Critically reviewed Life Cycle Assessment studies of Oatly products and comparison with cow’s dairy products
Overview of reports and downloads
Over the past year, our team has dedicated efforts to conduct a series of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) studies for Oatly, the global leader in oat-based drinks. Through critically reviewed studies, we have compared the environmental footprint of various Oatly products with their cow’s dairy counterparts.
This article gives an overview of the studies and provides access to the accompanying reports.
Set up of the studies
All studies are set up in a similar way. The functional unit considered is 1 liter of Oatly product and cow’s dairy counterpart at the point of sale, and includes packaging manufacturing and packaging end-of-life. The following Oatly products were studied for specific markets:
- Oatly Barista: Germany, Finland, the Netherlands, Sweden, United Kingdom, United States, China
- Oatly “No” Sugars: Germany, the Netherlands, United Kingdom, Sweden, Finland
- Oatly Oat Drink (Whole, Semi and Light): Germany, the Netherlands, United Kingdom, Sweden, Finland
- Oatly Oatmilk Original: United States
- Oatly Creamy Oat: Sweden, Finland
We are continuously working with Oatly on evaluating the environmental impacts of products in their portfolio. New reports are expected to be published in the coming year.
Data used
Cow's dairy
For cow’s dairy we have tried to create a representative configuration, in terms of fat content (skimmed, semi-skimmed, whole), heat treatment type (HTST or UHT) and packaging format (e.g. plastic, beverage carton; aseptic/chilled), level of other ingredients (e.g. stabilizers for creams) in each country. The parameters were defined based on market research and literature. For the raw cow milk production the latest data and statistics at a national level were used where possible. In case where national data was incomplete (for example in China), the data collection was supplemented by representative data from countries with a similar farming system.
Oatly
The foreground data for the Oatly products is based on company-specific data from Oatly.
At Oatly we do LCAs to learn more about our products. Knowing the impact of our production and supply chain gives us the right information and facts to improve.
The LCAs we have conducted with Blonk have identified further opportunities for reducing the climate and environmental impact of our products across our value chain. We can use the results to prioritize sustainability actions that cut down on impact drivers.
For us, the results highlight the importance and urgency in the need to shift to a more plant-based food system and to lower climate and environmental impacts.
Critical review
The studies were performed and critically reviewed according to ISO 14040/14044 and ISO/TS 14071:2014 standards. This means the comparative studies are checked for accuracy and robustness and can be publicly disclosed.
LCA calculation guidelines
LCA guidelines including the European Product Environmental Footprint Category Rules (PEFCR). The analysis was done for 9 key impact categories from the ReCiPe 2016 impact assessment method that are recommended by the PEF as the most relevant categories for the food and beverages sector. After the first LCA study a 10th impact category was added, namely land occupation (uncharacterized), driven from the findings of the first report.
Cow’s milk was modelled using Blonk’s Dairy Module, which enables lifecycle environmental impacts calculation of dairy systems, which follows published and recognized international calculation guidelines from the European Commission (PEFCR for Dairy Products), The European Environment Agency (Air pollutant emission inventory guidebook) and the IPCC (Emissions from livestock and manure management).
Results
The results show the impact for the different environmental impact categories (climate change, fine particulate matter formation, terrestrial acidification, freshwater eutrophication, marine eutrophication, mineral resource scarcity, fossil resource scarcity, water consumption, land use and land occupation), as well as the contribution of individual life cycle stages to the overall footprint for each of these categories. The studies contain several sensitivity and uncertainty analyses to assess the robustness of the results.
Download reports
> LCA Oatly Barista and comparison to cow’s milk 2022
The study compares the environmental performance of Oatly Barista (an oat-based drink designed for, but not limited to, use in coffee and tea), to cow’s milk in six sales markets: Germany, Finland, the Netherlands, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States. In addition, the study has analysed the main drivers behind the environmental impact of Oatly Barista, and has identified potential opportunities for improvement.
> LCA of Oatly Oatdrink Whole/Semi/Light & "No" Sugars and comparison with cow's milk 2023
The study compares the environmental performance of several oat drinks with different properties: Oatly “No” Sugars (less sweet taste) and Oatly Oat Drink Whole, Semi and Light (i.e. different fat contents to cow’s milk) in five key sales markets in Europe: Germany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Sweden, and Finland.
> LCA of Oatly Original US and comparison with cow's milk 2023
The study compares the environmental performance of Oatly Original (an oat-based drink), to cow’s milk in the United States (US). In addition, the study has analysed the drivers and opportunities linked to the environmental impact of Oatly Original as produced at two production locations and distributed in the US.
> LCA Oatly Barista China and comparison to cow's milk 2024
The study compares the environmental performance of Oatly Barista (an oat-based drink designed for, but not limited to, use in coffee and tea), to cow’s milk produced in China. In addition, the study has analysed the drivers and opportunities linked to the environmental impact of Oatly Barista.
> LCA Oatly Creamy Oats and comparison to dairy cooking cream 2024
The study compares the environmental performance of Oatly Creamy Oat (oat-based product for cooking and baking) to dairy cooking cream in the Swedish market.
> LCA Oatly Creamy Oats and comparison to dairy cooking cream - For the Finnish market 2024
The study compares the environmental performance of Oatly Creamy Oat (oat-based product for cooking and baking) to dairy cooking cream in the Finnish market.
More information
Get in touch
Elisabeth Keijzer
Do you have questions about the LCA studies performed for Oatly? Or are you interested in an LCA of your product? Get in touch with Elisabeth.