Apetit tracked the environmental impact of its food products, starting with farming and fishing

Based on calculations made by Luke, Apetit now knows where the majority of the carbon and water footprint of peas or lake fish sticks is created in its value chain and how the products affect the eutrophication of water bodies. Science-based research data helped the manufacturer of frozen vegetables and foods to identify and reduce its environmental impact and communicate the findings to consumers and other stakeholders.

Primary production of raw materials typically accounts for more than half of the carbon footprint of food. The rest comes from the manufacture, packaging and transport of the product.

“We systematically look for development targets in our own production. When we make investments, we also strive for environmental benefits in addition to cost savings or improved efficiency” says Sanna Väisänen, Director, Corporate Communications and Sustainability at Apetit.

According to Väisänen, Apetit has, among other things, replaced fossil fuels with renewable energy sources and switched to wind power at all production plants. The introduction of brush washers last summer reduced water consumption in the washing of vegetables, and even less steam is now used in steam peeling which follows washing.

“We have a lot of information about our production as a whole but we also wanted to find out where in the value chain the most significant climate and environmental impacts of each product arise. We knew Luke had done a lot of this type of research and they have a strong understanding of primary production, so it was natural to order the calculation from them.”

Luke’s calculation focused on carbon and water footprints as well as eutrophication effects in the value chains of domestic frozen peas, soup vegetables, lake fish sticks and archipelago fish steaks.

Comprehensive agricultural data bank supporting experts

According to Frans Silvenius, Research Scientist at Luke, the starting point for the calculation was excellent. Apetit buys peas and root vegetables from its contracted farmers, who follow Apetit’s cultivation methods and report on the steps taken to ensure traceability and product safety.

“We have a very comprehensive and unique data bank of outdoor cultivation, starting from soil, fertilisation and the use of crop protection products, as well as other measures in the field” Väisänen says.

In addition to the databank, Apetit provided a team of sourcing, production and packaging experts to support Luke.

“Apetit’s strong commitment to the project and solid expertise made the research smooth and enjoyable to conduct” Silvenius says.

“By actively participating in the research, we had the opportunity to learn more and understand how things affect each other” Väisänen says.

The use of lake fish reduces eutrophication

In the case of lake fish, Apetit’s connection to primary production was more distant than in the case of farming. So Luke’s experts interviewed fishermen about, for example, fuel consumption, the size of fish catches and the proportion of roach, which is used in fish sticks. The researchers also traced the effects of other raw materials, such as cream, cheese and chickpea flour, using external data sources.

Fishing and fish processing accounted for 12% of the carbon footprint of lake fish sticks, while other raw materials contributed 49%.

“It was a positive surprise for us that the eutrophic effect of lake fish sticks is negative. By eating lake fish sticks, you can actually remove algae-growing nutrients from the water. We have actively emphasised this, among other things, in our communications” Väisänen says. Apetit has compiled a detailed and illustrated report on all research results on its own website.

As to vegetables, Väisänen considers the results were largely as expected. Cultivation produces 52% of the carbon footprint of frozen peas but accounts for only 15% of the carbon footprint of soup vegetables. This is due to differences in natural yield levels, cultivation and processing of vegetables. By the time peas and vegetables are packaged, their carbon footprints are more or less equal. The share of packaging is around 10%.

"Luke has done a lot of research on the environmental impact of food chains, and they have a strong understanding and experience of primary production, so it was natural to order the calculation from them. By actively participating in the research, we had the opportunity to learn more and understand how things affect each other.”

– Sanna Väisänen, Director, Corporate Communications and Sustainability at Apetit

A good basis for further calculations – next came rapeseed oil

After the peas, vegetables and fish products had been studied and the results reported, Apetit commissioned Luke to calculate the carbon footprint of rapeseed oil.

“Now we have a really comprehensive picture of the selected products, and they represent well all our products. Certainly, at some point, the environmental impact of food will begin to be presented in the same way as nutritional values. Then we are well equipped to continue calculations. We have already done a lot of work in advance” Väisänen says.

Customer: Apetit, manufacturer of frozen vegetables and food as well as vegetable oils

Need: Apetit wanted to find out the impact of its products on climate and the environment and identify where the impacts occur in its value chain.

Solution: Apetit commissioned a calculation from Luke that focused on the environmental impact of its main products. Luke calculated the carbon footprint, water footprint and eutrophication impact of the products, taking into account their entire value chain starting from primary production.

Effectiveness: Apetit uses the calculations in developing its production and procuring raw materials. In addition, it shares them with consumers.

Funding: 100% Apetit