Despite challenging 2020, Multiexport and Camanchaca confirm sustainability commitment

Despite the challenges posed worldwide by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Chilean salmon farmers Multiexport Foods and Salmones Camanchaca reaffirmed a commitment to sustainability in the companies’ respective yearly sustainability reports.

Multiexport Foods highlighted the fact that in 2020 it was once again invited to form part of the Dow Jones Sustainability Index, ranking as one of the companies with the best sustainability management in the “Food Products” industrial sector.

In addition, it was included for the first time in the Coller FAIRR protein index, which analyzes the performance of the main global protein producers listed on the stock exchange. The company ranked 15th overall, fifth in the field of salmon producing companies in the world, and number one in Chile.

“These achievements are the result of the work that our company has been doing for several years to advance in ESG factors to produce the best salmon in the world, taking care of natural resources, protecting the environment and contributing to local communities. Sustainability is at the core of the business, and we are committed to accountability and transparency in our actions,” Multiexport Foods CEO Cristián Swett said in a release.

Other environmental stewardship milestones the company reached in 2020 include:

• Ended farming operations in Chile’s lakes, a decision that was made in 2019 and materialized in December 2020.
• Terminated shipments of processing waste from plants to landfills, under the Zero Waste to Landfill project.
• With the goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2030, for the second consecutive year Multiexport measured its carbon footprint through the Huella Chile program.

Salmones Camanchaca also reiterated its commitments to sustainability in its latest sustainability report.

“In a complex period of changes on the economic, commercial, technological, political and social levels, Salmones Camanchaca reiterates its attitude of listening, learning and innovating for the benefit of the sustainable development of salmon farming,” Camanchaca General Manager Ricardo García said. “We are convinced that only in this way can we contribute to the global challenge in using the sea to feed a world that will soon exceed 8 billion people, and to do so in a healthy way for consumers, for the communities neighboring the operations, and for the environment in which we work.”

At the beginning of 2021 the company suffered severe algae blooms, and the resulting 3,700 metric tons (MT) in extraordinary mass mortalities affected its centers in the Reñihué and Comau fjords during Q1.

Environmental milestones for Camanchaca in 2020 included:

• Certification of 52 percent of biomass under the ASC standard.
• A reduction in the use of antibiotics and antiparasitics in closed cycle systems by 3 percent and 7 percent, respectively.
• Migrating the corporate electricity contract to 100 percent renewable, expected to reduce scope 1 and 2 emissions by approximately 12 percent when compared to the 2018 baseline.

The company also established a formal channel to receive complaints and suggestions, as well as a clear protocol for their resolution. Camanchaca continued with activities in the communities where it operates, including investing in the “Sustainable Schools” program to support principals, teachers, and families to facilitate children’s educational continuity during the pandemic; and it helped to finance supplies to prevent COVID-19 infections and provide critical equipment for hospitals.  

Photo courtesy of Salmones Camanchaca