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Within non-organic waste (both hazardous and non-hazardous) we aim to reduce the amount of waste generated, while also increasing the amount that is recycled or reused. We have a goal of reducing the share of waste that goes to landfill or incineration without energy recovery by 60% within 2023.
All waste shall be handled by approved waste management companies and in connection with regulations and best practice.
All facilities must work to reduce waste and increase the sorting and recycling rate of delivered waste.
Locally, we shall work to solve the challenge of plastic in the sea and contribute to keeping the beaches clean.
We distinguish between waste, by-product, discharge and food waste. By-product is a product that could become waste if we had not used it and is included as part of our circular strategy but is not included in the reported amount of waste. Discharge of, for example, nutrients and fish feces are not included here (in line with GRI 306) but is an important area and is covered in the section on water and effluents.
In the production of salmon, we generally have little waste, and much of the waste we have is recycled. The waste handled by us includes, among other things, used nuts, ropes and feeding tubes, as well as some residual waste and hazardous waste such as paint residues and used lubricating oils.
We have good routines for repair and maintenance to extend the life of equipment. Equipment such as nets and cages are returned and recycled at the end of their useable lifetime. We use high-quality, durable, antistatic feeding tubes to improve conditions for the employees and avoid the release of microplastics from internal wear in the tubes. Used feeding tubes are returned and recycled into new products. When we replace old vessels or feeding barges, this will also contribute to waste, but both steel and aluminum are 100% recyclable.
We support organizations that work to fight against plastic in the sea and regularly participate in beach clean-up operations with equipment and personnel.
Our main product, salmon and trout are enjoyed by people around the world. Salmon has a very high fillet yield, which ensures that a large part of the fish can be used for human consumption without any additional processing.
We use 100% of the fish and a range of exciting by-products are made from the various parts. Off-cuts from filleting can be made into delicious salmon burgers, while trimmings of the fatty belly flaps are highly sought after for sushi in many markets. When we make skinless salmon fillets, we also get the salmon skin as a by-product. Here there are companies that specialize in making products from salmon skin, and everything from healthy salmon chips to watch straps and belts can be made from the salmon skin!
Other parts such as the salmon head and backbone can go both for human consumption and for animal feed. Blood and viscera have been processed into salmon oil, which is a valuable raw material in feed for livestock other than salmon (animal by-product category 3). The edible yield is approximately 68%, which is very high compared to all the common livestock animals on land.
All dead fish from the production phase are ensiled and delivered for use as fur animal feed, biogas or fertilizers (animal by-product category 2).
From 2023, we will also collect sludge from fish feces and any potential feed waste that will be used for biogas and fertilizer, as well as start R&D production of blue mussels produced partly on dissolved nutrients from the salmon. Blue mussels can be processed into blue mussel meal, which can also be used as a feed ingredient for salmon.
All waste is managed by approved waste management companies in accordance with current laws and regulations for waste management. The same applies to the handling of animal by-products.
Eide participated in local beach cleanup programs also in 2023. Among these the cleanup project “Rein Hardangerfjord 2023”, where Eide provides both crew and vessels, as well as financing to the research project led by the foundation “Fremtidshavet” aiming to develop a strategy for cleaning marine litter in fjord systems worldwide.
We still have a way to go regarding the sorting degree of the waste we deliver, and there is potential for improvement in always seeking the best possible use of resources. The return systems for recycling in Norway are generally good, and with readily available solutions for recycling, it can be challenging to seek good opportunities for reuse.
The amount of both waste and by-products has been stable in recent years. Animal by-products in category 3 come from the gutting waste which always constitutes about 17% of the live weight of the salmon. Animal by-products in category 2 are silage from dead fish, and the amount here has decreased in line with the reduction in mortality in production. The amount of delivered waste is stable and constitutes a small part compared to silage and by-products. Since the amount of waste is low, it can naturally vary greatly from year to year, in connection with the replacement of pens, platforms, or vessels.
As we are going to increase the collection of sludge from production, the amount of delivered waste and by-products will likely increase in the years to come. This is because the sludge is currently reported as a "discharge” or effluent and not as waste or by-products. We hope that this sludge will eventually become an important resource and a commercial product in the future.
2
We can divide our measures into four categories; Measures to reduce direct scope 1 emissions, indirect scope 2 emissions, scope 3 emissions and compensating measures to reduce or offset remaining emissions that we are not yet able to eliminate ourself.
For us it was important to start with ourselves and our direct emissions from fossil fuels. In 2016 we therefore sat a goal of electrifying all our farms by the end of 2020. Going forward we also want to electrify our boats.
