Knowledge Tree
environmental outcomes
Facts (13)
Sources
Measurement of diets that are healthy, environmentally sustainable ... frontiersin.org 11 facts
measurementOf the publications reviewed, 17 (40.5%) examined only environment and economic outcomes, five (11.9%) examined health and environment outcomes, and one (2.4%) examined health and economic outcomes.
procedureThe research team developed 12 categories for environmental outcomes: climate change, land, water, energy, nitrogen or phosphorus, toxicity, eutrophication, composite environmental indicator, acidification, biodiversity, air pollution, or other.
claimResearch published since 2015 concludes that current average dietary patterns are unsustainable in terms of both environmental and health outcomes.
measurementIn a review of 42 papers regarding sustainability pillars in food systems, 13 papers (31.0%) examined health, environment, and economic outcomes; four papers (9.5%) examined environment, economic, and social outcomes; one paper (2.4%) examined health, environment, and social outcomes; and no papers examined health, economic, and social outcomes.
measurementAmong the 132 environment-related outcomes analyzed in the 42 reviewed papers, the most frequent categories were climate change (33.3%), land use (15.2%), and water use (13.6%).
measurementThe 42 papers reviewed captured 132 outcomes related to the environment, 95 related to health, 46 related to economics, and 6 related to social issues.
referenceEnvironmental outcomes in sustainable diet studies, such as climate change, toxicity, and particulate matter pollution, are often estimated at the 'midpoint level' using life cycle assessment (LCA) terminology, which assesses impacts along the causal chain between resource use or emissions and final outcomes.
procedureThe systematic review excluded studies that assumed environmental and health outcomes rather than analyzing them explicitly, studies published outside the 2015-2021 date range, analyses based on individual foods rather than dietary patterns, studies with sample sizes under 100, and studies considering only one domain of interest.
claimEconomic, environment, and health outcomes were the most widely represented sustainability pillars measured across all publication years in the reviewed literature.
claimNone of the 42 publications included in the review analyzed all four pillars of sustainability (economic, environment, health, and social) simultaneously.
measurementNo publications among the 42 papers reviewed incorporated all four pillars of sustainability, which are defined as health, environment, economic, and social outcomes.
How governments address climate change through carbon pricing ... nature.com Apr 15, 2025 1 fact
claimCarbon pricing stringency can be directly measured through price and coverage over time, unlike broader environmental outcomes which are harder to quantify.
Business Model Innovation: a Framework for Assessing Corporate ... link.springer.com Apr 18, 2025 1 fact
quoteUnilever stated: “We implement innovation to meet consumer needs sustainably while improving environmental outcomes.”