Estimating the Management of Crystal Coconut Sugar Production with Life Cycle Cost Analysis and Eco-Efficiency Indicator

Abstract

The conversion process of palm sap into crystal coconut sugar has increased the added value of the raw material in Banyumas Central Java. It is then important to analyze the economic sustainability of this agroindustry to ensure the future of this important industry due to abundant labor intake. The process uses technology in the form of the crystallization of coconut sugar from collected palm sap. The method used in analyzing crystal coconut sugar products is life cycle cost analysis and eco-efficiency indicators. Usually, life cycle assessment to analyze the environmental impact of the production process is also run alongside the life cycle costing. The life cycle cost (LCC) process which is part of life cycle assessment (LCA) consists of 4 stages, namely goal and scope, inventory, impact, and interpretation. In this study LCA analysis using gate-to-gate boundary and 50 kg crystal coconut sugar as the functional unit. Life cycle assessment results indicate that the environmental impact on human health is the highest impact with the normalization values for human health, ecosystems, and resources, respectively, are 0.222, 0.0165, and 0.00133. This is because the use of wood fuel has a greater influence and impact on society and the environment especially the smoke when compared to the use of fuel from electricity or gas. On the other side, LCC analysis showed the R/C calculation by dividing the Revenue value, which is USD 43,890 against the Total Cost of USD 40,301 with an R/C value of 1.0831 which is > 1 to indicate the affordability, meaning that efforts to manage coconut sugar provide significant results. However, the B/C (Benefit/Cost) value is 0.0831, and NPV is 0.0973 which indicates the benefit obtained is lower than the cost incurred, and the business isn't worth running. The resulting NPV is USD 2,239 and the BEP value is 3 years. The Eco-Efficiency Index (EEI) value is a division of the Eco-Efficiency Cost value by the Net Value, which is 0.0160 (EEI values between 0-1 sign affordable but not sustainable) that indicates unsustainable to be run in the future. The overall results showed that this industry is affordable but not sustainable. Based on LCA analysis, sustainability can be achieved with better fuel sources such as electricity or gas.