Endorsing Initiatives

Working with the WWF

Impact on the environment is a key concern in all Marine Harvest’s activities. Since 2008, Marine Harvest Group has worked with the WWF-Norway to strengthen its focus on sustainable aquaculture and to help shape and improve the whole industry’s environmental standards. Marine Harvest is committed to engage in a process with WWF-Norway to substantially improve corporate stewardship of the environment and thereby support WWF-Norway‘s mission and goal of transforming markets, institutions and policies to reduce threats to the diversity of life on Earth.

Included in the agreement (2009-2014) between the Marine Harvest Group and WWF-Norway are commitments, ambitions, activities and key performance indicators regarding the potential environmental impact from:

  • Genetic interaction between escaped farmed salmon and wild Atlantic salmon
  • Discharges from freshwater and seawater farming
  • Potential impacts on wild salmon from diseases and sea lice on farmed salmon
  • Sourcing of marine and vegetable raw materials for salmon feed

 

 

Global Salmon Initiative

In 2013 a group representing 70% of the global farmed salmon industry announced their commitment to sustainability as a path towards significant change.

The Global Salmon Initiative (GSI) unites 15 global farmed salmon producers, including Marine Harvest, committed to greater industry cooperation and transparency, in order to achieve significant and continuous progress in the sustainability of aquaculture. The initiative aims to make significant strides in providing a sustainable source of protein (farmed salmon) to feed a growing population.
The GSI focuses on areas where they can make ambitious, yet achievable, improvements, within a realistic timeframe improving industry performance across three pillars of sustainability:

  • Reducing environmental impact
  • Increasing social contribution
  • Maintaining economic growth

As the first initiative of its kind, the GSI hopes to maximise cooperation and resources to ignite improvements that would otherwise be unachievable if attempted individually.

Keen to make substantial improvements, the GSI is concentrating their efforts on three priority areas facing the industry: biosecurity, feed sourcing and meeting industry standards.

 

Aquaculture Stewardship Council

The Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) sets an unprecedented standard for sustainable food production. Marine Harvest welcomes the initiative and has already started to gain certifications. Marine Harvest is committed to be 100% ASC certified by 2020.
More than 500 individuals from all major salmon farming regions in the world participated in the dialogue. They represented farmers, conservationists, NGOs, scientists, seafood buyers, government officials and other stakeholders working in, or affected by salmon farming.

Long-term investment in sustainability and the environment is the only way forward. With this commitment Marine Harvest is showing how environmental sustainability is a precondition for economic sustainability, and that they take global leadership to minimise their impact on the environment.

Nina Jensen, CEO of WWF Norway

Environmentally balanced expansion in Asia

Marine Harvest’s expansion in Asia provides a clear illustration of the company’s positive steps to minimise its environmental impact. 
In 2013 it opened three new factories in the region, all strategically placed near airports to ensure an efficient delivery of fresh fish. To further minimise its carbon footprint only the fish that is going to be used is flown out, i.e. fillets and not whole fish, ensuring no wastage of product or energy.