Reducing Carbon footprint through feed

Consumers are willing to do more research than ever to ensure their purchases match their values. Therefore, organisations must be able to demonstrate their commitments with actions and not words alone. Showing commitment to sustainability and demonstrating the actions you have taken to achieve your goals is essential to differentiate yourself and gaining the support of consumers.

Working now for a better future

In the Paris COP 21 agreement, 196 parties agreed to limiting temperatures below 2 degrees Celsius, ideally to 1.5 degrees. If we are to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees, carbon dioxide must reach net zero between 2044 - 2052 and total greenhouse gas emission will need to reach net zero by 2063-2068. If we are to limit warming to 2 degrees, carbon dioxide needs to be net zero by 2070 and greenhouse gases by the end of the century.

BioMar has set both short-term and long-term targets that align with climate science. By 2030, BioMar aspires to reduce our total feed GHG footprint by 1/3, which will position us to achieve net zero by no later than 2050. Reaching net zero will require BioMar to evaluate the whole supply chain and identify opportunities through Scopes 1, 2 & 3. BioMar know that achieving our carbon targets cannot be done alone and will require collaboration and partnership with other environmentally conscious industry stakeholders.

Setting your own SBTi

The science-based target initiative (SBTi) is designed to provide businesses with a clear pathway to reduce carbon emissions and support sustainable growth. The SBTi uses the latest science and climate data to set targets that meet the goals of the Paris Agreement – limiting global warming to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and pursuing efforts to limit warming to 1.5°C. 

BioMar is the first and only global aquafeed supplier to commit to the SBTi’s 1.5-degree target - the most ambitious path toward carbon neutrality, enabling our farmers to directly benefit from a reduction in their own on farm carbon footprint. This will see BioMar reduce absolute GHG by 4.2% year-on-year (Scopes 1 & 2). Setting your own carbon targets that align with SBTi will create a pathway for your business to reduce your carbon emissions and keep up to date with the latest climate science.

Reducing our scope 3

The largest source of carbon for feed companies is Scope 3 emissions. Using the GHG protocol to evaluate our own business, 97% of BioMar’s carbon emissions come from Scope 3 and over 90% of our Scope 3 emissions are the result of sourcing raw materials for our feed. This gives BioMar a clear direction on to reduce our carbon footprint and work towards the carbon goals BioMar has set.

BioMar have established a sourcing policy that favours the systematic election of the most sustainable providers and focused on sourcing ingredients closer to the country of production, which will drastically decrease our own Scope 3 carbon emissions.

Additionally, Improving the efficiency of outbound logistics is another focus area which will see a reduction in BioMar’ s Scope 3 emissions. For example, in Norway BioMar own a feed delivery vessel that has improved the efficiency of outbound logistics. In Australia, BioMar entered a partnership with another logistics company to start directly shipping products to New Zealand, reducing the amount of travel and in turn, carbon emissions of sending products to New Zealand. Through partnership and innovation, BioMar will continually improve Scope 3 emissions and benefit customer in the process.

Novel Ingredients are part of the solution

Novel ingredients are non-traditional raw materials from plant or animal origins that have not seen widespread use in human consumption or human food supply chains. Novel ingredients are set to play an essential role in improving and helping the salmon industry achieve any sustainability targets. BioMar have already started to include novel ingredients with sustainable profiles into our raw material profile.

For example, in 2013 BioMar started research and development into the use of algal oil as a replacement for fish oil. By 2016 the first commercial feeds utilising algal oil hit the markets and by 2021, BioMar had sold over 1 million tonnes of salmon feed that utilised algal oil. Algae-based feeds have a smaller carbon footprint than fish oil, as they can be grown using wastewater and absorb carbon dioxide during photosynthesis.

Novel ingredients often have more sustainable production methods and thus better carbon profiles than traditional raw materials. Replacing traditional protein sources like soybean meal with insect protein can reduce carbon emissions by up to 75% while also requiring less land and water than conventional agriculture. Some ingredients, such as Deep Branch’s Proton can even be grown on carbon capture. Both insect meal and Proton are just some examples of novel ingredients BioMar have started researching to include in our feed.

Sustainability focused feed

Feed represents the largest source of carbon in salmon farming and will be key to for the industry to achieve net zero production. As a feed company, BioMar is destined to take the lead and have started developing carbon friendly diet options for farmers looking to reduce their carbon footprint. Recently, BioMar launched Blue IMPACT, a feed range dedicated to addressing the key sustainability challenges of the salmon industry.

A crucial element of Blue IMPACT will be continually lowering the carbon footprint of Blue IMPACT diets now and into the future. Blue IMPACT has a dedicated impact parameter to measure its carbon impact, which at launch had to be less than 2kg of CO2 equivalent per kilogram of feed.

Blue IMPACT diets will utilise new technologies, raw materials, and novel ingredients, as well as carbon best practices to continually lower the diets Co ₂ output and help salmon farmers achieve their own carbon aspirations. Blue IMPACT will be a great start for farmers looking to start their journey towards net zero today, as continual improvements in feed will be crucial to achieving net zero.  

Feed is the largest contributor of carbon emissions in the Salmon industry. Selecting the right feed supplier is key for any farmer looking to reduce their carbon footprint. BioMar have set clearly defined carbon targets, become the first feed company to join the SBTi 1.5-degree pathway and launched our Blue IMPACT feed range, which is dedicated to finding innovative ways to continually reduce carbon emissions. However, BioMar acknowledges that we cannot reach net zero alone. The key to reaching net zero is through partnership between feed, farming companies, suppliers and logistics companies. Join BioMar today and together, we can innovate aquaculture and become net zero protein producers.