Purpose Plant-based alternatives to dairy milk have grown in popularity over the last decade. Almond milk comprises the largest share of plant-based milk in the US market and, as with so many food products, stakeholders in the supply chain are increasingly interested in understanding the environmental impacts of its production, particularly its carbon footprint and water consumption. This study undertakes a life cycle assessment (LCA) of a California unsweetened almond milk. Methods The scope of this LCA includes the production of almond milk in primary packaging at the factory gate. California produces all US almonds, which are grown under irrigated conditions. Spatially resolved modeling of almond cultivation and primary data collection from one almond milk supply chain were used to develop the LCA model. While the environmental indicators of greatest interest are global warming potential (GWP) and freshwater consumption (FWC), additional impact categories from US EPA’s TRACI assessment method are also calculated. Co-products are accounted for using economic allocation, but mass-based allocation and displacement are also tested to understand the effect of co-product allocation choices on results. Results and discussion The GWP and FWC of one 48 oz. (1.42 L) bottle of unsweetened almond milk are 0.71 kg CO 2 e and 175 kg of water. A total of 0.39 kg CO 2 e (or 55%) of the GWP is attributable to the almond milk, with the remainder attributable to packaging. Almond cultivation alone is responsible for 95% of the FWC (167 kg H 2 O), because of irrigation water demand. Total primary energy consumption (TPE) is estimated at 14.8 MJ. The 48 oz. (1.42 L) PET bottle containing the almond milk is the single largest contributor to TPE (42%) and GWP (35%). Using recycled PET instead of virgin PET for the bottle considerably reduces all impact indicators except for eutrophication potential. Conclusions For the supply chain studied here, packaging choices provide the most immediate opportunities for reducing impacts related to GWP and TPE, but would not result in a significant reduction in FWC because irrigation water for almond cultivation is the dominant consumer. To provide context for interpretation, average US dairy milk appears to have about 4.5 times the GWP and 1.8 times the FWC of the studied almond milk on a volumetric basis.

中文翻译：

---

加州无糖杏仁奶的生命周期评估

目的 以植物为基础的牛奶替代品在过去十年中越来越受欢迎。在美国市场上，杏仁奶占植物奶的最大份额，与众多食品一样，供应链中的利益相关者越来越有兴趣了解其生产对环境的影响，尤其是其碳足迹和水消耗。本研究对加利福尼亚不加糖的杏仁奶进行了生命周期评估 (LCA)。方法 本 LCA 的范围包括在工厂门口生产初级包装杏仁奶。加利福尼亚生产所有在灌溉条件下生长的美国杏仁。杏仁种植的空间解析建模和来自一个杏仁奶供应链的原始数据收集被用于开发 LCA 模型。虽然最受关注的环境指标是全球变暖潜能值 (GWP) 和淡水消耗量 (FWC)，但还计算了美国环保署 TRACI 评估方法中的其他影响类别。联产品使用经济分配进行计算，但也测试了基于质量的分配和置换，以了解联产品分配选择对结果的影响。结果和讨论 一瓶 48 盎司的 GWP 和 FWC。(1.42 L) 瓶不加糖杏仁奶是 0.71 kg CO 2 e 和 175 kg 水。全球变暖潜能值的总计 0.39 kg CO 2 e（或 55%）归因于杏仁奶，其余归因于包装。由于灌溉用水需求，仅杏仁种植就占 FWC（167 kg H 2 O）的 95%。总一次能源消耗 (TPE) 估计为 14.8 MJ。48 盎司。(1. 42 L) 含有杏仁奶的 PET 瓶是 TPE (42%) 和 GWP (35%) 的最大单一贡献者。除了潜在的富营养化外，使用回收 PET 代替原始 PET 可显着降低所有影响指标。结论 对于此处研究的供应链，包装选择为减少与 GWP 和 TPE 相关的影响提供了最直接的机会，但不会导致 FWC 的显着减少，因为用于杏仁种植的灌溉水是主要消费者。为了提供解释的背景，平均美国乳制品在体积基础上似乎具有所研究杏仁奶的 GWP 的 4.5 倍和 FWC 的 1.8 倍。除了潜在的富营养化外，使用回收 PET 代替原始 PET 可显着降低所有影响指标。结论 对于此处研究的供应链，包装选择为减少与 GWP 和 TPE 相关的影响提供了最直接的机会，但不会导致 FWC 的显着减少，因为用于杏仁种植的灌溉水是主要消费者。为了提供解释的背景，平均美国乳制品在体积基础上似乎具有所研究杏仁奶的 GWP 的 4.5 倍和 FWC 的 1.8 倍。除了潜在的富营养化外，使用回收 PET 代替原始 PET 可显着降低所有影响指标。结论 对于此处研究的供应链，包装选择为减少与 GWP 和 TPE 相关的影响提供了最直接的机会，但不会导致 FWC 的显着减少，因为用于杏仁种植的灌溉水是主要消费者。为了提供解释的背景，平均美国乳制品在体积基础上似乎具有所研究杏仁奶的 GWP 的 4.5 倍和 FWC 的 1.8 倍。但不会导致 FWC 的显着减少，因为用于杏仁种植的灌溉水是主要的消费者。为了提供解释的背景，平均美国乳制品在体积基础上似乎具有所研究杏仁奶的 GWP 的 4.5 倍和 FWC 的 1.8 倍。但不会导致 FWC 的显着减少，因为用于杏仁种植的灌溉水是主要消费者。为了提供解释的背景，平均美国乳制品在体积基础上似乎具有所研究杏仁奶的 GWP 的 4.5 倍和 FWC 的 1.8 倍。