IFFO: Industry-based data gives more accurate view of carbon emissions

An industry-led initiative to provide updated environmental data slashed the reported carbon footprint of some marine feed ingredients, and could do the same for other ingredients, IFFO says.

October 28, 2026

Hand holding brown fish pellets over water with multiple fish swimming below

Bigc Studio | BigStock.com

With 65% of the the industry's carbon footprint coming from feed, choosing low-carbon ingredients is critical for aquaculture to earn a “license to operate,” according to David Robb, sustainability director for Cargill's aqua nutrition business. But finding quality carbon data can be tricky.

The Global Feed LCA Institute offers an independent database with standardized emissions and environmental data for feed formulators. But when the Marine Ingredients Organisation, IFFO, first reviewed the database, IFFO Technical Director Brett Glencross noticed some of the database’s marine ingredient data was clearly incorrect. Sprat, for example, supposedly had a carbon footprint six times larger than that of Atlantic salmon.

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