Life Cycle Assessment Reveals Environmental Hotspots in Indonesia’s Dairy Supply Chain
A new academic study by Dr. Budwi Brontosantoso of Universitas Trisakti, Jakarta, highlights critical environmental pressures across the dairy supply chain and proposes a strategic framework to improve sustainability in Indonesia’s dairy sector. The research, titled “Life Cycle Assessment in Dairy Supply Chains: A Review and Framework for Sustainability Improvement in Indonesia,” was received in December 2025 and accepted for publication in February 2026. The findings show that while Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) has become a widely used scientific tool to evaluate environmental impacts in dairy production, its application in Indonesia remains fragmented and rarely integrated into business strategy or public policy. This gap matters because Indonesia’s dairy industry plays a vital role in food security, rural employment, and agribusiness development.
Growing Demand and Environmental Pressure
The dairy sector is an essential part of global and national food systems. Milk production contributes to nutrition, job creation, and economic growth in agribusiness-based economies. However, dairy supply chains also create substantial environmental impacts. These include greenhouse gas emissions, water consumption, land use pressure, and waste from livestock production.
Globally, demand for milk and dairy products continues to rise. As production intensifies to meet consumer demand, sustainability challenges also increase. Without systematic environmental management, expanding dairy production could lead to higher emissions and greater pressure on natural resources.
Life Cycle Assessment has emerged as the leading scientific approach for measuring these impacts. The method evaluates environmental effects across the entire life cycle of a product—from feed production and livestock rearing to processing, distribution, and consumption. According to Dr. Budwi Brontosantoso from Universitas Trisakti, LCA provides a structured way to identify environmental “hotspots” within the dairy supply chain and guide sustainability improvements.
Research Methodology: Systematic Review of Global Studies
The study applies a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) combined with qualitative content analysis and gap analysis. This research design synthesizes existing scientific findings rather than collecting primary field data.
Dr. Budwi Brontosantoso analyzed peer-reviewed international publications from 2020 to 2025 indexed in the Scopus and Web of Science databases. The research focused on studies that examined Life Cycle Assessment in dairy production systems and milk supply chains.
Key methodological steps included:
- Systematic article selection using PRISMA 2020 guidelines
- Bibliometric analysis to map research trends and keyword relationships
- Content analysis to examine system boundaries, environmental indicators, and supply chain stages
- Gap analysis comparing scientific findings with industry needs, policy frameworks, and real-world practices
This approach enabled the researcher to map how LCA is currently applied in the dairy sector and identify structural gaps that limit its practical impact.
Key Findings: Environmental Hotspots and Structural Gaps
The study reveals several important patterns in global and Indonesian dairy sustainability research.
1. Environmental impacts concentrate at the upstream production stage
The most significant environmental hotspots occur during milk production on dairy farms. Major contributors include:
- Methane emissions from enteric fermentation in cattle
- Manure management and livestock waste
- Intensive feed production
- High water and resource consumption
These factors make primary dairy farming the largest contributor to the carbon footprint of milk production.
2. LCA studies remain fragmented
Most existing studies analyze only one or two stages of the dairy supply chain. Many focus solely on the cradle-to-farm-gate stage, which covers production but excludes processing, distribution, and consumption.
This limited scope means environmental assessments often capture local impacts but miss broader system dynamics.
3. Methodological variation complicates comparison
The research identifies major differences across LCA studies in:
- System boundaries
- Functional units (e.g., per liter of milk vs. nutritional value)
- Environmental impact indicators
These inconsistencies make it difficult for policymakers and industry leaders to compare results or develop standardized sustainability policies.
4. Weak integration with policy and business decisions
Despite its scientific value, LCA findings rarely influence real-world decision-making. Many studies stop at identifying environmental impacts without translating results into actionable strategies.
According to the analysis, the problem is not a lack of scientific evidence but rather the absence of effective mechanisms to translate research into policy and management tools.
Challenges in the Indonesian Dairy Sector
The research also highlights structural challenges unique to Indonesia’s dairy industry.
Indonesia’s milk production system is dominated by small-scale farmers, many of whom operate with limited technology and fragmented supply chains. These conditions create barriers for implementing complex environmental evaluation tools such as Life Cycle Assessment.
Other challenges include:
- Limited environmental inventory data
- Weak data connectivity across supply chain stages
- Dependence on imported dairy raw materials
- Limited integration between environmental research and agricultural policy
As a result, most LCA studies in Indonesia cover only partial aspects of the dairy production system.
A New Framework for Sustainable Dairy Development
To address these gaps, Dr. Budwi Brontosantoso proposes an integrative conceptual framework that links scientific analysis with practical action.
The framework connects four key components:
- Life Cycle Assessment methodological practices
- Identification of environmental hotspots across the dairy supply chain
- Business process improvement strategies
- Sustainability policy interventions
Within this model, LCA serves as the analytical foundation. Environmental evidence generated through LCA can guide both industry-level improvements and government policy.
Examples of potential actions include:
- Improving feed efficiency and livestock management
- Reducing methane emissions from dairy farming
- Enhancing manure management systems
- Integrating environmental indicators into agricultural policy
The framework is designed to reflect the specific structure of Indonesia’s dairy industry, including the dominance of smallholder farmers and limited environmental data availability.
Implications for Industry and Policy
The study emphasizes that sustainability improvements in the dairy sector require coordination across science, industry, and government.
For dairy companies and farmers, Life Cycle Assessment can identify efficiency opportunities that reduce both environmental impacts and production costs.
For policymakers, LCA offers an evidence-based tool for designing agricultural regulations and sustainability programs.
“Life Cycle Assessment has strong potential as a strategic decision-making tool in the dairy sector,” explains Dr. Budwi Brontosantoso of Universitas Trisakti. “However, its benefits will only be realized if scientific findings are integrated into business processes and policy frameworks.”
By bridging the gap between environmental science and practical implementation, the proposed framework aims to support the transformation of Indonesia’s dairy industry toward a more resilient and sustainable future.
Author Profile
Dr. Budwi Brontosantoso’s research focuses on sustainability transitions in agri-food supply chains, particularly the integration of environmental evaluation tools into industry practices and public policy.
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