Vetnews | Oktober 2024 42 « BACK TO CONTENTS OUR CONTRIBUTION TO ALLEVIATING THE IMPACT ON OUR PLANET In 2022, climate scientists, through the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), published their report(1) assessing the impact of climate change, looking at ecosystems, biodiversity and human communities. The scientific consensus on the need for urgent action is clear. As a key player in the pet food industry, it is our responsibility to reduce our environmental footprint and help build a more sustainable future for generations to come. Fighting climate change is also critical for our pets’ well-being, as it threatens their health, the environment they live and play in along with the availability of the food and nutrients they need. OUR PATH TOWARDS CARBON NEUTRALITY To improve our environmental footprint, the ROYAL CANIN® brand announced in October 2021 its commitment to become carbonneutral certified by the end of 2025. ROYAL CANIN® uses the PAS 2060 standard for carbon neutrality, a robust and internationally recognized standard, and the brand will report transparently and regularly on its journey. In 2023, the brand had its first product range certified carbon neutral by SCS Global Services(1): the Kitten and Puppy Growth Ranges. MEASURING OUR CARBON FOOTPRINT The first step in our journey towards carbon neutrality has been to assess our impact from the farm to the pet bowl, in order to quantify our carbon emissions and understand how we can reduce them. Although we can speak about our efforts in all of these sectors, here we are going to focus on some of the specific actions regarding raw materials that have already started in our Kitten and Puppy ranges and will soon be extending to our Size health nutrition range. Each of our products is associated with a specific nutrient profile that is the same around the world. However, the raw materials we use to cater for this nutrient profile can vary according to the region and factory, depending on the raw materials that are available locally. By taking into consideration the footprint of our ingredients in our formulas thanks to our science-based nutritional philosophy, we are taking a big step towards reducing our carbon footprint. We know the carbon footprint – and the impact on land and water use - of each of our close to 750 nutritional offers, which allows us to optimize our selection of ingredients. For example, we have partly replaced rice in some of our recipes with wheat or corn to reduce the GHG (Green House Gas) emissions of our products. Indeed, rice grown in the United States for instance has an impact two times higher than that of wheat, and almost three times higher than corn, according to the World Food Life Cycle database. We strive to purchase raw materials from sustainable sources while supporting our suppliers to transition towards more sustainable practices set on science-based targets. We also encourage and support farmers to change to regenerative and climate-smart agricultural practices. Sourcing fish more responsibly The global seafood sector is vital to food security, nutrition, and income for people around the globe. The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) highlights ocean goods and services having an annual tangible and proven value of US$2.5 trillion— equivalent to the world’s seventh-largest economy. According to the OECD, more than three billion people around the world rely on the ocean for their livelihoods. Fish is also an important ingredient in healthy, nutritious, and high-quality pet food. Only a healthy ocean can keep this economic engine running. However, many fisheries around the world are under significant threat from overuse. While Mars Petcare accounts for a small share of the global seafood market, in 2010, Mars partnered with WWF and committed to sourcing fish in line with our Responsible Fish Sourcing Guidelines. (4) Our aim is to drive improvement in environmental and social practices in the industry while helping to promote biodiversity and protect endangered species. Our Sustainability Journey
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