36 MARCH 2024 • WORLD AQUACULTURE • WWW.WAS.ORG ESG Feed Tool Methodology Each topic area has a range of questions, from one up to twelve. Each question provides the indicator that is being evaluated. Low, medium and high scores denote low, medium and high risk, respectively. Questions can be weighted based on priority areas determined by stakeholders in the value chain. Each ingredient has its own column to allow for comparison of risk levels across specific ingredients. An overall performance score aggregates the resulting point values for each applicable question to determine a low, medium or high-risk level for the specific ingredient being evaluated. Of course, not all issues apply to all ingredients and scores, and weightings are reflected accordingly. Transparency The transparency topic area addresses the supply chain structure of the feed ingredient. Its aim is to evaluate the granularity of supply chain mapping for each feed ingredient that is included in a feed formulation. Management systems The management system topic area addresses the operational capacity of the ingredient supplier as it relates to the raw materials it supplies. Its aim is to evaluate the ability of the ingredient supplier to manage traceability of its respective supply chain, assess the risk of the raw materials, and independently audit the supply of any raw materials that the supplier deems to be high risk. Governance The governance topic area addresses the effectiveness of the feed ingredient’s source country government, illegality, corruption and community engagement. It aims to evaluate the prevalent risks of illegal, corrupt or community damaging practices based on the origin region of the feed ingredient, as well as on the policies that the ingredient supplier has in place. Human rights The human rights topic area addresses the systems, policies, and mechanisms that the ingredient supplier and their subsequent suppliers have in place to uphold labor and human rights of their work force and the work force of their suppliers. Its aim is to evaluate the capacity of the ingredient supplier to adequately monitor their operations and the operations of their suppliers to ensure labor and human rights are not being violated. Restorative land use and biodiversity practices The restorative land use and biodiversity practices topic area addresses the impacts of terrestrial feed ingredients on terrestrial ecosystems. Its aim is to evaluate the feed ingredient’s land footprint, the incidence of habitat conversion for the feed ingredient, and the feed ingredient supplier’s policies on sourcing raw materials from areas where deforestation and conversion occur. Fisheries The fisheries topic area addresses the impacts of marine feed ingredients on marine ecosystems and biodiversity. Its aim is to evaluate the status of the fishery and whether improvements are being made, as well as the feed ingredient supplier’s policies on sourcing marine raw materials from illegal, unreported or unregulated fishing and from endangered or critically endangered species. Carbon footprints The carbon footprint topic area addresses the feed ingredient’s greenhouse gas emissions and impact on soil organic content from where the ingredient is sourced. Its aim is to evaluate the feed ingredient’s contribution to the emissions profile of both the ingredient supplier and other actors in the value chain, as well as its impact on arable land. It is important to note that different carbon footprint methodologies are used by different feed companies, and this does not allow for consistent comparisons. Feed companies are encouraged to adjust their values based on the methodologies stipulated in the tool. Circularity The circularity topic area addresses co-products, reuse, and other applications of the feed ingredient. Its aim is to evaluate the necessity of including the feed ingredient in the feed formulation based on how versatile, resource efficient, and unique to animal feed the raw material is. Pollution The pollution topic area addresses the pollution potential of the raw material on waterways through eutrophication potential. Its aim is to evaluate the level of pollution that the ingredient raw material can have on both freshwater and marine/brackish water ecosystems. Eutrophication potential is not an optimal indicator for pollution potential because it assumes all phosphorus and nitrogenous compounds are fully oxidized, which is seldom the case. These indicators are from “canned” life cycle assessment (LCA) software. A much better indicator would be the oxygen demand load on the environment, but the authors have not found LCAs that include oxygen demand estimates to date. Water consumption The water consumption topic area addresses the freshwater consumption associated with the ingredient and the freshwater scarcity of the regions associated with the ingredient. Its aim is to evaluate the water footprint of the production, harvest and processing of the ingredient. Additionally, the impacts on renewable surface and groundwater supplies in the regions where the raw material is grown and processed are also assessed. Fish health and nutrition The fish health and nutrition topic area addresses the impacts that the feed ingredient has on the farmed aquaculture species. Its aim is to evaluate the major priority areas for farmed fish health and nutrition including digestibility, growth, feed conversion ratio, survival, antinutritional attributes and organoleptic quality, among others. Human health and nutrition The human health and nutrition topic area addresses the impacts that the feed ingredient has on humans once the farmed aquaculture species is consumed. Its aim is to evaluate positive and/ or negative effects that consumption of the ingredient may have on human health, as well as the presence of plastics contained in the feed ingredient.
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