ARTICLE 30 F&A Alternative Proteins Edition October 2023 Similar accounting then occurs for the production phase, again drawing on Ecoinvent to determine impacts of energy consumption and chemicals introduced in this stage. Products made from processing the larvae include Protein70 (our protein meal) and Hydrolysates, both of which have associated co-products Pep9 and Oil6-9; and WetPro15 (our protein ingredient for wet pet food). Economic allocation is again employed to determine the proportion of each environmental impact that should be attributed to each of these final products. Once this has been done, our LCA is complete, and we have a measurement of each environmental impact of each of our products, to the point at which it leaves our farm gate. COMPARISON TO OTHER PRODUCTS WITHIN THE PET FOOD MARKET Armed with the data from our LCA, we are now able to compare the environmental “pawprint” of Sprÿng products to similar products in the same sector, which has revealed that our products have comparatively low impact. Taking the example of our dry pet food ingredient, Protein70, our LCA has measured its GHG impact to be 3.20 kg CO2eq per kilogram of the ingredient. As reported previously2, this is considerably lower than other high-quality dry pet food ingredients, such as lamb (at 5.51 kg CO2-eq) and soy protein concentrate (6.25 kg CO2-eq). Similarly, Sprÿng’s WetPro15 has a carbon footprint of only 0.80 kg CO2-eq, which is much lower than ingredients made from beef offal (14 times higher) or lamb (nearly 26 times higher). KNOWLEDGE IS POWER: OUR COMMITMENT TO CONTINUAL IMPROVEMENT Even more importantly, the LCA also gives us clear directives for how we can continue to improve the environmental footprint of our product range. For example, if we “zoom in” on our Protein70, we can identify which part of the production process has the greatest environmental impact: as illustrated in Figure 2, the upstream feedstock has a much greater impact than the energy used in the rearing process itself. In response to this insight, we are currently researching new feedstock recipes that use less impactful ingredients; we have launched the Terrha project (in collaboration with Noriap, a cooperative that federates 6,500 farmers located near our farm) to improve the ecological footprint of these upstream agricultural activities; and we have a genetics research project investigating ways to further enhance the efficiency of our mealworm rearing. The LCA analysis shows that Sprÿng’s product range is already performing well by environmental standards, which is a validation of our production model – the eco-design of our vertical farm, and our use of mealworms, whose low feed conversion ratio (FCR) means they convert low-protein ingredients to high-protein ingredients very efficiently. Through an ongoing process of evaluation, reflection, innovation and re-evaluation, Sprÿng is committed to continual product refinements that minimize our environmental footprint even further. 1https://www.ecocostsvalue.com/lca/the-issue-of-allocation/ 2https://globalpetindustry.com/article/mealworm-ingredients-improve-nutritional-sustainability-pet-food About Maximilien Jouy Maximilien Jouy is impact manager at Sprÿng powered by Ynsect. With an engineering background, Jouy joined Ynsect 2 years ago. He has the mission to internalize the ability to measure environmental impact and make use of it to have a better decision making all over the company. Figure 2. Protein70 climate change breakdown
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