January 31, 2024

Veramaris strengthens emissions commitments with first Scope 3 targets

Veramaris has for the first time announced a Scope 3 greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction target to reduce absolute Scope 3 emissions by 22.5% by 2030, compared to a 2021 baseline — further building on the company's climate commitments.

Scope 3 GHG emissions are the largest proportion of emissions in the aquaculture value chain.

Veramaris' new targets will lead to lower emissions for partners along the value chain and a more sustainable product for consumers. The new commitment comes after Veramaris registered a 27% lower product carbon footprint in an updated Environmental Product Declaration shared with its customers.

"We know how important it is for our customers to reduce the carbon footprint of the value chain, and we're pleased to be improving our climate commitments,"  said Veramaris chief executive officer Gertjan de Koning. "We'll continue to take action as the demand for sustainably produced alternative ingredients in the aquafeed industry continues to surge."

In August 2022, Veramaris committed to reducing its GHG emissions by setting a science-based target, which was approved by the Science Based Target initiative (SBTi) aimed at urgently limiting global warming to below 1.5°C.  The new Scope 3 target strengthens these commitments.

The company has focused efforts on decarbonising its operations, building on SBTi targets. The resulting emphasis on both technical and operational improvements, coupled with increasing productivity and capacity utilisation all contributed to quickly reducing the product carbon footprint.

"To best enable the sustainable growth of aquaculture, we're actively reducing emissions through tangible actions," said Joanne Pedall, general manager of the Veramaris Production facility in Blair, Nebraska, the United States. "From implementing more energy efficient facilities to supporting regenerative agriculture practices in our corn sugar supply chain, every step we make is a deliberate move to cut our footprint."

- Veramaris