SUSTAINABILITY 72 FEED & ADDITIVE MAGAZINE April 2025 The Product Environmental Footprint Category Rules (PEFCR) were updated in 2025 to standardize how the feed environmental impact is measured. With this update, the EU framework ensures that sustainability claims are transparent and comparable, giving producers a stronger foundation to communicate the compound feed footprint. What role do feed additives play in making animal nutrition more sustainable? Animal protein production - meat, eggs, and dairy - is a major source of greenhouse gas emissions. As sustainability becomes a key priority, consumer awareness and regulatory pressure are reshaping the agricultural industry. Even as early as 2009, 72% of European consumers supported mandatory carbon footprint labels on food packaging. While sustainability efforts in the agricultural industry are advancing, feed production remains a major contributor to emissions. In swine production alone, it accounts for 46.5% of the total carbon footprint (Yang et al., 2023). This impact largely stems from key ingredients like cereals, oils, and premixes, which vary in their environmental footprint. The industry is actively addressing this challenge, for example with initiatives like the Code for Green Labelling for Feed. One often-overlooked solution is the use of feed additives, included in small amounts yet capable of delivering significant sustainability gains. When formulated strategically, these additives can reduce emissions, improve resource utilisation efficiency, and enhance overall environmental performance. SMALL INCLUSION, LARGE CONTRIBUTION Feed additives are “products used in animal nutrition for purposes of improving the quality of feed and the quality of food from animal origin, or to improve the animals’ performance and health, e.g. providing enhanced digestibility of the feed materials” (European Commission). Unlike classical feed ingredients such as cereals, feed additives are incorporated at very low inclusion levels (generally less than 1%). As a result, the role of feed additives in improving sustainability is often overlooked and multiple studies confirm their importance. The influence of feed additives on the environmental impact of animal nutrition can be assessed with a life cycle assessment (LCA). LCA is a “pivotal method for evaluating the environmental impacts of a product, process, or service across its entire life cycle” (PRé Sustainability BV). Orffa Additives BV has completed LCAs for several of its feed solution products with expert, independent consultants. These assessments evaluate the impact of feed additives from cradle-to-farm gate, measuring their Rethinking Sustainability: THE HIDDEN IMPACT OF FEED ADDITIVES Aurélie Montagnon Global Solution Manager – Feed Efficiency Orffa Additives BV
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