A conservation mechanism for the Cerrado

In late 2019, we became the first feed company and one of only three private sector stakeholders to-date to provide crucial, long-term financial support to the Funding for Soy Farmers in the Cerrado initiative.

SDGs chpt 11.png This important international effort has been designed explicitly to help end soy-associated deforestation in the Cerrado, a region that covers a quarter of Brazil’s landmass, and one of the country’s most important areas for both biodiversity and freshwater production.

Working alongside retail company Tesco and the Norwegian salmon farming company Grieg Seafood, we will strive to halt further deforestation in the Cerrado. In doing so, we also hope to help conserve its fragile plant and animal life. Because regulations alone are not sufficient to protect the region’s biodiversity, this will be achieved by incentivising farmers to produce soy only on existing agricultural land and to leave remaining forests and other important native vegetation untouched.

Funding will also support the sensitive Cerrado biome in becoming a verified zero deforestation area for soy. With approximately 250 million tonnes of carbon being released annually from this landscape through deforestation, preliminary studies have ascertained that around US$ 250 million is needed to reach this goal.

This effort has been designed to help end soy-associated deforestation in the Cerrado

Brazil’s soy industry has been invited by the Funding for Soy Farmers in the Cerrado initiative to lead the development of a financial mechanism that best distributes the funds to meet this ambition.

Our commitment to this strategy, including the pledge of €1 million over the coming five years, recognises that while soy is a key ingredient in aquaculture and animal feed production, it’s also critical that landowners act responsibly and contribute to the protection of critical environments. It also underlines our longstanding support of the Cerrado region. This includes being one of 23 founding signatories of the Business Statement of Support to the Cerrado Manifesto, a commitment to working with Brazilian stakeholders to halt deforestation in the region that was established in 2017. Today, more than 140 companies have signed this statement of support.

It has been estimated that there are more than 20 million hectares of existing agricultural land suitable for soy expansion in the Cerrado. Expanding into these areas rather than newly converting native vegetation presents a much more realistic and sustainable pathway for the sector’s development.

Skretting Chile creates first national aquaculture forest

A new forest was planted by the Skretting Chile team in recognition of the loyalty that many aquaculture producers throughout the country continue to demonstrate for our suite of products and services.

Named after our global sustainability programme, the Nuterra Forest, located at the Dos Lagunas National Monument in Coyhaique, is set to provide a home to 1,500 native trees. Every new tree planted acknowledges the support received from one of our customers or collaborators, with each of these partners receiving the geolocation of their tree.

This first-of-its-kind initiative is intended to echo the increasingly responsible approach being taken by our customers to farm seafood, and to also signify the contribution that Skretting is endeavouring to make to the sustainable advancement of aquaculture supply chains.

Furthermore, with land-based farming becoming more commonplace in aquaculture supply chains, thanks to new technologies and the advancement of recirculation systems, it’s also another opportunity to compensate for the industry’s footprint.

The Nuterra Forest project has been made possible with the assistance of the non-profit organisation Fundación Reforestemos.