COP26: Fera's Commitment to Circular Economy Principles and UN Targets on Waste Reduction

With UN targets aiming to eliminate waste and on the mortgaging of the planet’s natural resources, our Science Strategy will continue to be driven by pursuit of circular economy principles across the full breadth of our capability.

From regenerative farming to optimal land management for carbon sequestration, we strive to respond to the global drivers for waste reduction; taking the reuse, recovery and recycling of materials into consideration to reach our targets for net zero carbon emissions.

Fera is uniquely equipped and qualified to support the development of sustainably sourced and biodegradable ‘bio-based’ packaging materials. As such, we will continue to work with our partners to develop and risk assess emerging products and technologies to benefit the circular economy —not only with biodegradable packaging — but also in support of vertical, urban and controlled environment farming, alternative protein production, robotic automation and energy/ system cost reduction from up-cycling of by-products.

Moreover, we will continue to assess carbon savings and novel sustainable technologies across the agri-food-environment sector. Fera has pioneered the development of insect bioconversion for the valorisation of biomass and delivers programmes to support optimisation of anaerobic digestion and adoption of bio-renewables in all parts of the food system.

We are investing ca £1m to build an Insect Bioreactor at our site – the Fera Insect Research Unit (FIRU)- a new facility to enable contract research studies to demonstrate the environmental and economic benefits of industrial farming of insects. We are working across the full spectrum of start-ups, investors, waste processors, food manufacturers, retailers, regulators and government policy owners to demonstrate how biomass wastes and residues can be up-cycled into valuable and safe oils, animal feeds, biostimulants, bioplastics, biofuels, and pharmaceuticals. The FIRU will be the first research unit of its kind and builds on our expertise in supporting the food sector, waste industry and businesses seeking to reduce the impact of their residues by finding ways for reuse.

Andrew Swift, CEO of Fera notes: “Insect protein production can be a big part of the solution to the global protein deficit for sustainable rearing of livestock. This innovative and ‘clean’ industry has huge economic and environmental potential. It is critical that Government acts swiftly to ensure the UK does not lose ground in this rapidly developing global market”.

If you would like to find out more about our science strategy, click here to download or view online. 

Interested in how we can work together to mitigate climate change? With thanks to funding from the University of York, Andrew Swift, CEO of Fera, and Wendy Martindale will be attending COP26 in Glasgow from 6-9th November.

If you’re attending the event and want to find out more about how we can work together, click here to book a meeting.