Sustainability

A message from the Group President

“I have been involved with aquaculture from a very young age and have seen the sector’s progress and the increased focus on sustainability in recent years. Aller Aqua is no exception. Sustainability has become somewhat of a buzzword and we all strive to be green and sustainable. Prior to this, we worked on improving production and efficiency.

To me, sustainability is several things. Sustainability is embedded in the way we do business and the entire value chain. It is shopping for, producing and delivering our products in a manner that allows for production to continue whilst continuously doing better to protect and sustain the environment.

In recent years we have included green initiatives in our strategy to ensure continuous focus both internally and with stakeholders in the industry. One of our core values is responsibility. We state that: “We play an important role in society and take that responsibility seriously. We have an active dialogue with our local communities and listen to their situation - we help where we can.” To me, this means that we recognize our responsibility and acknowledge that we can make a difference. For many years we have made adjustments to our recipes, production and delivery methods which not only improved efficiency and performance but also reduced our environmental impact.

However, any method of production impacts the environment. Fish from aquaculture is the meat production with the smallest CO₂ footprint compared to cattle, pigs and poultry. Fish are healthy food, it is easy to cook and come in many varieties – it tastes great too. Aquaculture is a natural part of the value chain for food for human consumption given the rising world population and is therefore supported by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals as well as FAO.

At Aller Aqua we believe that aquaculture plays a large part in a sustainable future. We consider modern aquaculture a sustainable practice. Sustainability in aquaculture means that the sector avoids depleting resources to maintain the Earth for future generations. Currently, we are working on several initiatives to reduce our reliance on non-renewable resources. We focus on three areas; Quality, purchase, and production.

Our quality assurance department does a great job in monitoring both products and raw materials. Only high-quality raw materials pass the test and ensure that our feeds for aquaculture are efficient and have minimal nutrient discharge in the water. Quality Assurance also handles our certifications in terms of sustainability, stakeholder demands and costs.

In our production, we continuously strive to reduce CO₂ emission through green initiatives and efficiency at all of our factories. Optimizing the way we produce will ensure that we maintain focus on the reduction of carbon dioxide whether it is done through a reduction in the use of electricity or fossil fuels, efficiency in processes or other initiatives. There are always improvements to be made, but we are already seeing the benefits of recent initiatives.

Our products consist of a variety of raw materials many of which are byproducts which can be used with great efficiency. We naturally focus on the sourcing of these raw materials. We ensure that we buy raw materials which are relevantly certified, produced locally whenever possible to support local producers and reduce transportation and the subsequent emission and that producers. These checks are done through audits and documentation of the working conditions, sustainable practices and ethical guidelines of the producer. We constantly work on optimizing feed recipes to improve performance and reduce the impact on the water environment even further. Feed for aquaculture is already a highly efficient diet for fish, but we believe that we can always improve.

We are also involved in CSR-activities. We are part of a number of projects. From our headquarters in Christiansfeld, we are deeply involved with Bylling Foundation, which is a not-for-profit organization helping street children in Cebu, in the Philippines. We are engaged in several educational institutions to improve knowledge of aquaculture in education. In Zambia, we have signed a Memorandum of Understanding with WorldFish to cooperate to strengthen the aquaculture sector through R&D to create increased benefits for resource-poor parties in the value chain. We further strengthen the sector by hosting seminars to improve knowledge for the farmers. In Egypt, our employees receive several benefits on top of their wages for the benefit of both themselves and their families. These are just a few examples of our activities.

We want to consider ourselves a sustainable company, and we are on the right track. We need action now, and it is not just up to stakeholders and governments to push for green change. We have carried out many positive changes, and we will continue to push for further results.”