Energy- Environmental Joint Life Cycle Assessment and Data Envelopment Analysis (lca+dea) and Cumulative Exergy Demand Evaluation for Canned Apple Production

The calculation of environmental indicators taking into consideration the economic issues have an undeniable importance in decision-making. In this study, environmental emissions in the process of apple compote production were studied. In addition, the efficiency of apple orchards in Iran was assessed, and managerial ideas for increasing efficiency and achieving sustainable development were offered. To that goal, 330 gardens were chosen at random and treated with LCA and DEA. The number of efficient and inefficient units was calculated using DEA, and LCA+DEA was used to quantify the amount of energy consumed and compare environmental emissions before and after efficiency improvement. The amount of energy consumption in apple production was calculated as 60,026.48 MJha-1. According to the DEA findings, the efficiency of apple orchards in the research area is low, and managerial interventions are needed to boost productivity. Furthermore, the number of efficient units based on technical performance, net performance and performance scale were 35, 93 and 35. There is the potential to save up to 6,073.15 MJha-1 of energy. Economic indices such as net return, benefit to cost ratio, and investment productivity are 3,391.99 $ha-1, 1.75, and 6.003 kg$-1, respectively.