Comparative life cycle assessment of the linear and circular wine industry chains: a case study in Inner Mongolia, China

Environmental issues and the sustainability of the wine industry receive widespread public attention, but few studies address the environmental impact of the circular wine industry chain. Therefore, we applied the life cycle assessment (LCA) method to a wine enterprise in Inner Mongolia, China, to conduct a cradle-to-gate assessment and comparative analysis on the linear and circular wine industry chain scenarios. The results show that the circular industry chain (S2) has better environmental benefits; the total value of each environmental impact category of S2 is reduced by more than 80% compared with that of the linear industry chain (S1). The global warming potential of S1 is decreased from 4.88 kg CO2eq to 0.919 kg CO2eq for S2. Viticulture is the primary source of environmental problems in all life cycle stages of both scenarios, and electricity and diesel consumption are the key factors affecting the results. Our study shows that the optimization of S2 significantly improves resource efficiency and energy utilization and alleviates the environmental burden through proper waste recycling. Finally, we proposed optimization suggestions based on S2. This study provides scientific guidance for promoting the wine industry to build a circular industry chain and optimize the industrial structure, thus promoting the sustainable development of the industry.