Improving the environmental performance of palm oil industry through the utilization of empty oil palm bunches as organic fertilizer and biochar for soil amendment

• Empty fruit bunches (EFB) may be used as organic fertilizer and biochar to improve soil quality. • The organic fertilizer supplies nutrients and thus reduce the use of synthetic fertilizers in the oil palm plantations significantly. • The biochar as soil amendment improves soil characteristics which in turn increases the effectiveness of fertilizer use and reduces the use of synthetic fertilizers. • The biochar acts as carbon sequestration and therefor reduces carbon emissions from the palm oil industry • Implementing the integrated system closes the nutrients loop and improves environmental performance leading to the increased sustainability of the palm oil industry. The palm oil industry plays a very important role in the Indonesian economy, as it contributes significantly to state revenue and employment. However, this industry also faces serious challenges related to its environmental impacts. Intensive crude palm oil (CPO) produces various forms of waste in large quantities, such as solid, gas, and liquid waste, which pollute the environment if not managed properly. One of the main wastes from the CPO industry is empty fruit bunches (EFB), which amount to around 23-28% of the fresh fruit processed. This study aims to analyze the environmental impacts of palm oil mills using the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) approach and evaluate the potential for improvements by utilizing EFB as base material for organic fertilizer and biochar as a soil amendment. The research was conducted at three palm oil mills in Indonesia. Data processing uses OpenLCA software version 2.3 combined with the Ecoinvent 3.9.1 database. The results of the study indicate that the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions comes from the use of synthetic fertilizers. The use of synthetic fertilizers can be reduced significantly by applying organic fertilizers and biochar produced from EFB. On average, the use of synthetic fertilizers per hectare can be reduced by using organic fertilizers or biochar by approximately 75.27% and 34.85% respectively. As a result, synthetic fertilizer input costs and the greenhouse gas emissions can be reduced.