New carbon footprint study has shown that Enifer‘s mycoprotein ingredient PEKILO®Pet is 7 times more carbon efficient than soy protein concentrate. According to the company, these results highlight the strong potential of PEKILO®Pet as a sustainable ingredient for the pet food industry.
Finnish biotech company Enifer has released the results of its latest Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), determining the Carbon Footprint (CFP) of its proprietary mycoprotein ingredient, PEKILO®Pet. The study reinforces Enifer’s commitment to sustainability, revealing that PEKILO®Pet has an impressively low CFP, significantly lower than many common pet food ingredients.
With the global pet population growing and studies suggesting that the ecological footprint of cats and dogs can rival that of humans, depending on their size and diet, it’s more important than ever to consider the environmental impact of pet nutrition.
The study reports that the cradle-to-gate total CFP of PEKILO®Pet, covering fossil, biogenic, Land Use, Land-Use Change, and Forestry (LULUC) emissions, is 0.93 kgCO₂e per kilogram of product.
In contrast, soy protein concentrate produces up to 6.7 kgCO₂e per kilogram. This means that PEKILO®Pet has 86% lower carbon emissions, equivalent to driving 46 kilometers less in an average gasoline-powered car. PEKILO®Pet also performs better than insect protein powder (1.15 kg CO₂e) and produces five times fewer emissions than high-quality dry pet food ingredients like lamb (5.84 kg CO₂e).
The primary contributor (47%) to PEKILO®Pet’s emissions is the production process, including electricity and steam usage. Raw materials account for 38% of emissions, while transportation contributes 14%. The fossil CFP for PEKILO®Pet alone is calculated at 0.80 kgCO₂e/kg, with raw materials responsible for 45% and production processes for 38% of this total. The LULUC CFP for PEKILO® is low as the production of inputs for the PEKILO® production process doesn’t directly require land. The LULUC CFP for PEKILO® is 0.00213 kgCO2e/kg.
“We are incredibly pleased with the results of this CFP study, which validate the environmental benefits of PEKILO®Pet and our production process in Kantvik, Finland,” says Enifer CEO Simo Ellilä. “The findings reinforce our mission to offer sustainable, high-protein solutions to the pet food industry and that constructing new PEKILO®Pet production facilities across Europe will be a significant development in our journey. PEKILO®Pet presents a unique opportunity to significantly lower carbon emissions while maintaining nutritional excellence.”
