WWF

What is it?

The environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) risk assessment tool or ESG screen for feed ingredients aims to improve the visibility of aquaculture feed supply chains, allowing stakeholders to better identify and address possible ESG risks associated with the many ingredients feed contains.

It recognizes that without knowing the composition of the feed, it is impossible to know the ESG risks that may be embedded within it. 

It was developed over a three-year consultation period between GSI members, WWF, and industry feed companies. 

It can also help companies assess the scalability of potential alternative or novel ingredients allowing stakeholders to make more informed sourcing decisions aligned with their strategic priorities, values, and commitments.

The tool was initially developed and trialed by WWF and Grieg Seafood and provides a standardized framework for farming companies and other aquaculture supply chain members to engage with feed manufacturers to get a holistic overview of possible risks in the feed supply chain. 

As a result, it aligns the sustainability asks put to feed manufacturers, making the resulting information comparable across different companies and ingredients. It also reduces the time taken to request sustainability information by aquaculture supply chain members and feed buyers and the time taken by feed companies responding to these.

Although the tool was designed to support the salmon farming sector, other animal protein production sectors (including those of other aquaculture species groups would also benefit from its use.

The Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) has also reviewed the tool and intends to incorporate it as one of its due diligence mechanisms to be part of the ASC Feed Standard certification process.

The tool is composed of the following assessment topics and is subdivided into questions associated with each of these:

• Transparency
• Restorative land use and biodiversity practices
• Climate footprint
• Circularity
• Pollution
• Fisheries
• Water consumption
• Fish health and nutrition
• Human nutrition and health
• Basic human rights
• Climate change impacts
• Governance
• Scalability

To create the tool, WWF and Grieg Seafood worked closely with feed suppliers to address the lack of transparency in feed formulation. This process involved navigating complex non-disclosure agreements across a variety of stakeholders so that the appropriate feed information could be gathered while maintaining confidentiality. 

They learned the following ten ingredients make up the vast majority of feed volume: beans and peas, fish meal, fish oil, guar, rapeseed oil, soybean meal, soy protein concentrate, sunflower, wheat, and wheat gluten.

The tool was originally applied to four ingredients, but after initial testing has now been expanded to nine. It will continue to be refined in collaboration with WWF, GSI, Grieg Seafood, other protein producers, and feed manufacturers to support further ESG improvements in the supply chain.

Its ultimate goal is to move from an Excel spreadsheet to a cloud-based platform to reduce any potential human error, streamline the process, and reduce the burden and redundancies for feed manufacturers. 

You can learn more about the aims, development history, and future of the tool by viewing 

• Feed of the Future: Transparent and Traceable – WWF Business Case
• What Gets Measured Gets Managed: Aquaculture ESG Feed Ingredient Risk Tool – World Aquaculture Society Magazine, March edition 2024

You can also contact GSI and WWF

What is it?

Launched in January 2023, the WWF Biodiversity Risk Filter is a free online tool that can be used by companies and investors across a wide range of industries – including food and beverage, textile, retail, mining, manufacturing, and finance, to understand, assess and respond to their biodiversity risks and opportunities within their operations.

Users need to register for free to use the tool, but unregistered users have access to the inform and explore modules. 

The tool provides risk maps on multiple biodiversity and environmental risks covering physical, regulatory, and reputational risks for both terrestrial and marine regions. For example, tree cover loss, protected/conserved or key biodiversity areas, and limited marine fish availability as well as national and sub-national level risk profiles all based predominantly on freely available external, peer-reviewed datasets. 

These allow registered users to identify risks and potential improvement actions based on the location of their operations or sourcing region  

What is it?

A checklist of key issues within tuna sourcing that can help tuna value chain stakeholders identify the strengths and shortcomings of a specific supply chain against selected elements of the Seafood Jurisdictional Initiative, formerly the Seascape Approach.

What is it?

The WWF Basket builds upon WWF’s Retailers Commitment for Nature and focuses on seven areas where the food system has a significant environmental impact: 

• Climate;
• Deforestation and land conversion; 
• Agriculture;
• Marine;
• Diets; 
• Food waste; and, 
• Packaging.  

Retail sector progress across each area is being tracked annually. WWF will track progress in its annual ‘What’s in Store for the Planet’ report.  

Key outcome metrics applicable to the use of feed ingredients include:

What is it?

The Seafood Jurisdictional Initiative was previously known as the Seascape Approach. It aims to promote the health of the oceans and the safeguarding of people in seafood production. 

The Seafood Jurisdictional Initiative will initially focus on tuna (and by association the use of wild-caught tuna trimmings in feed manufacture) and uses ecosystem-based and science-based target approaches in protecting the health of our oceans. Essential elements described in the Seafood Jurisdictional Initiative Guidelines include;

• Ending illegal and overfishing, recovery of threatened marine wildlife
• Supporting well-managed Marine Protected Areas (MPA) including fish nursery grounds
• Restoring critical marine ecosystems
• Protecting blue carbon habitats
• Addressing the climate change crisis
• Benefitting human well-being

Starting with tuna, WWF will work with partners and other seafood companies to begin this process, using the tuna sourcing issue identification checklist as a tool for tuna buyers to measure the progress of a jurisdictional initiative.

What is it?

The toolkit uses the Accountability Framework Initiative (AFi) guidance to support deforestation and conversion-free (DCF) supply chains in this context.​

The toolkit helps companies implement the AFI’s guidance for setting, implementing, and monitoring ethical supply chain commitments. 

The toolkit can be applied by companies at different places along the value chain, including brands, financial institutions, meatpackers, restaurants, retailers, and soy traders.

This resource includes tools to:

• Assess –  Materials to evaluate current practices, identify management gaps, summarize results, and provide recommendations.
• Plan – A template to organize those recommendations into milestones to monitor progress.
• Execute – A catalog of technical reference materials to move from commitment to action.

What is it?

Forests Forward is a new WWF corporate program that engages companies around the world to help them reduce their forest footprint and support other on-the-ground actions—like forest restoration—to keep forests thriving for people, nature, and climate.

The program is a one-stop shop for companies looking to implement best practices around nature-based solutions to deliver on their sustainability and business goals. 

Forests Forward includes a global interactive platform where WWF and companies can highlight the actions they’re taking in specific landscapes.

WWF’s Forests Forward program focuses on three pillars for engagement:

1. Landscape Opportunities for Nature, Climate, and Communities. For companies seeking to enhance the health of forests, contribute to climate solutions, and improve community well-being, WWF provides unique opportunities to support rigorous nature-based solutions in critically important forest landscapes around the world to deliver these benefits. Examples of these landscapes include Brazil’s Atlantic Forest; Sabah, Malaysia; and the southeastern United States; among others.
2. Responsible Supply Chains for the Future. WWF helps businesses design and implement responsible supply chain strategies for companies with product or packaging sourcing that can impact forests.
3. Improved Forest Management. WWF works with businesses that manage forests to implement strategies that boost those forests’ ability to sustain biodiversity, benefit global climate, and support local communities.