ASC Feed Standard
ASC decided in 2013 to devolop a common, global standard for aquaculture feed. Grieg Seafood is an active member of the steering committee. The standard will define requirements for both responsible factory practices and responsible ingredients for the main ingredient groups used in fish feed. The standard will be launched late 2020 or early 2021.
Bellona
The Bellona Foundation is a Norwegian, independent non-profit organization that aims to meet and fight climate-related challenges, by identifying and implementing sustainable environmental solutions. Grieg Seafood and Bellona are collaborating on opportunities and challenges specifically related to plastic waste. Read more about Bellona here: https://bellona.no/
Global Salmon Initiative
GSI, established in 2013, is a group of 21 companies in the global salmon farming industry. GSI member companies have committed to cooperation and transparency and the initiative has developed industry-specific performance indicators. GSI was recognized by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) as a best-practice pre-competitive industry collaboration in 2019. Read more about GSI here: https://globalsalmoninitiative.org/en/
Lakseklyngen (The Salmon Cluster)
Lakseklyngen in Finnmark is a collaboration between the local municipalities, the Sami Parliament, the salmon industry, the Norwegian Fishermen's Association, wild salmon management and research bodies. The cluster is researching various interactions between farmed and wild salmon in Alta, where one of the world’s most famous wild salmon rivers, the Alta river, is located. The aim is to learn more about interactions to avoid impact on wild salmon. Grieg Seafood is a founding partner of the cluster and currently a member of the board. Read more about Lakselyngen here: https://lakseklyngen.no/ Sustainable feed project with WWF US
In the animal feed industry, the sustainability focus has mainly been on high-risk ingredients such as soy, palm oil, fish meal and fish oil. In the past, efforts to mitigate the risk of overfishing lead to less use of marine ingredients in salmon feed. Unfortunately, some of the alternatives introduced, like Brazilian soy, were later linked to new issues of concern, such as deforestation and conversion. To avoid repeating the mistakes of the past, a more holistic approach to the mitigation of sustainability linked risks in feed ingredients is needed. This is especially necessary as the seafood industry is looking at developing novel feed ingredients suitable for scale. We must ensure that a scale-up of these ingredients do not contribute to new or unforeseen ESG risks, and that they are a good fit for a future sustainable food system.
Grieg Seafood has initiated a project to evaluate environmental, social and governance risks in salmon feed ingredients in a holistic manner. In the assessment we have included topics previously unexplored in-depth in relation to all ingredients, like land use and biodiversity, carbon footprint and climate risk, circularity, pollution, soil health, fresh water consumption, human rights, governance risk and scaleability. The goal of the project is to increase transparency and traceability, to be able to benchmark feed ingredients on material ESG aspects and have the ability to reduce risk and drive change throughout our supply chains. The assessment will also inform what novel ingredients we engage with.
WWF US is our partner in the project. The aim is to release a pilot of the assessment during 2021. The materials produced will be public.
Industry Associations
Grieg Seafood is a member of relevant industry associations in the countries where we operate:
- Norwegian Seafood Federation
- BC Salmon Farmers Association
- Newfoundland Aquaculture Industry Association
- Canadian Aquaculture Industry Alliance
