Responsible footprint
Our goals and ambitions for a sustainable footprint are based on UN Sustainable Development Goal no. 12
Our goal is to maximize the degree of utilization of raw materials by creating new food products from the fish and shellfish that we produce. We also minimize our environmental footprint through responsible consumption and circular handling of non-renewable resources.
Within the priority Responsible Footprint, we focus on 5 subareas:
1. Less waste, more food products
Since fish in the oceans is a limited resource, we need to make the best possible use of the fish once they have been caught. This means that we must assess our residual resources’ potential and develop and utilize our resources to an even greater extent.
WASEABI optimizes utilization of marine resources
WASEABI optimizes utilization of marine resources
For a period of four years, Royal Greenland will form part of an interdisciplinary team with the shared aim of optimizing the utilization of side-streams from the seafood sector by developing new methods for the production of nutritional ingredients.
Initiatives
We have initiated initiatives for higher utilization of shrimp shells, extraction of protein and oil from process water, increased export of lumpfish carcasses and crab shells and development of new methods for maximum utilization of raw materials.
2. Water consumption
Fresh water of good quality is an important resource for all our production units. At some geographical locations in Greenland, water is a scarce resource, while elsewhere there are ample water supplies. We will therefore focus our efforts on the geographical areas where it is most important to save water and work with alternative water resources.
Initiatives
Where water is in short supply, we aim at producing fresh water approved for food production. Overall, we have launched projects for routine follow-up on water consumption and reduction of overall consumption.
3. Climate and energy
The energy consumption and climate footprint of our factories and fisheries are key focus areas. A part of this entails that our vessels only use Marine Gas Oil (MGO).
Within this, we will reduce CO2e emissions from our vessels, since the seafaring vessels’ consumption of fossil fuels constitutes the greatest overall contribution to CO2e emissions at Royal Greenland. By 2022 our goal is to reduce our annual energy consumption by 5% at Group level.
Initiatives
We have launched initiatives focusing on reduction of energy consumption, incorporation of ‘big data’ on the way to reduce consumption and the incorporation of reduced targets for CO2e emissions in the next generation of vessels.
4. Product groups’ carbon footprint
We wish to create a basis for the development of products with a small climate footprint. To do this, we will develop a method to calculate product groups’ CO2e emissions.
The carbon footprint of a shrimp
The carbon footprint of a shrimp
A previous internal study has shown that the value chain for single-frozen shrimps from Greenland, gives total emissions of 5.07 kg of CO2e per kg of finished product. Of this, fisheries account for 62% of consumption in total. For products based on double-frozen shrimps, emissions are higher, due to the extra freezing and thawing process.
Initiatives
Initiatives aim at defining a method for calculation of CO2e emissions for product groups, engagement in partnerships for developing calculation methods for carbon footprint and assessment of customer requirements for climate labelling.
5. Cardboard, paper and plastic
Finished products need to be packed, for hygienic and effective transport, and in order to maintain durability. The choice of packaging material matters.
As a company, we have a responsibility to use plastic responsibly, but also to develop new methods to recycle the plastic and packaging we use, so that it is part of a future circular economy. The life cycle of packaging can vary in terms of length and complexity, and final disposal and waste handling, in particular, still vary considerably from country to country.
At Royal Greenland, we focus primarily on optimizing the first stage of a packaging type’s life cycle, which is the choice of fibre and production method. We follow the principle of reduce – recycle – renew.
Initiatives
For retail packs, laminates are being replaced with mono materials and we aim at reducing material thickness. Plastic tubs based on multi-plastic materials are replaced with mono-materials. In Greenland we have launched an initiative with the purpose of establishing a yearn return scheme.
