Climate focus

 

Greenhouse gases contribute to climate change and the agricultural industry produces greenhouse gases. That much is clear. However, reliable data is lacking and methods to determine emissions vary. That is why Nutreco dedicated resources to a research project that is collecting and developing data on greenhouse gases at stages of the value chain, from feed raw materials through to feed manufacture and delivery. For Nutreco the main concern is the sequence from raw material purchase to delivering feed on the farm where we have direct control. However, we recognise that the other stages are important in greenhouse gas terms and we are actively cooperating in industry-wide initiatives to get the facts and to find ways of reducing the impact.

 

Environmental groups, governments and major retailers are asking questions and making demands for the animal protein industry to reduce its greenhouse gas production. The knowledge that is being generated by Nutreco and like-minded organisations will in future enable the industry to respond positively, with information and actions.

Moderating greenhouse gases

 

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), livestock account for 18% of greenhouse gases produced by human activity: 13% from extensive production, such as cattle kept on pastures, and 5% from intensive production, such as most pig, dairy and chicken farming in Western Europe and North America. One of the objectives of the Nutreco greenhouse gases data project is to find the details behind these numbers and identify where Nutreco can influence them.

 

Initial analyses show production and delivery of compound feeds represent a small proportion of the total greenhouse gas output of the full chain from crop cultivation to the milk and meat in the consumer’s fridge (see chart page 33). Although reducing emissions from Nutreco activities will have limited impact on the emissions of the complete value chain, it is a tangible contribution and will help raise sustainability awareness within Nutreco. For example, the approach to reducing emissions from transport looks at the following opportunities: move transport of e.g. raw materials from road to water or rail, progress from delivering products in 25-kg bags to big bags and on to bulk, optimise routes driven, consolidate transport within Nutreco and with outside companies, and use vehicles that are more efficient with lower emissions. All of these steps bring economic and emission benefits.

 

Cutting costs, fuel and emissions   Underlining the point that good sustainability is often good business, two important transport projects ran through 2009 with the aim of cutting costs by reducing truck kilometres, especially empty ones. Success effectively reduces fuel consumption and CO2 emissions. These projects continue into 2010 with further benefits to be won.   Nutreco animal feed company Hendrix UTD in the Netherlands is working with its three transport providers to make bulk deliveries more efficient. As these amount to around two million tonnes and 16 million kilometres a year, any reductions can be significant. Cooperation between Hendrix logistics specialists and their opposite numbers in the transport companies is combining the movement of feeds out with raw materials in. Strict protocols were developed to avoid problems of cross-contamination between raw materials and feeds. Further than this, cooperation is extending to rival feed companies and other customers of the transport providers to further reduce empty kilometres. Additionally, almost the entire transport fleet is now running with the clean Euro 5 low-emission engines.   Wireless monitors in the feed silos of customers are providing improvements in one area of the Netherlands where there are few opportunities to collect raw materials. Hendrix is running a joint project with one transport provider to coordinate deliveries better by     monitoring the feed silo contents. The information enables them to predict upcoming delivery requirements and route them as efficiently as possible. A pilot study with monitors in 700 feed silos began in 2009. A 10% fuel saving will make the project self financing.   The Hendrix logistics team is now looking at options to increase the proportion of raw materials arriving by the more environmentally friendly water and rail transport.   Bags as well   In 2009 the Nutreco procurement team initiated a project to combine transport of bagged products (predominantly 25-kg bags) from all Nutreco companies in the Benelux region. For the most part, this is Hendrix and Trouw Nutrition International. As part of the project one transport supplier was chosen for all bag transport. This includes bringing in raw materials as well as taking out finished goods. A pilot scheme that began in October 2009 validated the new bag transport scheme. It was introduced in January 2010 with full implementation due by March 2010, which is when the real fuel and emission benefits will start to accrue. Optimisation is organised by the transport provider because it has the best overview of what is to be delivered where and when. As Trouw Nutrition is a major supplier to Hendrix, a significant saving is being achieved by using the trucks that deliver feed in the region around the Trouw Nutrition plant to bring Trouw Nutrition products back to the Hendrix plants. Further options are being explored in 2010.

 

Relative contribution to total greenhouse gases output of steps in the production chains from pork, poultry and dairy in the Netherlands, excluding emissions from land use and land use change. From Blonk et alia 2009

On-farm contribution   While working to improve the efficiency of our feed performance with customers’ livestock, we are also effectively helping to reduce their emissions per unit of production. Improvements include greater productivity and better methane and manure management. Beyond this, we are looking at changes in diet patterns and feed formulations that can influence the output of greenhouse gases such as methane from ruminants, without reducing feed performance. Exploring these possibilities offers an additional way in which animal nutrition can mitigate the environmental effects of livestock production systems. The result can be either reduced greenhouse gases from the food value chain or increased food production without increasing greenhouse gas production. That is a choice for society as a whole.

