Driving the Ecological Transition of Agriculture through Voluntary Certification of Environmental Impacts: An Exploratory Literature Review on the Olive-Oil Sector

Abstract

Human population growth has resulted in increased food consumption, followed by agrifood production intensification. Human activities have a significant impact on the environment, causing, among other things, air and water pollution and biodiversity degradation. In an international context where there is strong concern about environmental issues, it is also necessary to direct food production towards more sustainable models. In this context, the use of frameworks for certifying the environmental footprint of agrifood products can be a lever to promote sustainable production and consumption. The objective of this paper is to explore the opportunities for certifying the environmental footprint of products, focusing in particular on some of the main environmental claims: global warming, water depletion, and biodiversity loss. The olive sector was selected as a case study since it is the major tree crop in the Mediterranean countries, and it has strong impacts on human health and the environment. We employed a literature review in the SCOPUS database and the knowledge of experts in the main environmental certification sectors. The study revealed the possibility of adopting various mitigation strategies and improving environmental performance, while also pursuing certain market objectives related to certified products.