Danish fish feed firm looks to accelerate both growth and sustainable impact

05-Sep-2018 - Last updated on 28-Sep-2021 at 12:46 GMT

Aller Aqua, which produces fish feed for freshwater and saltwater aquaculture, is participating in SDG Accelerator, a UNDP initiative aimed at fast-tracking the private sectors impact on the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals.

It is one of the first 15 companies to participate.

The program is funded by The Danish Industry Foundation and is being tested in Denmark this year and next. So, for the moment, only Danish small and medium-sized companies are involved. The aim, though, is to eventually roll out the program across the Nordics and globally.

At Aqua 2018 in Montpellier, Katrine Evans, marketing project manager, Aller Aqua, told us the fish feed company’s aim, under this program, is to kick-start initiatives to provide fish farmers in resource poor areas with knowledge and education, which will enable them to increase their yield and expand their business for the benefits of themselves, their families and the community.

The family owned company, which has factories in Denmark, Poland, Germany, Egypt, Zambia and China, is looking to address four of the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) through this intiative: SDG2 – Zero hunger, SDG8 – Decent work and economic growth, SDG13 – Climate action and SDG14 – Life below water.

“We are starting in Nigeria as we have got a very good base there…We will use our seminars to launch this project and get people involved.”

The focus is on the use of extruded feeds.

Hanno Slawski, Aller Aqua Group R&D director, speaking to us last July after a presentation in South Africa, said the mindset of African fish farmers needs to change so there is a shift away from thinking only about securing the best price per kilo of feed.

Some of the local feeds, particularly the pelleted variety, result in a FCR of four or five for catfish and tilapia, for example, whereas the Danish company’s feeds will enable a much lower FCR for those species, he said.

There is often lack of amino acid and phosphorus balance, poor water stability and a waste of nutrients due to the physical quality of the local feeds, he added.

Monitor Deloitte is a partner on the SDG Accelerator project. The UNDP explained that the consultancy is responsible for facilitating a six-month business innovation program, which combines three individual sessions, a joint innovation lab and an acceleration workshop - each participating business can bring in up to four employees onto that.

Participating companies involved also have access to a communication toolkit easing the internal and external stakeholder dialogue about the company’s commitment to the SDGs.

The UNDP said all the relevant learnings and inspirational cases from the companies involved, together with the Blueprint for the SDG Accelerator will be made publicly available, to all interested stakeholders and businesses via the SDG Accelerator site and through an open source format.

“More and more companies recognise the UN Global Goals as levers for innovation, growth and better competitive performance. The SDGs also make up a powerful framework for strengthening the companies’ purpose narrative and for attracting talents, customers and investors,” argues the UNDP.