Skretting Italy has announced the launch of a new carbon neutral feed concept the company has dubbed “Feed4Future.”
The new feed, according to Skretting, is intended to reduce the carbon footprint of aquaculture feed for companies seeking to lessen their overall carbon emissions. Food production, the company stated, accounts for one-quarter of all greenhouse gas emissions, and reducing that initial carbon footprint is an effective way to “address the climate change challenge.”
“With the spotlight on the impacts of food production, Feed4Future can take Italian aquaculture to new levels of sustainability,” Skretting Italy Marketing Manager Umberto Luzzana said in a press release. “With 80 percent of fish farms’ carbon footprint related to feed, its application means that together we are taking effective action against one of the most far-reaching issues facing our planet today – climate change.”
The program, according to Skretting, was made possible by the company’s knowledge of the nutritional requirements of various aquaculture species, which allows the company to produce feeds with a low carbon impact that still meet the needs of an aquaculture operation.
In addition to reducing the carbon footprint of the feed production, Feed4Future also offsets the remaining CO2 emissions using carbon credits – in Skretting’s case, the credits are related to the Agrocortex REDD+ (reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation) project in Brazil.
Feed4Future is just one piece of Skretting’s efforts to reduce carbon footprints, the company has also created CarbonBalance, a program that supports aquaculture farms seeking carbon neutrality.
“Following an initial assessment of each farm site, Skretting calculates the carbon footprint, identifies measures to reduce it, and then works together with customers to achieve full neutrality,” the company wrote in its announcement. “CarbonBalance also provides links to those third-party certification bodies that are already onboard with the program, and will offer support in communicating these actions to the market. Amongst other things, it will explain what makes these fish carbon neutral and the contribution they are making to sustainable food production.”
Put together, the two programs represent another sustainability target for aquaculture operations.
“We’re excited about Skretting Italy’s approach on sustainability and the process that they have followed by first listening to our customers’ needs and then engaging with other players in the value chain to build solutions that create value for the whole industry,” Skretting Sustainability Manager Trygve Berg Lea said. “Feed4Future and CarbonBalance are a perfect example of how local initiatives are helping us to fulfil our global ambition of being the lead partner in the journey towards an even more sustainable aquaculture industry.”
Photo courtesy of Skretting