As we replace more fossil fuels with electricity our emissions in scope 2 will increase without other measures. We want to stimulate local production of electricity and the transition to renewable energy. We will therefore purchase local hydropower to meet our need for electricity.
Indirect emissions in scope 3, and in particular emissions from the production of feed and feed ingredients accounts for most of the carbon footprint of the salmon. Therefore, this is an important focus area to reduce emissions in the value chain. To us this is about making sure we use the right feed, and that we get as much quality salmon out of that feed as possible. The most important to achieve this is to maintain a low feed conversion rate and mortality rate.
Finally, we have measures for offsetting remaining emissions that we are not yet able to cut ourselves. We offset for our own remaining, unavoidable emissions buy supporting carbon reducing projects that also contribute to helping local communities and preserving nature. The compensation is done according to the requirements in the CarbonNeutral Protocol, the global standard for carbon neutrality and has led to our certification as a CarbonNeutral® Company.
In 2022 we had direct scope 1 emissions of 1,136 tonnes CO2e. The absolute scope 1 emissions are reduced by 10% compared to our base year 2018, while the GHG intensity per kg salmon produced was 59%, mainly due to electrification of our farms.
In 2023 we purchased only renewable energy from local, Norwegian hydropower. Our scope 2 emissions was therefore only 20 tonnes, 98% lower than what they would have been using the average European electricity mix.
Our indirect scope 3 emissions was 51,477 tonnes CO2e, and out of this feed accounted for 43,582 tonnes. We reduced our scope 3 emissions by 4,395 tonnes, equivalent of an absolute reduction of 10%, or 40% reduction in GHG intensity measured per kg salmon produced, compared to base year 2018.
In 2023 Eide supported carbon finance projects that contributed with a reduction in emissions of 3,105 tonnes CO2e. We offset all our remaining unavoidable emissions in Scope 1 and 2 as well as those scope 3 emissions originating from our own business such as business travel and waste. The offsets are done and certified according to the requirements in The CarbonNeutral Protocol, the leading global framework for carbon neutrality. As a result, Eide achieves certification as a CarbonNeutral® company. In addition, the offset includes all emissions in the life cycle from roe to finished product for the salmon we certified as a CarbonNeutral® Product.
In 2023 we chose to support a project working to stop and prevent gas leakages of methane gas in the distribution network of natural gas in Bangladesh. Natural gas is the main source of energy in Bangladesh, but due to lack of maintenance a large share of the gas leaks into the atmosphere. In recent years the offsets from Eide has also supported a range of other carbon finance projects, from supplying clean cookstoves in Malawi to providing households in India with solar water heaters, restoring wetlands in the US and forest conservation projects in Canada.
Overall, our emissions per kg salmon produced before offsets was 2.53 kg CO2e, and 2.38 kg after offsets. This corresponds to a reduction of 1.81 kg CO2e per kg salmon, or a 42% reduction compared to 2018-levels.
In total we have reduced our absolute emissions by 5,973 tonnes CO2e yearly before offsets, equivalent of a 10% reduction since 2018. The reduction in total emissions is lower than the reduction in GHG intensity due to an increase in production volume in the period.
We create our own greenhouse gas accounts after the GHG Corporate Standard. Here our may read more about our different measures, the emissions from our production, how they are calculated and how we offset our emissions. You can find our complete GHG Accounts at our website www.efb.no
3
Regardless of whether the impact on the surrounding water body is negative or not, these effluents can be seen as resources astray. From a circular economy perspective, we aim to utilize these. Therefore, we have a holistic vision where all the resources are used, either by collecting the sludge or feces to refine it into new products, or by using the nutrients as feed for other marine species such as sea-weed and mussels in an integrated multi-trophic farm.
All Eide facilities must comply with current environmental requirements related to water use, emissions, and water quality, and work to minimize environmental impact.
All Eide facilities must conduct regular investigations of the seabed beneath and near the facilities and take action when necessary.
Eide will not use copper-based net impregnation and will work to minimize the use of chemicals and pharmaceuticals in accordance with the precautionary principle.
Most of the effluents come from our sea sites and consist of organic matter or sludge deriving from fish feces, and dissolved nutrients such as dissolved nitrogen and phosphorous released over the gills of the fish. Impact of effluents from sea sites are regularly monitored and scored by independent professionals. Our freshwater facilities used for juvenile production withdraw and discharge fresh water. This discharge water also contains effluents, although a lot less than from the sea sites due to lower biomass and feed volumes being used.
The production is adapted to local conditions, so that one does not go over the carrying capacity of the individual site. The company is complying with all rules and regulations for handling of fish, fish feed and waste and has an internal control system that helps us ensure this. The company is also certified to the Global GAP standard for aquaculture.
