In its annual report for the financial year 2025, Scandi Standard highlights improvements it has made over the past 12 months on the environmental impacts of its operations.
The group has been received an “A” rating from CDP — one of the few Swedish companies to have received this accolade. Investor initiative CDP is a global non-profit that says it runs the only independent global environmental disclosure system. It is the second consecutive year that Scandi Standard has achieved this rating level.
The group also reports progress on its Climate Transition Plan, which is now being implemented.
As an example, CEO Jonas Tunestål said that results look promising from early BioLPG trials at Scandi Standard’s plant in Ireland.
Furthermore, he said, new measures have improved energy efficiency and optimized material use across several of its operations.
Sustainability improvements in 2025: focus on feed
“Our sustainability initiatives and efforts to strengthen animal welfare are integral parts of how we are building Scandi Standard, and I am proud of the progress we made during the year,” said the group’s CEO and managing director, Jonas Tunestål.
Compared to other meats, chicken has a lower carbon footprint, and so has the potential to meet future food needs with a lower environmental impact, he said.
Over the past year, a key focus for Scandi Standard has been on the development of new feed formulations. As feed represents 70-80% of the total carbon footprint of chicken production, changes here are expected to have a significant impact on emissions across the chain.
Where soy is used in the company’s poultry feeds, Scandi Standard reports that it comes exclusively from certified sources.
By focusing on substituting locally grown protein crops as a partial replacement for imported soy, Tunestål said, emissions can be reduced, without jeopardizing bird welfare.
In Denmark, up to 30% of the soybeans in poultry diets have been replaced by oats, potato protein, and rapeseed, the firm reports. It is using peas and beans to partially replace soy in Finland, and the group is exploring the potential of bone meal, insect protein, and mycoprotein.
Meanwhile, trials in Ireland have been successful at reducing the environmental impact associated with feed by 3% by reducing the soy inclusion rate by 10%, and substituting this portion with locally grown beans and sunflower.
Use of feed including genetically modified organisms (GMOs) corn and soy is widely discussed throughout the industry, according to Scandi Standard. The group reports that it adheres to local conditions and customer requirements. In Sweden and Norway, it uses GMO-free feed ingredients, and compliant organic materials for its Danish organic chicken.
Transparency on animal health, welfare
In an unusual move for European poultry producers, Scandi Standard openly reports its data on bird welfare, according to Tunestål.
“For us, animal welfare is a key priority, and always goes hand-in-hand with quality and resource efficiency,” he said.
The firm has developed its own Scandi Chicken Quality Programme. Applied in all its operations, this is a tool for monitoring animal welfare, and allows for comparisons between and within its sites.
Scandi Standard reports on its ongoing efforts to reduce the use of antibiotics in its poultry flocks. Under EU and Nordic regulations, these medications may only be used to treat sick animals, and not as a preventive measure.
It reports that antibiotic use by Nordic growers is close to zero — a sign of good animal husbandry. Across the group, 7.6% of flocks received antibiotics in 2025. However, this average was raised significantly by higher levels of use in its Ireland and Lithuania operations last year. Scandi Standard has a target of less than 1% of flocks by 2030.
The group measures four parameters related to poultry welfare: foot score, feed efficiency, rearing mortality, and transport mortality (dead on arrival).
At 1.49, average feed efficiency has been consistent in 2024 and 2025. Against a 2030 target of less than five, foot score continues to be slightly higher, and therefore inferior. Meanwhile, rearing mortality is close to the goal of under 3.5%, and transport mortality of less than 0.13%.
In Denmark last year, the group carried out a trial to compare conventional (Ross 308) and slow-growing (Rustic Gold) broilers. Feed conversion ratios were 1.47 and 1.61, respectively. Small differences in rearing mortality and foot score tended to favor the slower-growing birds, the firm reports.
More on Scandi Standard
The firm is among the Top 20 largest poultry meat companies in Europe with annual slaughterings of 172 million birds, according to the WATT Poultry Top Poultry Companies database for 2024.
Based in Sweden, the same source records that Scandi Standard also has operations in Norway, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Lithuania, and the Netherlands, producing chilled, frozen, and ready-made chicken products. It also sells table eggs in Norway. The group’s sales are through retail, food-service and food processing channels, and it exports to more than 40 countries.
Latest full-year financial results for 2025 were published earlier this year. These showed year-on-year increases in product output, revenue, and profitability for the fourth quarter and for the 12-month period.
