The agri-food sector significantly contributes to environmental pressures, driving the need for more sustainable production models. Circular bioeconomy strategies, particularly those valorizing food processing residues, offer promising solutions by reducing impacts while generating added value. In line with that, the current study presents the first comprehensive life cycle assessment (LCA) of pomegranate juice production, comparing linear and circular configurations. In the linear system, residues are discarded or used as low-value animal feed, whereas the circular systems apply a biorefinery approach to convert pomegranate peel into high-value co-products. Two circular scenarios were evaluated, i.e, Sc-1, integrating the recovery of pectin, ellagic acid, and lignin, and Sc-2, involving the recovery of pectin, polyphenols, and bioethanol, alongside the juice production system. LCA of a 160-g pomegranate juice pack showed that circular strategies substantially reduced environmental impacts. In Sc-1 and Sc-2, global warming potential decreased by 26.8 % and 25.9 %, respectively. Similar reductions were observed across other impact categories. Human health damage category also declined by 25.5 % and 25.9 %, ecosystem damage category by 27.6 % and 26.1 %, and resource damage category by 27.5 % and 25.9 % in Sc-1 and Sc-2 relative to the linear system. Total weighted environmental damage decreased by 25.63 % in Sc1 and 25.89 % in Sc-2, with the largest improvements observed in human health, followed by ecosystem quality and resource scarcity. These results demonstrate that valorizing pomegranate peel within circular production systems not only markedly lowers environmental impacts but also offers a scalable strategy for sustainable and resource-efficient fruit juice production.

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