Aquaculture feed company BioMar has partnered with Cefetra Ecosystem Services to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the production processes of key feed ingredients.
Cefetra Ecosystem Services pays farmers to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and their carbon footprint at the farm level across multiple types of vegetable crops. BioMar said the new partnership will help it reduce the emissions produced by its aquaculture feed ingredients and, thus, reduce the emissions of the operations utilizing BioMar’s feed.
“While aquaculture already has one of the lowest feed conversion ratios in animal farming, more than 80 percent of fish emissions are linked to feed and raw material sourcing,” BioMar said in a release. “Reducing these emissions and improving supply chain resilience is, therefore, a shared challenge for the sector.”
Cefetra started in 2023 in partnership with Soil Capital and helps U.K. farmers adopt practices that improve soil health and help reduce or remove sources of carbon at their farms. Those farmers are, in turn, financially rewarded for improvements, helping incentivize the changes and also reduce the risks of taking on costs to start decarbonization initiatives.
“Cefetra’s unique position allows us to aggregate demand from hundreds of buyers across industries. This enables us to create long-term solutions that put soil health and carbon removals at the core,” Cefetra Ecosystem Services Supply Chain Director James Neilson said in a release. “With our deep knowledge of the supply chain, we can ensure improvements on the farm translate into real climate benefits for downstream sectors like aquaculture.”
BioMar became the first company to meet the Science Based Target Initiative’s carbon reduction targets in 2023 after announcing its intent to seek a carbon reduction pathway through the initiative in June 2022. The new partnership represents an extension of meeting those science-based climate targets, BioMar U.K. Sustainability Lead Ivana Russo said.
“At BioMar, we believe that responsible growth in aquaculture starts at the source. By partnering with Cefetra Ecosystem Services, we are reducing emissions where it matters most while supporting farmers and building more resilient food systems,” Russo said.
