Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL)
Bakkafrost - Navigating choppy waters: working with nature to produce sustainable salmon
This interview was conducted by CISL’s Director of Strategy Programmes, Paul Begley, with Bakkafrost’s Chief Executive Officer, Regin Jacobsen and the Group Sustainability Lead, Ana Holden-Peters. Each year, Bakkafrost produces c.57,000 tonnes of gutted salmon, making it one of the world’s largest salmon farmers. It is the largest private employer and one of the largest companies in the Faroe Islands, responsible for more than a third of the country’s exports.
This conversation builds on a long-standing relationship between CISL and Bakkafrost, which included the delivery of a one-day workshop for the Board of Directors and our Management Team in 2018. Since this programme, Bakkafrost bought the Scottish Salmon Company. The focus of this conversation is on the operations in the Faroe Islands.
Developing a strong business purpose and sustainability strategy to attract investors to a niche geographical and business context
Driving shared value creation within a close-knit local community
Collaborating with other local industries to develop circular business practices and optimise resource sharing and efficiency
Investing in research and development to innovate and safeguard nature
Insights into Bakkafrost's response to Covid-19
Building long-term commitments and investing in transparency for reporting
How CISL's strategic programmes helped to develop board-level understanding of systems thinking and practices.
"We realised that we needed to create sustainable value. Everyone in the Faroes now knows that they need to be proactive, to be efficient, to focus on new opportunities, invest in R&D."
"Since we shared our first sustainability report in 2018, we have seen an increase in the value of shares, we have also seen a shift in the types of investors we’re attracting. We also have interest from impact investors now."
Ana Holden-Peters, Group Sustainability Lead, Bakkafrost
"Having a team is incredibly important. You want people who can play in with their ideas and views about what they see: this has been crucial. Being open to these ideas – and having a team has been critical to grow Bakkafrost to the scale we’re operating at now."
Regin Jacobsen
"Salmon aquaculture has one of the most efficient feed-to-food conversion ratios, low CO2 emissions and low use of fresh water. It is the world’s fastest growing food production system and we see lots of opportunities to continue to deliver a successful business, especially if we work with suppliers, across industries and geographies. But achieving this will require new partnership and collaboration."
Ana Holden-Peters
Congratulations to Regin Jacobsen, Bakkafrost CEO, who was celebrated earlier this month at the edie awards as Business Leader of the Year.
