Sweet like honey? : Life Cycle Assessment of the Carbon Footprint in Sustainable and Resilient Beekeeping in Europe

Honeybees play a crucial role in both food production and ecosystem functioning by providing pollination services that support biodiversity and agriculture. This study conducted acomparative life cycle assessment (LCA) of honey production across three regions with distinctclimate conditions: a northern region (cold humid climate), a central region (warm humidclimate), and a southern region (warm dry climate). The aim was to evaluate climate impact expressed as kilograms of carbon dioxide equivalents per kilogram of honey (kg CO₂-eq/kg). The results revealed clear regional differences. The northern region showed the highest climate impact at 2.6 kg CO₂-eq/kg, more than double that of the southern region, which had the lowest emissions at 1.0 kg CO₂-eq/kg. The central region fell in between, with emissions of 1.4 kg CO₂-eq/kg. These variations were primarily driven by differences in hive productivity, supplementary feeding, packaging materials, and transport needs. Sensitivity analyses showed that certain changes could significantly influence the results. Switching from glass to plastic packaging reduced emissions by up to 50% and halving the amount of feed led to a 12% reduction. To reflect the dual role of beekeeping, honey productionand pollination services, economic allocation was applied. This redistributed the total climate impact between the two functions, reducing the share assigned to honey by up to 14%, without changing the overall impact. In summary, the study demonstrates that the climate impact of honey production varies significantly between regions but can be reduced through improved management strategies. It also underscores the importance of accounting for the multifunctional value of beekeeping in environmental assessments, particularly its role in ecosystem services such as pollination. Considering these findings, it becomes clear that while honey may be sweet in taste and cultural significance, its production involves complex environmental trade-offs. Addressing these challenges is essential to ensure that beekeeping truly supports sustainability and resilience within food systems and ecosystems.