All our fish farms carry out regular sampling and monitoring of environmental conditions at peak production capacity of the site according to Norsk Standard 9410. The investigation monitors the bottom conditions under and near the pens and measures the impact from the farming activities on the seabed. The investigation is conducted by a competent body, which can document professional competence, and which is independent of us.
The investigation is performed with a grabber on site and gives a qualitative description of the bottom sediments with a score from ("very good" to "very poor" (1-4), in which score 4 is considered an overload. The investigation shall be conducted at fixed intervals based on the results of the previous investigation and is risk-based in the way that a low score leads to more frequent surveys. Some sites have lower carrying capacity, with others have a very high carrying capacity. When the environmental investigation shows that the seabed under the farm is impacted, time is normally the best medicine and after some months without farming the seabed condition is normally restored back to normal.
Eide is also part of a voluntary Marin Monitoring project carried out by Blue Planet, which monitors water quality in the fjord areas of Hordaland. The purpose is to ensure that farming activity in the region does not exceed the carrying capacity of the areas. The project documents water quality, bottom conditions and macroalgae biotope (seaweed and kelp) throughout the year at a large number of sites in the region.
One of our juvenile sites has a lake as the receiving water body. This lake is also subject to regular sampling and monitoring of the water quality and environmental condition.
Salmon farming in the sea require almost no fresh water, which is a great advantage compared to most other sources of protein production. Our juvenile sites on land use freshwater in the production of salmon smolts. Since all our sites are located in Norway, where we are blessed with plenty of rain and water, access to freshwater here is not a critical concern. Therefore, we do not have specific goals and guidelines in this area beyond operating within existing water rights and permits.
Further, the freshwater used in the smolt production is not actually consumed but flows through the facility and is then released back into the same water body along with some dissolved nutrients from the fish, mainly dissolved nitrogen and phosphorous. A typical smolt facility withdraw fresh water from a river inlet and discharge the water downstream in the river, in the sea or in a lake. The smolt facilities may also treat and recirculate the water if access to sufficient fresh water is a challenge.
During 2023, we have invested in new equipment for sludge collection at two of the facilities that had the highest risk of negative impact on the recipient. This equipment will help to reduce the impact on these areas by collecting a share of the organic matter. After collection, much of the water is removed before the sludge is used in biogas production and as fertilizer in agriculture.
In 2022, we received permissions for integrated aquaculture at the site Torvneset in Nordfjord. In 2023, we started a small-scale R&D production of blue mussels together with the salmon production at our neighboring organic salmon production site Hundvika.
Mussels are a species of bivalve that grows by filtering large amounts of water, thereby absorbing many of the same nutrients that salmon excrete. In 2024, we also plan to start cultivating kelp at the site. By absorbing nitrogen, phosphorus, and CO2 from their surroundings, the kelp grows by converting CO2 into carbohydrates through photosynthesis underwater.
Neither blue mussel nor seaweed production is commercially profitable on a large scale in Norway today, neither for human consumption or as feed ingredients. It still requires large investments and large areas. However, these species have great potential both as human food and feed raw material if there is a political and local will to do it.
The production of mussels and seaweed in integrated aquaculture with salmon is in many ways a natural “Kinder Egg". As they grow, the seaweed and mussels clean the water of substances excreted by salmon, functioning in this way as a natural water purification system. In addition, the seaweed and mussels provide food and shelter for existing species, contributing to increased biodiversity in the ecosystems in the area. On top of it all, the production contributes to carbon sequestration.
In 2023 we had a total of eleven different active sea sites, of which five had environmental status very good, five had good and one site had status as poor according to the latest investigations. No sites had very poor status. The last site that had status as very poor or overloaded, was in 2020 and this site was fallowed in 2021 and conditions there has now improved. At this site, we have now invested in new technology to collect sludge particles from fish feces in order to reduce the pressure on the seabed below the site with the goal of raising the site to a condition class of good.
We had two freshwater juvenile facilities, one of which discharge water to sea with very good environmental conditions, while the other discharge to a freshwater lake. The lake was recently classified with moderate ecological status according to the EU Water Framework Directive and in connection with this, the company has been requested to carry out further environmental investigations. In addition, we also invested in new technology for cleaning the wastewater by collecting the sludge particles in order to reduce our own impact on the lake.
We believe that these measures will have a positive impact and are optimistic about reaching the target of 100% of our sites with score good or very good. In 2023 91% of the sea sites achieved the goal, the share was also 91% in 2022. All our sites are subject to inspections by the Environmental department of the Directorate of Fisheries. Copper based antifouling was not used in 2023.
