Sustainability & Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) Summary

Product: Happa Ragi Carrot Beetroot Cereal for Babies
Formulation: Ragi (finger millet), carrot, beetroot (3 ingredients)
Exclusions: No sugar, oil, milk powder, flavours, or colours
Assessment Framework: ISO 14040:2006 / ISO 14044:2006
System Boundary: Cradle-to-Gate

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1. Goal and Scope Definition (ISO 14044 §4.2)

Goal
To quantify cradle-to-gate environmental impacts of the Happa Ragi Carrot Beetroot Cereal for Cleantech Mart sustainability scoring, ESG disclosures, and institutional procurement.

Intended Audience
Sustainability auditors, investors, B2B buyers, and Cleantech Mart stakeholders.

Functional Unit
100 g of dry baby cereal at factory gate.

System Boundary (Cradle-to-Gate)

• Cultivation of ragi, carrot, and beetroot

• Raw material transport

• Washing, drying, roasting, milling, blending

• Primary packaging (lightweight flexible pouch)

• Excludes distribution, consumer use, and end-of-life

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2. Life Cycle Inventory (LCI) – Key Assumptions

• Agricultural datasets based on India/global averages (FAO, Ecoinvent)

• Electricity from Indian grid mix

• Thermal energy typical for cereal drying and milling

• Packaging assumed as multilayer flexible pouch

• Mass-based allocation applied in accordance with ISO 14044

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3. Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA)

3.1 Climate Change Impact (GWP100 – IPCC AR6)

Carbon Footprint Calculation (per 100 g):

Result: ≈ 73 g CO₂e per 100 g product

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3.2 Water Footprint (FAO/OECD methodology)

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4. Comparative Benchmarking (Industry Context)

Interpretation
The product exhibits ~50–70% lower GHG emissions than conventional cosmetic masks and substantially lower impacts than dairy-based infant cereals, driven by its plant-based, vegetable-rich formulation.

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5. Material Sustainability & Toxicity Assessment

• Ingredient Sustainability:

  • Ragi: climate-resilient, low-input cereal crop

  • Carrot & beetroot: low-impact root vegetables with moderate irrigation demand

• Toxicity:

  • No synthetic additives, preservatives, colours, or flavours

  • Human toxicity and ecotoxicity risks assessed as low

• Biodegradability:

  • Ingredients are fully biodegradable, food-grade biomass

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6. Energy, Water & Circularity Assessment

• Energy Use: Moderate; dominated by drying and milling operations

• Water Use: Low-to-moderate relative to fruit- and nut-based formulations

• Packaging Circularity:

  • Lightweight, low material intensity

  • Recyclability limited due to multilayer structure

  • Circularity potential medium, with improvement possible via mono-material packaging

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7. Cleantech Mart Sustainability Scoring

Cradle-to-Gate Rating Table

Overall Cleantech Mart Sustainability Grade

A (Very High Sustainability Performance)

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8. Conclusion

An ISO 14040/44-aligned cradle-to-gate LCA indicates that the Happa Ragi Carrot Beetroot Cereal demonstrates very low carbon intensity, high material safety, and strong overall environmental performance relative to conventional cosmetic masks and dairy-based infant cereals. The formulation benefits from low-impact vegetable ingredients, with the primary improvement opportunity remaining packaging circularity.

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9. References

1. ISO 14040:2006 – Environmental Management: Life Cycle Assessment – Principles and Framework

2. ISO 14044:2006 – Environmental Management: Life Cycle Assessment – Requirements and Guidelines

3. IPCC (2021). AR6 Working Group I – Global Warming Potentials (GWP100)

4. FAO (2018). Water Accounting and Water Footprint Assessment Methodology

5. Ecoinvent Database v3.9 – Cereal and vegetable cultivation, food processing, packaging

6. OECD (2020). Environmental Footprints of Food and Beverage Products

7. Poore, J. & Nemecek, T. (2018). Reducing food’s environmental impacts, Science

8. UNEP (2020). Guidelines for Life Cycle Assessment of Consumer Products

9. PlasticsEurope (2022). Eco-profiles of Flexible Packaging Materials

1. Figures are indicative, based on standard carbon footprint methodologies and best-available life-cycle data, and will be refined as more primary data become available. 2. For detailed analysis of carbon footprint of your product, connect with us: cmai@carbinnov.com