The main project differentials will be the use of primary data, preferrably, or of secondary data from official sources, as well as the generation and the use of parameters, factors and models to support the elaboration of life cycle inventories (LCIs) that suit Brazilian conditions. The aim is that such assessment encompasses the main production systems and the main regions that produce sugarcane, ethanol, and co-products (sugar and bioelectricity). The LCA results will be able to indicate critical points related to production efficiency and the generation of negative environmental impacts from sugarcane-based products, which will guide the adoption or the development of more sustainable production technologies or the proposal of other mitigation measures. In turn, positive aspects could also be identified, which will contribute to increasing the competitiveness of Brazilian ethanol in the international stage. In terms of scientific methodology, the project will generate parameters, factors and models that suit Brazilian conditions and can be applied to LCA studies of agricultural products.

It will also generate maps that integrate information on land use change, soil types and types of sugarcane production systems; locate production environments; locate sugarcane production plants and distilleries; spatialize other information related to sugarcane production and industrialization, based on national and sectorial statistical data.

Field experiments will determine the change in carbon and nitrogen stocks in soils that are cropped with sugarcane in comparison with their previous use; and GHG emissions throughout two crop harvests, evaluating the impact of nitrogen fertilizer applications and agroindustrial residue. With regard to the agricultural production process, the output flows for the water and soil environmental components will be estimated. The results obtained in such experiments will compose the LCI of sugarcane production.

The set of such information will comprise the LCA for sugarcane and byproducts. The data generated in this project will be organized into a database of agroenergy product LCIs. Finally, the results obtained will be systemized in order to propose a simplified methodology and a low-cost quickly-implementable computational tool for the assessment of the environmental performance of sugarcane and by-products in Brazil.