Harvest Road Oceans’ Leeuwin Coast has become the first aquaculture brand in Australia with officially certified carbon neutral aquaculture products.
Awarded by the Australian government’s Climate Active initiative, the certification covers Leeuwin Coast’s Akoya, rock oysters and mussels that are cultivated and harvested across the WA coastline from Albany to Carnarvon.
Harvest Road’s CEO Paul Slaughter said carbon neutral certification isn’t the end of the journey but supports Leeuwin Coast’s ongoing commitment to protecting and enhancing marine environments.
“At Harvest Road we are driven by a vision to create sustainable businesses that actively prevent climate breakdown, enhance food security and revitalise local ecosystems and we are prepared to lead the world when it comes to the conservation of our unique environments,” Mr Slaughter said.
Carbon calculations
As part of the Climate Active assessment, the carbon footprint of Leeuwin Coast’s aquaculture operations was calculated, including marine fuel use, processing of the packaging materials and freight of the product to customers. Leeuwin Coast has also made investments, such as its floating oyster basket technology, that have reduced carbon outputs and improved sustainable farming practices.
The remainder of Leeuwin Coast’s emissions have been offset using certified Gold Standard credits from the Yarra Yarra Biodiversity Corridor project in the WA Wheatbelt, which sequesters carbon through revegetation of endangered woodlands and through a rainforest conservation initiative that is protecting the Brazilian rainforest.
Harvest Road will commence construction of a sustainability-focused shore base in Albany over the coming months which is expected to help it increase production to an estimated 1.5m dozen rock oysters and 18m pieces of Akoya oyster per annum.
