## 4 Environmental Footprint and Life Cycle Assessment in Cheese Production  
The quantification of consumed and available environmental resources is essential in supporting sustainability in the production sector. It facilitates the implementation of improvements, ensures the alignment of activities and products with current legislation,and supports the acquisition of important certification labels [30]. Environmental indicators point to the growing scarcity of resources, making sustainability the central focus of discussions across all production sectors. The concept of the ecological footprint emerged in the 1990s, with the doctoral work of [PERSON] and [PERSON] [31] introducing a new method to measure humanity's demand for finite natural resources. This concept evolved into specific indicators, such as the carbon footprint, energy footprint, and water footprint [32]. These metrics reflect resource use across different domains, where detailed indicators are applied to quantify the utilization of natural resources in specific activities or product development, taking into account the complexity of the processes involved. The ecological footprint of the cheese production sector is categorized by various factors within the production cycle. A widely adopted tool to assess such impacts is the life cycle assessment (LCA), which evaluates environmental burdens across the production chain. It follows a \"gate-to-gate\" approach, from the acquisition of raw materials (input flow) to gas emissions and waste (output flow), contributing to the identification of used resources and aiming towards more sustainable practices [33]. A study conducted in a small cheese factory in southern Spain identified the main subsystems involved in the LCA of cheese production, namely the energy cycle, water, packaging materials, raw materials, cleaning products, transportation, waste, and gas emissions. This indicated an average carbon footprint of 10.2 kg of CO\({}_{2}\) eq/kg of cheese [34]. The average water consumption required to produce 1 kg of cheese depends on the type of cheese and the processing methods used. Most of the ecological footprint generated during cheese production results from the agricultural phase, specifically from milk production. Studies indicate that approximately 80% of the greenhouse gas emissions from cheese production are linked to on-farm milk production, including animal feeding and management [34]. The ecological footprint is lower when considering only the cheese factory processes, excluding the environmental impacts of milk production. However, the energy footprint during cheese processing remains substantially high due to the energy required for processes such as refrigeration, pasteurization, and cheese maturation [35]. For a more precise approach, it is crucial to define the scope of a study, avoiding dispersion and emphasizing the most relevant results according to the analysis objectives [36]. For instance, when considering a cheese factory, the study boundaries can be set from milk acquisition to the final product if the focus is on the ecological footprint. However, if the objective is to analyze the energy footprint of cheese production to improve sustainability within the facilities, it is appropriate to structure the investigation from the reception of raw materials in the factory, as what precedes this stage would be unnecessary for the intended audience. Several studies have emphasized the environmental impacts of cheese production linked to energy use, particularly during the maturation and sterilization phases of the raw materials. The study by [PERSON] et al. [37], analyzed the production of Minas Fresnel and Minas ripened cheese using the LCA methodology, and compared the impacts caused during the production of each. The results showed that Minas ripened cheese has a higher impact due to higher milk consumption.