Through our soy and oil palm sourcing policy, we are heavily invested in getting accurate RoPP data for these two ingredients with a high risk of deforestation. Soy and oil palm ingredients are often traded in bulk and can be mixed by several parties along the supply chain. Tracing is often possible with mass balance calculations where a supplier provides origin data valid for large volumes sold over a large period. It is often impossible to say exactly where the soy and oil palm ingredients that is received at a feed factory is cultivated, unless segregated supply chains are set in place.

Fortunately, there are initiatives in play to improve traceability of ingredients. A good example is our soy protein concentrate suppliers, who provide the salmon feed business with certified deforestation-free material through segregated supply chains. This grants very accurate traceability on the origins of the soy used in our soy protein concentrate. We celebrate these initiatives and are actively looking for parties to cooperate with to increase ingredient traceability.

The developments in the market have also helped us to widen our perspective and put more focus on what is relevant for customers and consumers, beyond the quality of the raw materials that we use in our feeds. The agenda of the environmental and social areas keeps evolving, which has led us to adapt and to work with our suppliers to bring them into this journey.

During 2022 we will work to update the sustainability assessments for the ingredients that we use in our feeds, in line with the developments of the market and the needs of our customers. At the same time, we will work to strengthen the sustainability checklist implemented during our supplier audits, but also to implement specific audits based on sustainability criteria rather than only on quality, which will help us to put more focus into regions, ingredients and suppliers that have a higher sustainability risk.