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.
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.
Climate change and water scarcity.
Lack of transparency and conflicts of interest. They do not reach the small producers, they cannot pay them.
The consumption of products that have a low carbon and water footprint. Generate an opportunity for Chilean food products.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Mussels do not need to be fed during their farming cycle, which translates into a smaller water footprint.
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.
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.
