Integrating Life Cycle Assessment (Lca), Circular Economy, Environmental Sustainability, And Esg Frameworks For Communities: A Comprehensive Review On The Extraction Of Lutein And Protein From Marigold Flowers (Tagetes Spp.) For Sustainable Development

Abstract

This review critically examines the intersection of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), Circular Economy (CE), Environmental Sustainability, and Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) in production processes of lutein and extraction of protein from marigold flowers (Tagetes spp) with emphasis on sustainability. An annual mass of 20,000 tons of organic waste from marigold flowers, commonly used in ornamental landscaping and religious ceremonials, is produced, mainly from spillage of temples and agricultural waste. The use of reusing this waste in order to create high value bioactive ingredients can be highly rewarding to the environment and economy. The investigation uses a close look at various ways to extract lutein and protein from The LCA reflects significant differences in terms of energy input, water consumed, and CO₂ emission, with supercritical CO₂ extraction being the richest and the most efficient of them all – producing lutein of high quality (up to 5 mg/g) without the acquisition of the residue of organic solvents. Dry marigold flowers are 10-20% protein by weight and enzymatic extraction yields the highest protein content at up-to 60%. Using the Circular Economy principles, this research reveals that the biological waste obtained from marigold can be converted to high-value products including lutein, proteins and essential oils that offer a sustainable waste-to-value model that can be used to support the local economy with the high annual waste volumes. By using the bitter marigold waste recycling, communities will be able to expect to have 100 – 150 job opportunities arising around the waste collection, extraction, and processing, creating social equity and economic opportunities. Who are in the process of making the switch, and the change can reduce CO₂ by 40 to 50 percent from those rates associated with conventional waste disposal. Furthermore, the authors use ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) standards to examine the social and governance results of the marigold waste efforts coordinated by the communities and which focus on the progress made in terms of employment, local economy and equity. Adoption of ESG standards helps out communities in ensuring that such projects are just, open and trustworthy as to promote long-term sustainability. The adoption of integrated LCA, CE, and ESG frameworks presents to the communities how they can attain synergistically balanced sustainability in order to achieve a depreciated ecological footprint, improved social welfare, and growth in the economy. More generally, the research illustrates that waste from marigold flowers has the ability to help to contribute to SDGs, therefore, qualifying for an increased integration into the sustainable practices and systems for waste management. Lutein is sold at a market price of approximately $500 per kg whereas plant-based proteins are at around $100 per kg, with annual turnovers in the millions arising from the processing of marigold waste, subject to the size of the activities. Finally the supercritical CO₂ extraction proves to be the most sustainable way to extract lutein where high yields are achieved and where minimal environmental burdens are generated. Enzymatic method is the most effective enzymatic technique for protein extraction producing highest protein concentration with a remarkably smaller consumption of energy. An integration of LCA, CE, and ESG methodologies for both conducting and analysing can bring a full cycle of waste management process for marigold flowers, in the direction of environmental protection, economic development and well-being at society level. Through these strategies, we will be able to control climate change, encourage eco-friendly job creation and improve the local economy stability thus making the marigold flower waste a must for SDG achievement. Further work should focus on scaling up these processes to a broader level, the expansion to other marigold compound uses, and optimization of the extraction process to gain more environmental benefits and costs cuts.