with different degrees of mechanisation considering technical, economic, and environmental performance. The LCA methodology highlighted how decision-making can change depending on methodological choices, such as the selected functional unit.
Only few studies focused their analysis in Spain. In 2017, Romero-Gámez et al. analysed the environmental impacts of different agricultural production systems (traditional, intensive, and super-intensive) in Andalusia region. According to the results, the intensive use of fertilisers, machinery and water leads to a worsening of the environmental profile despite higher yields than in the traditional systems.
Navarro et al. (2018) considered the effect that new regulatory changes in olive oil packaging in Spain could have from an environmental perspective. Although the study was carried out from cradle to gate perspective, special attention was paid to the type of packaging: glass, PET and can. Recently, Fernández-Lobato et al. (2021) assessed the environmental impact of the most representative scenario of Spanish virgin olive oil production considering traditional non-organic practices, the 2-phase extraction process, and the valorisation of olive pomace. Once again, the agricultural stage played a key role in the environmental profile due to the high demand for agrochemicals. The study suggests that the application of organic fertilisers and the planting of temporary cover crops could be effective strategies to achieve a positive carbon balance and reduce the environmental impact of olive cultivation.
In conclusion, although different studies have focused their attention on identifying the environmental impacts linked to the olive oil supply chain considering different aspects, such as cultivation practices, mechanisation degree, innovation in industrial extraction practices and packaging materials among others, none of these studies have considered the impacts of these practices on biodiversity or their relationship with ecosystem services, the basis of our livelihoods. Human livelihoods, in fact, are possible thanks to the interconnection between the environment, including biodiversity, and human well-being (Costanza and Kubiszewski, 2012, Maes et al., 2016). This concept highlights that human well-being is fundamentally dependent on the ecosystems and that these linkages can be identified and structured through the notion of ecosystem services – EESS (La Notte et al., 2017). In this sense, the understanding that ecosystems underpin human well-being, and that their degradation or transformation poses risks to future human well-being is one of the major milestones established in EESS research welfare (Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, 2005).
In view of the importance of research of EESS in conjunction with the goals of the new CAP 2023–2027 (European Commission, 2023) and the European Green Deal (European Commission, 2019), it is desirable to broaden the analyses on agri-food chains by considering not only the environmental impacts as such, but also their relationship with ecosystems, in a more holistic approach (Bergez et al., 2022, Lago-Olveira et al., 2023). In this sense, it contributes in a more concrete and structural way to the achievement of the objectives of the above-mentioned regulations, to analyse and promote the adoption of agricultural practices capable of reducing pressures on the environment and improving the impact on climate, natural resources and biodiversity (European Commission, 2023).
In view of that, the main goal of this study is to analyse through the LCA methodology the environmental impacts related to virgin olive oil production in one of the Italian areas most suited to olive cultivation, the area of the Barletta-Andria-Trani (BAT) province in Apulia (Italy), including the analysis of impacts on biodiversity loss and selected soil-based ecosystem services. Thus, the final objective is to provide an analysis of impacts as comprehensive as possible to fill this gap and, at the same time, to identify possible solutions for farmers, so that they can implement them in a way that improves their environmental profile while complying with the standards set by the new CAP.