Adopting circular strategies in different vertical farms yields comparable environmental impact reductions
Invernón-Garrido, Alicia (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals)
Petit Boix, Anna (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals)
Gabarrell Durany, Xavier (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament d'Enginyeria Química, Biològica i Ambiental)
Martin, Michael (KTH Royal Institute of Technology. Department of Sustainable Development, Sustainability Science and Engineering)
Muñoz Liesa, Joan (KTH Royal Institute of Technology. Department of Sustainable Development, Sustainability Science and Engineering)

Date:	2026
Abstract:	Vertical farms are an emerging industry that can enhance urban food self-sufficiency but must align with environmental goals. This study assesses whether circular economy strategies improve the environmental performance of two European VFs-VF1 in Spain and VF2 in Sweden-with differing technological maturity and geographical contexts. Life cycle assessment shows that energy use is the main contributor to environmental impacts, accounting for up to 88% in both cases. Circular strategies such as closed-loop irrigation, waste heat reuse, and material recycling reduce impacts by 7-77%. To compare their maturity level, scenario analyses (Current, Linear, Improvement) reveal that VF1 offers higher potential for future gains (e. g. , 29% reduction in global warming impacts), compared to VF2 (34% reduction potential). These findings underscore the relevance of broader changes in upstream production systems, technology maturity and site-specific conditions in shaping the sustainability of VFs, and emphasize the need for further research into context-dependent factors influencing their environmental performance.
Grants:	Agencia Estatal de Investigación PID2021-126845OB-C21 Agencia Estatal de Investigación TED2021-130047B-C21 Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación CEX2019-0940-M
Note:	Unidad de excelencia María de Maeztu CEX2024-001506-M
Rights:	Aquest document està subjecte a una llicència d'ús Creative Commons. Es permet la reproducció total o parcial, la distribució, la comunicació pública de l'obra i la creació d'obres derivades, fins i tot amb finalitats comercials, sempre i quan es reconegui l'autoria de l'obra original.
Language:	Anglès
Document:	Article ; recerca ; Versió publicada
Subject:	Life cycle assessment ; Urban agriculture ; Vertical farms ; Circular economy ; Technological maturity
Published in:	Resources, Environment and Sustainability, Vol. 25 (May 2026) , art. 100335, ISSN 2666-9161

DOI: 10.1016/j.resenv.2026.100335

11 p, 1.8 MB

The record appears in these collections:
Research literature > UAB research groups literature > Research Centres and Groups (research output) > Experimental sciences > Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals (ICTA) > Sustainability and Environmental Protection (Sostenipra)
Articles > Research articles
Articles > Published articles