Guide to Using the Feed Solutions Toolkit

“Low-risk” for compound feed or its ingredients means that:

• Deforestation and land conversion: Terrestrial crop-based ingredients are sourced without contributing to deforestation or land conversion, or are on a clear path toward achieving this goal.

• Sustainable fisheries: Ingredients are primarily sourced from fishery or aquaculture byproducts and come from well-managed or improving fisheries or aquaculture regions.

• Human rights and social responsibility: Ingredients are sourced from suppliers that protect and support workers and communities, and are compliant with national and international legislation and codes of good practice, ensuring they are free from human rights violations such as forced labor, child labor, and other social issues.
• Environmental footprint: Aquaculture suppliers account for the greenhouse gas emissions of feed and all its ingredients, and demonstrate ongoing efforts to reduce feed-related emissions.

Responsible feed commitments should have clear targets and deadlines, and comply with relevant legislation. They will also depend on how advanced your feed sustainability commitments and those of the feed manufacturers in your supply chain are.

Non-timebound examples include:

Transparency and traceability

• Identify who the feed manufacturers in your supply chain are.
• Identify if the feed these manufacturers provide is certified and, if so, to which standard(s).
• Ensure that all the ingredients in your feed are traceable to a level that allows for an accurate assessment of risk.
• Achieve 100% (or as close as possible) traceability of high-risk feed ingredients, such as marine fisheries, soy, and palm oil, down to the level of the fishery (for marine ingredients) or jurisdiction (for terrestrial ingredients), or to a point where the associated risks can be clearly identified.
• Achieve 100% (or as close as possible) traceability of all feed ingredients to the fishery or jurisdiction level, or to a point where the associated risks can be clearly identified.

Due diligence

Ensure that compound feed and its ingredients are low-risk or on track to becoming low-risk, specifically:

• Terrestrial ingredients are free from deforestation and land conversion.
• Marine ingredients come from byproducts or well-managed or improving fisheries, are free from IUU fishing, and have minimal impact on endangered, threatened, and protected species.
• All ingredients are at low risk of human rights abuses, including forced and child labor, and other social issues.
• The greenhouse gas and environmental footprints of the feed in your supply chain can be measured and are being reduced.

See Case studies on commitments in the Feed Solutions Toolkit for current examples from companies.

*Jurisdiction-level: The level at which regulators or management bodies oversee production and can influence policy or management improvements. This is often the first-tier administrative unit below the national level such as the state or province.

Developing clear company goals and commitments is the fundamental first step in establishing sustainable and ethical aquaculture supply chains.

Goals regarding aquaculture feed aim to safeguard natural ecosystems and biodiversity, and address other environmental concerns. While social issues such as human and community rights are not the primary focus of this Toolkit, they can also be encompassed within these goals.

Company commitments and policies formalize these intentions into specific, time-bound actions and outcomes.

Use the Toolkit’s Commitments filter to access tools, organizations, advice, and case studies related to company goals and commitments, including those concerning feed ingredients.

To gain the most from the Toolkit, it is essential to know both the ingredients used in your aquaculture feed and the origins of those ingredients.

The major sustainability risks linked to feed typically occur at the sites of production or capture. Identifying the sources of various ingredients used in feed production is crucial for understanding associated risks and identifying areas for improvement.

Use the Toolkit’s Traceability filter to access tools, organizations, advice, and case studies focused on traceability within the seafood supply chain, including considerations regarding feed ingredients.

Once you have identified the sources of your feed ingredients, the next step is to assess whether they pose any climate change or environmental risks and whether they align with your existing commitments. A risk assessment can help your company identify potential challenges and guide and prioritize actions.

Use the Toolkit’s Risk assessments filter to explore tools, organizations, advice, and case studies that help evaluate climate change and environmental risks associated with aquaculture feed and its ingredients.

Accepted third-party standards can help your company provide greater assurance to customers that various risks, including climate change, environmental, and other concerns, have been addressed and that your sources are low-risk.

Use the Toolkit’s Standards filter to identify organizations that have established standards related to climate change and environmental risks.

The results of risk assessments can be used to inform the development and prioritization of improvements. SFP strongly recommends engaging in actions that address and improve any identified risks associated with your feed or feed ingredients, rather than switching sources.

Use the Toolkit’s Improvements filter to identify organizations, advice, and case studies geared toward mitigating climate change and environmental risks through pre-competitive, primarily sector-specific strategies.

Use the Toolkit’s Improvements – Landscape and jurisdictional approaches filter to find organizations providing guidance, support, or involvement in broader, cross-sectoral strategies.

Collecting data to evaluate progress, performance, and compliance enables your company to manage and track performance relative to sustainability commitments, market demands, or regulatory requirements.

This information can also inform your company’s decision-making and improvement processes and can be shared with buyers, investors, the public, and other stakeholders to demonstrate transparency and accountability and highlight performance.

Use the Toolkit’s Monitoring and reporting filter to identify organizations, advice, and case studies offering guidance or providing tools and platforms, including verification platforms.