Environmental Impacts of a Pet Dog: An LCA Case Study

Kim Maya Yavor, Annekatrin Lehmann and Matthias Finkbeiner
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Kim Maya Yavor: Institute of Environmental Technology, Technische Universität Berlin, 10623 Berlin, Germany
Annekatrin Lehmann: Institute of Environmental Technology, Technische Universität Berlin, 10623 Berlin, Germany
Matthias Finkbeiner: Institute of Environmental Technology, Technische Universität Berlin, 10623 Berlin, Germany

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 8, 1-13

Abstract: The number of pet animals in the European Union is increasing over the last decades. Few studies with a limited focus in terms of impacts and life cycle stages exist that assess the environmental impacts of dogs. This paper addresses the entire life cycle of a dog. An LCA study on an average dog was conducted considering the pet food and dog excrements, i.e., urine and feces. Fifteen impact categories were analyzed. An average dog has a climate change and freshwater eutrophication potential of around 8200 kg CO 2 eq and 5.0 kg Peq., respectively. The main contribution to most impact categories over the dog’s life is caused by pet food. Freshwater eutrophication is mainly determined by the dog´s urine and feces. Feces also have a significant contribution to the category of freshwater ecotoxicity. Impacts increase significantly with increasing weight and a longer lifetime of the dog as well as low collection rates of the feces. This LCA study reveals that pet dogs can have a significant environmental impact, e.g., around 7% of the annual climate change impact of an average EU citizen. Optimizing pet food and increasing the feces´ collection rate can reduce the impacts.

Keywords: life cycle assessment; pets; dog; product environmental footprint; excrements; feces; urine (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:8:p:3394-:d:348627

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