Biodiversity impact assessment of a research consortium : case Biodiful
Hoang, Duc Anh (2025)
Diplomityö
2025
School of Energy Systems, Ympäristötekniikka
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi-fe2025042329810
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi-fe2025042329810
Tiivistelmä
The thesis assesses the biodiversity impact of the BIODIFUL research consortium using Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology. As biodiversity loss accelerates globally, organizations face challenges measuring and mitigating their contributions to the crisis. The study assesses the biodiversity footprint of the consortium based on its activities during the first three years of operation. The assessment was done by analyzing financial expenditure data with an economic input-output LCA approach. The LC-IMPACT impact assessment methodology was implemented to evaluate impacts on terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems.
The consortium generated biodiversity impacts of 2.44E-10 PDF*a on terrestrial ecosystems and 8.4E-11 PDF*a on freshwater ecosystems. Food consumption, personal vehicle use, and accommodation services were identified as the primary contributors to biodiversity loss. Regarding the localization of impacts, impacts on terrestrial ecosystems were primarily distributed within Finland (47%), while freshwater ecosystems' impacts were concentrated in the United States (38%) and Finland (29%).
The thesis proposes a novel "Biodiversity Protocol" framework, which was adapted from the Greenhouse Gas Protocol. The protocol categorizes impacts on biodiversity into three scopes: direct impacts (Scope 1), indirect impacts through food systems (Scope 2), and other indirect impacts across value chains (Scope 3).
Recommendations on mitigating biodiversity impacts include increasing plant-based food consumption, reducing personal vehicle use, implementing remote work practices, and regularly monitoring biodiversity footprints. The study serves as an internal benchmark and record for the consortium's impact assessment in the future.
The consortium generated biodiversity impacts of 2.44E-10 PDF*a on terrestrial ecosystems and 8.4E-11 PDF*a on freshwater ecosystems. Food consumption, personal vehicle use, and accommodation services were identified as the primary contributors to biodiversity loss. Regarding the localization of impacts, impacts on terrestrial ecosystems were primarily distributed within Finland (47%), while freshwater ecosystems' impacts were concentrated in the United States (38%) and Finland (29%).
The thesis proposes a novel "Biodiversity Protocol" framework, which was adapted from the Greenhouse Gas Protocol. The protocol categorizes impacts on biodiversity into three scopes: direct impacts (Scope 1), indirect impacts through food systems (Scope 2), and other indirect impacts across value chains (Scope 3).
Recommendations on mitigating biodiversity impacts include increasing plant-based food consumption, reducing personal vehicle use, implementing remote work practices, and regularly monitoring biodiversity footprints. The study serves as an internal benchmark and record for the consortium's impact assessment in the future.