 

 

Video cuts travel    In 2009, Nutreco invested widely in video-conferencing facilities in its businesses. This brought two benefits. First, it reduced the need for travel, and therefore the related emissions. Second, ease of personal contact through video links has increased the sense of belonging to one organisation.

 

Bulk fish feed delivery lowers environmental impact   In 2009 Skretting Norway began using a boat that delivers feed in bulk, referred to as silo–silo deliveries. Finished feed from its Averøy plant is held in a silo battery at the feed plant, transferred into small silos on the boat and then transferred directly into silos at the fish farms of customers. This replaces delivery in bags. The switch to silo–silo delivery also involved investment in new silos at the feed plant.   Silo–silo delivery by boat reduces the energy required, through efficient boat transport and reduced use of forklift trucks in loading and unloading. It is estimated this form of delivery will reduce packaging by more than 200,000 bags over a full year when it is in full operation.
	Cutting consumption   In Chile, Skretting installed a high-efficiency wood-burning (biomass) boiler at its Osorno feed plant. The fuel used is wood by-products from the Chilean timber industry. The industry is well developed and regulated in Chile, with a certification system to protect primary forest. External analyses (by SGS) indicate the boiler has cut carbon dioxide emissions per tonne of feed produced by one-third of the previous system and produces low levels of particulate matter. It is 84% energy efficient compared with 57% previously. Further information can be found on www.berkes.com.uy.   Sloten, a Nutreco operating company, supplies dairy-based products. In 2009 it committed to invest in a new heater drying system that will substantially reduce the consumption of natural gas while maintaining the same level of production. The net effect will be to reduce the gas consumption of Nutreco in the Netherlands by 20%; three million cubic metres a year.

 

One link in the chain where Nutreco can influence greenhouse gas reduction is sourcing feed raw materials. For the initial phase of the climate project we limited investigations to five groups of major raw materials: wheat and barley, maize (corn), soya, palm products (by-products from palm oil) and rapeseed (canola). The emission sources taken into account are cultivation and processing and transport between these stages and to the compound feed factory.

 

Early conclusions

 

Two clear conclusions come from the information gathered so far. The first is that it will be far more effective, in terms of true corporate responsibility, for Nutreco to work with other participants in the value chain to reduce emissions relating to specific raw materials rather than directing its purchasing towards those suppliers demonstrating the lowest emissions. Doing that would simply force other purchasers into buying the less sustainable supplies and will not have any significant impact on global emissions.

 

The second conclusion is that that there is a need for a harmonised methodology accepted by all stakeholders and for more reliable data. For any individual raw material there are many variables, such as yield and amount and type of fertiliser used, and when data is available there are several methods for estimating emissions. These lead to widely differing results. The Dutch animal feeds product board is running a parallel study in this area and Nutreco is sharing information with the board on the difference the methods can make. We are also looking into variations, within one raw material and one methodology, as a result of factors such as country of origin and best and worst practices. There is significant potential to reduce emissions by promoting best practices but, again, that requires a coordinated effort by many participants in the value chain. This is a continuing project.

Land use

 

Land use and land use change, including deforestation, are further complex factors with wide variations in estimated impact and optimum allocation. Estimates of emissions resulting from land use change indicate that it can be a substantial share of emissions from the value chain. There is some guidance on how to allocate this to a crop now grown on the land. The current PAS 2050 (publicly available specification for assessing greenhouse gas emissions) specifies that if the crop was cultivated on land where its use was changed after January 1990, the estimated impact for each year of crop production should be allocated as one-twentieth of the total. However, there is no answer for a sequence such as deforestation for timber followed by pasture, maize then soya, and these questions are very much under discussion. In the Nutreco project land use change is reported separately, using an alternative, indirect method based on records of expansion in land use in a region for all crops.

 

 

Data to date

 

To help us navigate our way through these complexities, we brought in a consultancy specialised in the subject, already acting as an advisor to the Dutch government and the Dutch ‘Product Board: Animal Feed’. The consultant’s report was delivered in August 2009 and we now have assessments of greenhouse gas emissions for our selected raw materials and know which parts of their supply chains lead to the greatest emissions. We also know where data is lacking and where further discussion is needed to agree on methodology.

 

The data means Nutreco is informed for future discussions. It also provides a good basis for continuing the project with further raw materials and other parts of the value chain.

 

Currently the project team is investigating the feasibility of obtaining greenhouse gas data relating to the production and use of feed additives.

 

What are greenhouse gases? Greenhouse gases are a natural part of the atmosphere and help to keep the surface of the earth at a habitable temperature. The current problem is that we have too much and the excess comes from human activity. Agricultural activities can result in the production of three, namely carbon dioxide (CO2), methane and nitrous oxide. The greenhouse gas consequences of an activity are sometimes referred to as its carbon footprint. In other instances carbon footprint may only relate to the carbon dioxide emissions.

 

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