BioMar and Agronutris have signed some days ago a long-term partnership to develop the next generation of black soldier fly meals specifically designed for the needs of the aquaculture industry. After years of R&D, insect meal is now seen as a promising new ingredient on a clear pathway to being widely adopted. A wide portfolio of insect meals design for aquaculture are entering the market, they explained from the company.
“Black soldier fly meal has always been an interesting prospect that could be well suited for aquafeeds. In Agronutris we have found a partner that shares our mission and dedication to reducing the environmental impacts of our aquafeeds. They have developed a scalable model for black soldier fly able to meet the nutritional and sustainability profile required by us and the industry,” said in that sense Fernando Norambuena, Global Category Manager of Novel Raw Materials at BioMar.
Novel source of protein
Through detailed attention to its feedstock sourcing, twelve years of R&D achievements, and significant industrial investment, the Agronutris solution is bringing a stable, high-quality product with a high sustainability performance demonstrated by a robust life-cycle assessment.
Agronutris has created an approach by which there is a clear vision of moving from a novel source of protein into an ingredient from a circular economy that has an impact at a scale relevant to the Aquaculture industry.
“For insect meal to successfully make its way into aquafeeds, it must demonstrate high nutritional value and support good growth and health for the fish and shrimp. Our innovative product has a great nutritional profile that is well suited for the aquaculture industry. At Agronutris, we are working closely with BioMar to create the ideal product that will meet their ambitious sustainability parameters”, said Chris Haacke, Director of Business Development at Agronutris.
“A truly sustainable insect meal should be decoupled from the human food supply chain and fed off a substrate based on waste foods and by-products. With Agronutris, we see a viable, scalable model for producing black soldier fly meal that could see this product become a good source of nutrition in aquaculture”, said Vidar Gundersen, Global Sustainability Director at BioMar.
Ingredients from a circular and restorative economy
There is a strong strategic alignment between Agronutris’ mission to supply low environmental impact alternatives and BioMar, which has placed sustainability at the heart of its future strategy with the aim of 50% of ingredients from a circular and restorative economy and lowering its feed carbon footprint by 1/3 by 2030.
“As novel raw material manufacturers continue to evolve their product offerings, we will see more collaborations in BioMar like this”, concluded Norambuena.
Carbon targets approved as the ‘most ambitious’
Otherwise, the Group announced at the launch of BioMar’s Sustainability Report that it became the first aquafeed company to have its ambitious carbon reduction targets independently validated to meet the 1.5°C trajectory. This is currently the most ambitious designation available through the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi) process.
“As around 80% of the carbon emissions of aquaculture farming come from the feed, our customers expect BioMar to take ambitious steps quickly to reduce our emissions,” stated Gundersen.
Global warming and climate change are amongst the most pressing societal problems facing us. We are in a period of transition in terms of energy and fossil emissions, and the next 10-20 years will be decisive for whether we will manage to reverse the trend of global warming.
In BioMar’s 2022 Sustainability Report, it outlines the ambitious reduction targets validated by the SBTi initiative. In 2022 the total reduction was at 5.5% from the commitment to reduce emissions by one-third by 2030.
Together with suppliers, they have launched improvement programs to reduce environmental impacts and increase circular and restorative practices, as most of aquafeed’s carbon footprint comprises Scope three emissions related to the raw materials.
“Applied, science-based sustainability is a mantra at BioMar, and data quality is key. We have skilled global and local teams working with cutting-edge tools and methodologies for optimized sustainability solutions. We will all reach our targets sooner by collaborating together through the value chain,” said Vidar Gundersen.
In 2022, BioMar turned 60 years and celebrated this milestone by undertaking environmental and social community projects across BioMar. These are showcased in that report along with the new corporate strategy.
“We undertook the biggest strategy process in the history of BioMar. An outcome of our new strategy is to go beyond feed and hopefully pave the way for BioMar to become an even better solutions provider. Our new strategy, ABOVE & BEYOND, will guide our actions and initiatives until 2028. It is an ambitious strategy with exciting opportunities, and sustainability is no longer just a part of the strategy – it is the strategy”, concluded Carlos Diaz, CEO of BioMar Group.