Irish organic salmon producer Mowi has topped the new Coller FAIRR (Farm Animal Investment Risk & Return) Protein Producer Index for the second consecutive year.
The index assesses of how some of the world’s largest farmers of meat and fish are managing their sustainability risks, looking at environmental awareness, climate change, food safety and worker safety. It is also a benchmark to help animal protein companies evaluate themselves against their peers in the sector and improve their risk management and reporting.
The final company rankings are based on two individual scores:
- Risk Factor – a score average across eight individual risk factors (GHGs, deforestation and biodiversity, water scarcity, water pollution, antibiotics, animal welfare, working conditions, and food safety).
- Opportunity Factor – capturing the company’s performance on the opportunity factor of sustainable proteins.
This year, the index found that although more than half of companies surveyed are failing to properly document their impact, salmon farming companies rank as among the most sustainable and compliant.
Donegal-based Mowi Ireland was ranked as the overall best performer. The Leroy Seafood Group and Bakkafrost both also featured in the index’s top five companies.
“This is a great recognition of the work we at Mowi do, on sustainability and animal welfare. I am extremely proud of the work my colleagues do every day to reduce our footprint and continue improving the way we operate,” said Catarina Martins, chief sustainability officer at Mowi.
“This shows the power of salmon farming. Aquaculture and salmon farming makes both a responsible investment case and is highly necessary to reduce the climate gas emissions going forward. We simply must produce and eat more seafood,” Martins added.
Producing salmon under the name “The Irish Organic Salmon Co.,” Mowi Ireland contributes over EUR 20 million (USD 22.1 million) to the domestic economy. It has operated in the country for 40 years, employing 300 people at its salmon farms and hatcheries in Donegal, Mayo, Galway, Cork, and Kerry.
