Environmental Impact Parameters

Climate action

Feed ingredients represent around 80% of the carbon footprint of seafood farming and as the world transitions to a zero-carbon economy reducing our feed impact is essential.

Carbon footprint & greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions

Carbon Footprint

The carbon footprint (CF) of feed is a measure of the total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions generated from the different stages of the feed life cycle. Increased atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gasses, expressed in CO2 equivalents, cause the global warming that we are experiencing today. The only way to avoid the consequences is simple: reduce global GHG emissions.

BioMar follows the PEF* methodology when calculating carbon footprints and has set verifiable science-based targets through the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). BioMar’s ambition is to reduce its feed carbon footprint by 1/3 by 2030, with the aim of ensuring that BioMar will achieve “net-zero” no later than 2050.

*EU Product Environmental Footprint

Circular & Restorative

Circular economy principles and restorative practices are central to sustainable and responsible seafood supply chains.

Circular raw materials & ingredients

Circular raw materials & ingredients

In a circular economy, resources are kept in use for as long as possible, extracting their maximum value. Products and materials are recovered and renewed, leveraging business models designed to support this regenerative activity.

BioMar considers raw materials originating from by-product and waste streams to be circular. We seek to decouple feed supply chains from directly competing with food for human consumption. Examples of circular raw materials are land animal by-products, fish meal and fish oil from trimmings industry.

Restorative raw materials & ingredients:

Restorative raw materials & ingredients

To reduce pressure on wild stocks the global aquafeed industry has largely transitioned from majority marine ingredients to largely plant-based aquaculture feed diets. The science is clear, industrial agriculture cannot maintain its usefulness to society indefinitely with the current rates of ecological damage (i.e., deforestation and agrochemicals) and resource use (i.e. freshwater, fertilizers, and fossil fuels).

The key is to restore a balance between the societal benefits of agriculture with the societal benefits of healthy ecosystems. Restorative production is therefore the first critical step to reverse the current trends and move agriculture toward sustainability.

We define restorative ingredients as raw materials that significantly shift the balance between ecosystem impacts and human production systems towards net-positive environmental outcomes. An example of a restorative ingredient includes single cell protein produced from fermented forestry by-products.

In BioMar we take action for our areas of responsibility. We encourage and stimulate restorative practices in our supply chain, and we have set targets for minimum inclusion levels of circular and restorative ingredients. It is our ambition to ensure that BioMar feeds are 50 % circular and restorative by 2030.

Forage Fish Dependency Ratio (FFDR)

Marine ingredients are limited resources and should be consumed responsibly.

Marine ingredients

Marine ingredients 

Good stewardship of our oceans and the aquatic environment is of high importance for us at BioMar. Through the adoption of novel and alternative ingredients in our diets, we create feed solutions that cover the nutritional needs of fish and shrimp and the economic objectives of farmers with reduced dependency on scarce marine resources.

The Forage Fish Dependency Ratio (FFDR) indicates the amount of wild fish used to produce farmed fish or shrimp, as calculated according to the ASC farm standards. This measure takes into account the protein and oil contribution from wild fish where the most limiting factor is determining the FFDR of the feed. The FFDR of the production on a farm can be calculated by multiplying the FFDR of the feed by the FCR obtained on the farm.

SUSTAINABILITY REPORT

BioMar makes a promise, to our planet and its people with a set of ambitious targets that will seek to aid in the regeneration of our environment while enabling humanity to thrive.

Read our sustainability report