Life Cycle Assessment in Dairy Supply Chains: A Review and Framework for Sustainability Improvement in Indonesia

The sustainability of the dairy sector is a strategic issue in the development of the national economy and food system, given the significant environmental pressures across the supply chain and the limited capacity of business actors to manage these impacts systematically. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) has been widely applied as an environmental evaluation tool in the dairy sector. However, its implementation remains fragmented and shows persistent gaps between field needs, public policies, business strategies, and actual practices. This study aims to systematically map LCA practices implemented in the milk supply chain and identify key sustainability hotspots and structural gaps relevant to the Indonesian dairy industry. The research employs a systematic literature review of selected international scientific publications, analyzed through qualitative content analysis to examine system boundaries, supply chain stages, environmental indicators, and principal findings, followed by gap analysis between existing practices, sector needs, and policy frameworks. The results reveal that dominant environmental hotspots are concentrated in the upstream production stage, particularly related to enteric methane emissions, feed production intensity, manure management, and resource use efficiency. Furthermore, the integration of LCA findings into business decision-making processes and sustainability policy formulation remains limited. These findings highlight the need for an integrative conceptual framework that connects LCA practices with business process improvement and policy interventions to support a more resilient and sustainable dairy sector model in Indonesia