Environmental Benefits of Urban Food Hubs: A Life Cycle Assessment of Surplus Food Redistribution in Milan

Urban food hubs for surplus food redistribution are a promising solution to miti-gate food waste and its associated environmental impacts. However, their envi-ronmental sustainability remains underexplored. This study conducts a life cycle impact assessment of two food hubs in Milan, a leading city in implementing in-novative food policies. The analysis reveals that a single food hub generates sig-nificant environmental benefits, including net yearly savings of 107 tons of CO2,eq. and the recovery of around 140,000 meals. These efforts reduce the envi-ronmental burdens linked to excess food production and disposal, including greenhouse gas emissions, resource depletion, biodiversity loss, and pollution. By diverting surplus food from waste streams, food hubs align with global sus-tainability goals, particularly SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Produc-tion) and Target 12.3, which seeks to halve global food waste by 2030. The find-ings also highlight the potential of food hubs to integrate environmental benefits into broader urban sustainability frameworks. This study provides a structured approach to quantifying the environmental im-pacts of surplus food redistribution, offering actionable insights for policymak-ers, urban food actors, and nonprofit organizations. It strengthens the case for food hubs as key instruments in climate change mitigation, resource conservation, and sustainable food systems, emphasizing their transformative role in urban waste management and policy innovation.