Pet Sustainability Coalition emerges as a leader in sustainable proteins

The role of the pet industry

The pet industry has a significant role to play in the long-term health of our agricultural lands that are responsible for feeding not only the pet population of today and in the future, but also the global human population. In 2017, the University of California Los Angeles released research showing that dogs and cats consume 24-42% of the animal-derived calories in the United States. While the average pet food formula and average human consumption of animal proteins might differ across countries and regions, it is reasonable to assume that this footprint is continuing to grow as pet populations around the world increase and high-protein diets come into fashion.

However, environmental impact is not the only factor that deserves consideration when evaluating the total sustainability performance of ingredients. While environmental impact is one critical issue, a more holistic consideration of sustainability also includes social/labour practices, animal welfare performance and nutritional value – all factors that influence the long-term balance of ingredient availability in the pet industry.

Four factors

• PSC has built a framework (see left page) by which pet companies can evaluate the sustainability of proteins and other animal-derived ingredients, based on the following four factors:
• the environmental impact of an ingredient; an ingredient is only available in the finite planetary boundaries
• the treatment of the workforce bringing the ingredients to market
• the treatment of the animals necessary to bring the ingredients to market
• the way an ingredient promotes a balanced diet for pets, sustaining the pet population; those that provide poor nutrition will incur secondary environmental impacts related to veterinary assistance and/or supplements and medications.

How can pet businesses use the four-factor framework?

Since PSC does not place a weighting system or suggested prioritisation of one factor over another, pet companies can ensure that the model reflects the values of their most important stakeholders. After determining which of the four factors are most important to the business, an assessment can be completed to evaluate each ingredient and determine its performance in all four areas. PSC is working with leading scientists and nutritionists to develop a sound methodology, particularly in the areas of nutrition and animal welfare.

What’s next for protein sustainability?

• completed, science-based analysis of the performance of animal-derived ingredients in all four factors of the sustainable protein framework
• mapping and four-factor evaluation of current US poultry protein suppliers
• identification of barriers restricting the supply and demand for high-performing sustainable ingredients
• launch of a multi-stakeholder approach to eliminate supply barriers and improve traceability of proteins from farm to bag.

The graphs show the comparative environmental impact of different proteins used in pet food in the areas of greenhouse gas emissions and water use. The dark shading represents whole meats and the light shading represents offal ingredients. Data is derived from an environmental impact literature review completed in 2019 by Iowa State University.