Abstract:
1. Introduction
This thesis investigates the environmental impact of the 120g ramen
noodles served at Cafe Desco through a Life Cycle Assessment. The primary
objectives are to quantify the environmental impacts associated with
ramen production, packaging, and distribution and to provide sustainable
recommendations by comparing the conventional aluminium foil container
with an alternative paper box packaging scenario. The comparison
highlights the importance of using environmentally friendly packaging for
products and promoting a circular economy.
2. Research Methodology
The research utilized LCA tool-based databases and SimaPro LCA
software for a cradle-to-gate analysis, utilizing ReCiPe 2016
characterization model and data from secondary sources and Cafe Desco.
3. Findings and Discussion
Global warming potential for the aluminium foil was significantly higher,
contributing 6.60E-06 impact points, indicating its substantial role in
emissions due to energy-intensive production and transportation stages, a
reduction of approximately 17% compared to the conventional scenario.
Key reductions were observed in global warming potential and fossil
resource depletion. The endpoint impact was slightly lower at 0.000629,
demonstrating a reduction in damage to human health and ecosystems.
The paper box showed significantly lower fossil resource depletion,
reducing its normalized impact from 0.000534 (aluminium) to 0.000502,
reduced carcinogenic human health risks, and also demonstrated a lower
ecotoxicity, making them more sustainable.
4. Conclusion and Implications
The study concludes that if Cafe Desco switched from its current packaging
of ramen noodles to paper boxes, it could drastically decrease its
ecotoxicity harm to freshwater and marine ecosystems and reduce its
overall environmental footprint, particularly in terms of human health
risks and fossil resource consumption.
