Environmental footprint Initiative : agricultural working group Milestone 7 : cross-cutting issues and additional points

The Environmental Footprint (EF) methods, developed by the European Commission, provide a comprehensive framework for evaluating environmental impacts across different sectors. This report presents the outcomes from the Agricultural Working Group (AWG), milestone 7, which addresses cross-cutting issues including the boundary between the technosphere and ecosphere, regionalisation, and land transformation. The report delves into the need for a hybrid approach to modeling agricultural impacts, emphasizing the incorporation of terrestrial ecotoxicity effects and the accurate capture of crop-specific emissions. It also discusses the spatial resolution requirements essential for regionalization and the potential alignment of the Soil Quality Index (SQI) for land use models. Furthermore, the report underscores the importance of refining methodologies for assessing pesticide residues and heavy metal uptake in crops, considering both human toxicity and environmental impacts. By proposing operational recommendations and highlighting areas for further research, this work aims to enhance the robustness of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) databases and software, thereby supporting the development of sustainable agricultural practices within the EF framework.