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ST. ANDREWS ENVIRONMENTAL CERTIFICATION

The objective of the quantification and evaluation of environmental impacts caused by Mussels production is to measure the carbon footprint (greenhouse gases emissions/ CO2e) and water footprint (fresh water consumption) across the lifecycle of St. Andrews.

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¿WHAT IS
BEST FOR THE
PLANET?

It is a seal of environmental distinction for the food industry, which is easily recognized by the final consumer when purchasing products. The goal of this seal is to be able to show the environmental performance of food based on product life cycle analysis.

Born in the face of
global threats.

Climate change and water scarcity.

Solution to current
certification problems.

Lack of transparency and conflicts of interest. They do not reach the small producers, they cannot pay them.

¿What does the initiative
seek to promote?

The consumption of products that have a low carbon and water footprint. Generate an opportunity for Chilean food products.

HOW DOES
BEST FOR
THE PLANET
WORK?

The objective is the quantification and evaluation of the environmental impacts caused by the product and to identify the critical points in the environmental carbon and water footprint throughout its life cycle.

Food producing companies measure the carbon and water footprint of their products based on Product Life Cycle Analysis. With the results, an impact report is generated.

The entire quantification process is prepared in accordance with ISO standards for life cycle analysis (LCA).

St. Andrews has carried out measurements and quantification of its greenhouse gas emissions and freshwater consumption since 2018, the contents and results of which are summarized below.

Methodology

The quantification and evaluation of the carbon and water footprint of St. Andrews, in the production and export of its products derived from Mussels, were carried out based on ISO standards for Life Cycle Analysis (LCA).

The steps followed to carry out this LCA were: the definition of objectives and scope, an inventory of the system, the evaluation of direct and indirect impacts throughout the value chain and the interpretation of results.

 

Objectives and Scope

Functional Unit (FU).

The Functional Unit corresponds to the production of 1 kilo of final product, placed in the final consumption markets.

System Limits.

The LCA of a certain final product, based on Mussels, considers the acquisition of raw materials for the phases of seeds production and transportation, sowing, farming, harvesting, transportation, processing and preparation, cold storage, packing and packaging, loading, transportation and distribution to final markets throughout the world.

The evaluation of the impact of the LCA was carried out by assigning a mass equivalent to 1 kilo of Mussels, regardless of the final presentation, all cooked and frozen: Whole Mussels Vacuum Packed (natural or with sauces), Half Shell, Meat, Breaded Products and Retail Products.

ST. ANDREWS

MUSSELS
TRANSPORT TO
FINAL MARKET
+ SAUCES

It is a seal of environmental distinction for the food industry, which is easily recognized by the final consumer when purchasing products. The goal of this seal is to be able to show the environmental performance of food based on product life cycle analysis.

LESS CO2

Carbon Footprint kg CO2e/kg

Mussels do not need to be fed during their farming cycle, since they feed on the phytoplankton present in the water column where they grow, which is a great advantage over other proteins.

LESS WATER

Water Footprint
Water Consumption Litres/kg

Mussels do not need to be fed during their farming cycle, which translates into a smaller water footprint.

ST. ANDREWS

COOKED AND
FROZEN MUSSELS

Our products travel by ship, generating less CO2e emissions than those proteins transported by air.

The greenhouse gas emissions indicator increases to 2.48 ton of CO2e/ton of final product, when considering the logistics of refrigeration, addition of sauces, packaging and exports.

The carbon footprint of transport was calculated based on an average of exports to the various destination markets where St. Andrews exports.

CONCLUSIONS

The results obtained allow evaluating the environmental impact of St. Andrews in the production of Cooked and Frozen Mussels, but at the same time, allow the development of various projects to mitigate them and be more “Environmentally Efficient and Sustainable”.

 

It allows us to identify additional improvement opportunities for their integration into the Environmental Management Systems, in collaboration with the stakeholders, by prioritizing the main impacts, monitoring them and establishing improvement measures.

WORK IN
PROGRESS

  • Projects for the reuse of cooking juice from Mussel cookers (meat lines), equivalent to 20% of what is processed (under development).
  • Projects to reuse organic by-products from the process, including Mussel meat remains (under development).
  • Valorization of small mussel meat for the production of Mussel flour (under study).
  • Recovery and reuse of organic waste, for feeding flies and producing larvae, which are then transformed into meal rich in protein for animal feed (in development).
  • Recovery and reuse of Mussel shells as fertilizers in the form of Agricultural CaCO3 (in progress)
  • Recovery and reuse of Mussel shells as a stabilizer for roads and construction material (under development).
  • Development of recyclable and compostable packaging materials (in development).
  • Use of less polluting fuels (i.e. gas instead of fuel oil / in progress).
  • Use of environmentally friendly refrigerant gases such as ammonia, replacing freon (in progress).
  • Use of electricity from renewable sources (in progress).
  • Double and even triple use of process water, in such a way as to reduce the consumption of fresh water (in execution).
  • Replacement of fresh process water with seawater to improve the water footprint (under development).

OUR CERTIFICATIONS

ST. ANDREWS
BEST FOR THE PLANET