High use of trimmings and the use of novel ingredients has enabled BioMar Group to achieve a five-year average of 1:1 or below of forage fish dependency ratio for its raw material usage. This is one of many findings revealed in its Integrated Sustainability Report for 2019.
“Although it seemed unlikely that it would be possible to achieve a great FIFO ratio every year, due to ever-changing market conditions, we see that by embedding a sustainability mindset in our culture we have been able to achieve this impressive milestone while still delivering on our financial result,” said Carlos Diaz, CEO of BioMar Group.
Sustainability has long been a core pillar in BioMar alongside innovation, and although market conditions for raw materials will change from year-to-year, the investment in innovation for alternative ingredients is paying off. There is no endpoint to sustainability and innovation and as BioMar is solely dedicated to aquaculture feeds the success of the company depends on the sustainable future of the aquaculture industry.
“Only with the wider adoption of novel ingredients in sustainable feeds will these products become cost-competitive and mass-market scale can be achieved. We see a future where seafood from aquaculture will be seen by consumers as the sustainable protein choice for the good of the planet,” stated Vidar Gundersen, global sustainability director, BioMar Group. The company reports more of its community and society activities as the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals clearly state that sustainability goes beyond products and operations.
“We have always believed that education and knowledge exchange is the key to driving long term sustainable development and we are proud to add to the report our achievements in these areas. Later this year we will review our corporate KPIs to set ambitious targets that will continue to drive us even further,” stated Diaz.
Gundersen explains why setting ambitious sustainable development targets are important. “We are now entering the decade of ocean science as declared by the United Nations, and this year’s report highlights the importance of good stewardship and management of our oceans. We see the wider adoption of novel ingredients as being important for achieving this. We are also taking transparency and traceability one step further and our partner, Orivo, recently launched a solution for DNA-based authenticity of marine products which we already have implemented to our quality procedures.”
The World Resources Institute in their Creating a Sustainable Food Future report pointed to sustainable aquaculture feeds as one of their top five solutions. That is why BioMar accepted the invitation to be part of the advisory board for the High-Level Panel for A Sustainable Ocean Economy along with the UN, 14 serving government leaders and other business leaders.
The company launched this year’s sustainability report with a marketing campaign to help promote sustainable practices and facilitate the wider adoption of sustainable feeds across the aquaculture industry.
Download the report here.
