Blue Impact is for Meeting Climate Goals
The effects of climate change are only becoming more apparent as they affect every country, on every continent across the globe. In 2019, we recorded record levels of carbon dioxide and other greenhouses gases, as we ended the warmest decade (2010-2019) ever recorded in human history. The United Nations realized this was a serious problem that needed prompt action and released their Sustainable Development Goals – with Number 13 addressing climate action. This goal encourages organisations across the world to join the fight for climate action and we are seeing many companies pledge to becoming net zero by at least 2050. Aquaculture already has one of the lowest carbon footprints among other protein production industries, and therefore should look to become leaders in the fight against climate change. Blue Impact is a major step for BioMar in our for climate action and offers the opportunity for farmers to take a leadership role and meet their climate goals.
Feed has the largest environmental impact in aquaculture production
Currently, feed can contribute up to 80% of the carbon footprint in aquaculture production. Therefore, at BioMar, we know that to help aquaculture combat climate change, we must take a leadership role. That is why, at launch, Blue Impact will deliver an overall Co 2 level below 2.0 Co 2e with a full lifecycle feed strategy. By lowering our own feeds carbon footprint, we can have a drastic shift in lowering the carbon footprint for aquaculture producers and promote sustainable development of the industry. With a level of 2.0, we still have a long way to go before we reach our own ‘blue zone’ of below 1.0 and achieve true success. However, Blue Impact is a journey and as we progress through this journey, we will continue to lower this parameter and establish Blue Impact as one of the lowest carbon footprint feeds on the market.
As we continue to lower Blue Impacts carbon footprint, we must look to collaborate with key stakeholders. The truth is, if we want to achieve our own goals, we cannot do this alone. We are working together with our raw material suppliers to stop deforestation. We are investigating how we can restore degraded lands. We have allied with partners to convert CO2 into durable carbon. We need to work together to increase food production efficiencies and reduce food losses. Blue Impact will offer us the opportunity to work with farmers and look at how we can not only lower carbon footprint in our upstream operations, but also downstream.
Improving carbon footprint through scopes 1, 2 & 3
As organisations continue to commit to climate action and implement sustainable practices, they must continue to monitor their carbon emissions from all sources. The GHG protocol is a great tool to do so, categorising carbon emissions into three separate scopes allowing companies to easily report, monitor and reduce their carbon emission. As both scopes 1 and 2 are mandatory to report for companies, it has resulted in organisations doing their utmost to reduce emissions from these sources. However, in most cases scope 3 has the largest impact on their carbon emissions and offers the best opportunity to reduce them. This is especially true in aquaculture, where feed and other upstream operations are the biggest contributor to carbon emissions.
To reduce scope 3 emissions, companies must look to collaborate with their suppliers and buyers. Blue Impact will offer farmers a great opportunity to not only lower their scope 3 carbon emissions, but partner with BioMar to continue to do so. Over 90% of our own carbon emission come from the sourcing of our raw materials and to continue to lower our own carbon footprint, we must address our own scope 3 emissions. Therefore, by partnering with both suppliers and farmers, BioMar can use Blue Impact to lower our own scope 3 emissions, both upstream and downstream of our operations.
Journey To Net-Zero Emissions
The international panel on climate change has set clear targets for organisations, ultimately aiming to be net zero by 2050. In response, many organisations have outlined their own climate goals and strategies to achieve this, with organizations aiming to do so by 2040 or even 2030. Over the next 8 years, we should have already cut emissions by at least 50%. At BioMar, we have launched our 2030 ambitions, with one of our goals being to reduce our carbon footprint by a third by 2030, which will position us well to achieve our own net zero target by 2050.
With key impact parameters centered around lowering environmental impacts, Blue Impact will represent a great opportunity for many farmers in aquaculture to lower their environmental footprint and become part of their strategy for reaching net zero. In addition to launching with a low carbon footprint, Blue Impact will continue to evolve and improve overtime. As we head towards 2030, 2040 and 2050, Blue Impact continued improvement will ensure that it is aways adapting to be at the forefront of sustainability. Eventually, Blue Impact will be our first carbon natural feed and can become a key part of any farmers strategy who are looking to fast track their own journey to net zero.
As one of the most sustainable sources of protein production in the world, aquaculture is well positioned to become leaders in the fight against climate change. As a feed company, BioMar knows that we must take a leadership role in helping aquaculture fight against climate change. Feed can contribute up to 80% of the carbon footprint in aquaculture production and therefore offers an area where farmers can drastically reduce their environmental impact. Blue Impact will launch as our lowest carbon footprint feed to date and will only continue to improve over time. By using Blue Impact, farmers can decrease their scope 3 carbon emissions and become a key part of their strategy to achieve carbon naturality. Blue Impact is for farmers looking to meet their climate goals, take leadership in climate action and transform aquaculture.