"Waste management requires constant innovation and collaboration from all our teams," said the Deputy Manager of Sustainability and Environment at Salmones Camanchaca.
Photo: Salmones Camanchaca.
Chilean salmon producer Salmones Camanchaca announced that three of its strategic facilities have obtained Zero Waste Program certification, awarded by SCS Global Services, the official certification body for the Certification Standard for Zero Waste (SCS-110).
The operations evaluated were the Piscicultura Río Petrohué hatchery, a land-based RAS facility, the primary processing plant in San José de Calbuco, both of them in the Los Lagos region, and the secondary processing plant in Tomé, in Biobío, which recovered 94.79%, 96.83%, and 97.21% of their waste, respectively.
All three were certified, as said, under the rigorous international SCS Standard for Zero Waste (SCS-110), which recognizes the actual percentage of waste diverted from landfill and incineration without energy recovery at a facility over a 12-month period, starting with a 50% diversion rate.
As SCS explains, specifically, the SCS-110 standard allows facilities to track the amount of waste diverted from landfill as a percentage of total waste generated and avoided, year after year, which helps organizations communicate their progress toward the zero waste goal.
Thus, the achievement of this certification by Salmones Camanchaca's three operations recognizes that these facilities demonstrate outstanding performance in the responsible management of their waste at the final stage of the process, promoting composting, recycling, and the resale of materials designated as facility waste.
According to the Chilean company's release, in 2024 alone, these three facilities jointly managed 23,640 tons of waste responsibly, most of which was recovered thanks to coordinated efforts with grassroots recyclers and local recycling companies located in the Los Lagos and Biobío regions.
With this achievement, Salmones Camanchaca emphasized that it not only consolidates its overall commitment to sustainability but also its commitment to the sustainable development of communities in southern Chile through its responsible waste management efforts.
The good news comes just over a month after Camanchaca's salmon farming subsidiary secured backing from three prestigious international banks for its long-term refinancing, an agreement that, according to the company, reflects the confidence of international banks in the strength of Salmones Camanchaca and the potential of the Chilean salmon industry, and which will be reinforced by this certification.
"This recognition confirms that sustainability is an integral part of our culture of operational excellence and the way we work based on tangible and measurable objectives," said Daniela Alarcón, Deputy Manager of Sustainability and Environment at Salmones Camanchaca, commenting on this milestone.
"It is also the beginning of a challenging journey, because waste management requires constant innovation and collaboration from all our teams," added Alarcón, referring to the achievement of the SCS-110 Zero Waste Standard.
For her part, Inna Kitaychik, Director of the Zero Waste Program at SCS Global Services, stated that "Salmones Camanchaca's achievement of SCS Zero Waste Program certification for its salmon processing facilities is a powerful demonstration of leadership in sustainable waste management."
"This commitment to environmental management is an example of how companies can integrate circular economy principles into their businesses," she continued. And concluded, "the first step is to rethink 'waste' as 'resources'."
