Aquaculture dialogue advances Brazil's sustainable soy agenda
Putting competitive differences to one side, in another initiative Skretting and fellow salmon feed producers Cargill Aqua Nutrition, BioMar and Mowi have joined forces with certification organisation ProTerra and a number of soy producers to ensure value chains are able to take a responsible approach to sourcing soy from Brazil.
Called the ‘Aquaculture Dialogue on Sustainable Soy Sourcing from Brazil’, this new roundtable group recognises that Brazilian agriculture practices and deforestation have come under intense environmental scrutiny, and also that with salmon feed often containing soy products from Brazil, these concerns could have implications for aquaculture supply chains.
While Europe’s salmon feed producers only purchase certified deforestation-free soy from Brazil, the partners have identified that in the best interests of our planet’s health and to help tackle the climate crisis, collaborative action is required in a number of key areas within the soy production sector. These include traceability, transparency, supplier code of conduct and deforestation.
Already, the dialogue group has put a new traceability system in place. Through this platform, each shipment delivered to feed producers now includes information about the municipalities and states from which the soy from that batch is sourced.
This provides the means for us to quickly determine whether a farm is fully compliant with supply requirements and is also carefully abiding by all environmental, labour and human laws.
​Through these new changes, it has been possible to establish long-term sustainable purchasing and supplier policies that prohibit the sourcing of soy products from land areas that are illegally deforested. Looking ahead, the group has also stated that it would welcome initiatives that move beyond a supply chain approach, to drive a forest-positive future.
CJ Selecta believes that it’s moving in the right direction and will also be able to meet future market requirements with regards to increased transparency, improvements in environmental actions, and innovation in production areas, as well as providing open communication to clients, partners and society as a whole.
Supplier case study: CJ Selecta’s seven steps to heightened sustainability
Throughout the past decade, South American soy processor CJ Selecta has focused on the protection of Brazil’s natural resources, particularly those in the Amazon and Cerrado biomes. Sourcing non-GMO certified soy, produced in compliance with international environmental and social standards, has been central to this strategy.
Amid ongoing socio-environmental discussions surrounding the soy industry and the growing global demand for sustainable products, the company has selected seven targets that it maintains will collectively deliver a framework for enhancing the sustainability of its operations and activities in the coming years.
Based on analysis carried out during 2019 to identify sustainable development objectives, these targets are:
- Establish a sustainability department tasked with developing the company’s sustainability strategy (achieved in 2019)
- Stop sourcing soybeans from the Amazon biome by 2022
- Have 100% of farm areas audited by 2022
- Publish its first Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) annual report (due in 2020)
- Implement an indicator for greenhouse gases (GHG)
- Reduce its carbon footprint
- Maintain its support of effective strategies against deforestation in the Cerrado biome
Through these measures, CJ Selecta believes that it’s moving in the right direction and will also be able to meet future market requirements with regards to increased transparency, improvements in environmental actions, and innovation in production areas, as well as providing open communication to clients, partners and society as a whole.
