Life cycle assessment and carbon footprint increase transparency Part 2
For us, environmental responsibility means that the environment is taken into account holistically in business. On the other hand, it is clear that without a financially sound foundation, it would be impossible to employ staff and develop business in an increasingly environmentally friendly direction. Profitability and competitiveness are important goals, with people and nature at the center.
The construction of sustainable urban and rural communities must take into account, as an integral part, sustainable food production and the resulting industrial by-products. Untreated, the animal by-product is a danger to the environment but also contains valuable ingredients that can be utilized. The Honkajoki Group is an important part of Finnish, responsible food production, and we constantly strive to develop our business so that we can make better and improve use of the raw materials we receive.
On average, 40% of the slaughtered animal is a by-product and is not used for human consumption. We receive these by-products from slaughterhouses and strive to process them responsibly, in accordance with the principles of the circular economy, into high-quality products for use in various industries. These include e.g. biofuel manufacturers and pet food manufacturers.
In all our activities, our goal is to strive for carbon-neutral production and end products. We have performed a life cycle assessment for Poultry Protein and Pig Protein. The calculations have been verified in accordance with the ISO14040 / 44 standard. The calculations take into account all the inputs needed in production, which are used in the manufacture of the product. ISO 14044/44 is a globally used standard for life cycle based environmental assessment. Our long-term goal is to provide the customer with a carbon-neutral end product.
The results have been encouraging and positive overall. Porcine meal production from pig by-products at Kaustinen has a carbon footprint of 174 kg CO2e/tn *, which replaces the commonly used soy as a protein source in feed production. According to expert calculations, soy has a carbon footprint of over 3,000kg CO2e/t**. It is worth noting that most of the proteins imported into Finnish markets are soy. Honkajoki Oy produces Finnish proteins of animal origin that have protein content of 60-69% depending on the product, and they contain in addition various essential minerals. The protein content of soy is about 42-44%, and it does not include the necessary minerals. Therefore, 1.5 times more soy is needed in comparison to protein of animal origin, in addition to the additives which increase the environmental load of animal feed even more. Furthermore, proteins of animal origin are more efficiently used because they have better digestibility than plant proteins.
You can read more about verified calculations in our Sustainability Report 2019.
*Calculation include production steps A1-A3
**Calculations include soy production stages A1-A3
