Our production plant requires the consumption of electrical energy throughout the process and the use of non-renewable fuels, the latter mainly in the boiler system for steam generation.
Carbon footprint
By 2022 we expect to reduce the intensity of CO2 emission generation by 30%
REDUCTION OF FUEL CONSUMPTION AND GREENHOUSE GASES (GHG).
During 2021 we contracted the services of Abastible S.A. for the design and implementation of an innovative energy solution for the production of industrial steam, a fundamental element in the Omega-3 concentration process and whose generation represents the majority of the Company’s energy consumption. The objective was to replace the fuel used in 3 steam boilers –from Fuel Oil 6 to liquefied gas-; incorporate technologies that allow energy to be recovered from exhausted gases, through economizers; modulate combustion according to the production requirement; in addition to reducing fuel consumption, through more efficient burners.
100% RENEWABLE AND NON-EMISSION ELECTRICAL ENERGY
Since 2018, 100% of the electrical energy used in the production process of Golden Omega comes from renewable sources and without carbon emissions. However, during 2021 we took a step further, by obtaining the Green-e™ certification, which accredits energy consumption exclusively from Non-Conventional Renewable Energy (NCRE) sources. This was possible thanks to the signing of a NCRE supply contract with the generation company Colbún SA for a period of 6 years.
Green-e™ is the United States’ leading independent program for the verification and certification of renewable energy and carbon offsets, with wide recognition in international markets.
Waste
WE PROMOTE THE RECOVERY OF OUR WASTE
There is a low loss of oil in our production process: the oil fractions that are not transformed into Omega-3 concentrates are sold as by-products for use in industrial applications. Of the total fish oil consumed in 2021, 89% ended up in some form of product or by-product.
In recent years, progress has been made in obtaining the necessary sanitary permits to export a greater quantity of by-products, opening new markets. This made it possible to export glycerin towards the end of 2021, after an additional purification and dehumidification process.
WE PROMOTE RECYCLING:
In 2019 we signed an agreement with Reciclos SpA for the installation of two green recycling points for plastic bottles, paper and cardboard in our production plant.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the measures taken to protect the health of the staff considered a greater use of disposable containers. It is expected to greatly reduce the use of these materials from 2022, with a reuse that guarantees disinfection.
Waste management diagram
VALUE CHAIN
1
Fish oil, ethanol, sulfuric acid, sodium ethoxide, bleaching earth, caustic soda, glycerin, enzymes.
2
Omega-3 concentrates (in drums), fatty acids.
3
Ethanol not suitable for sale or reprocessing, mixtures or emulsions of water and hydrocarbons, filters with fish oils, containers that have contained hazardous substances, unidentified residual chemical substances.
4
Reprocessed ethanol.
5
Fatty acids suitable for sale or reprocessing, fatty acids not suitable for sale or reprocessing, exhausted bleaching earth, glycerin not suitable for sale or reprocessing, industrial waste.
6
Reprocessed fatty acids.
7
Industrial garbage.
8
Plastic bottles, beverage cans and paper.
9
Paper and cardboard.
10
Exhausted bleaching earth, fatty acids not suitable for sale or reprocessing, glycerin not suitable for sale or reprocessing.
During 2022, a value recovery project associated with these oils is expected to be finalized, which together with other ongoing developments will allow us by 2025 to recover at least 50% of our non-hazardous waste eliminated during 2021.
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