This issue will tell you all about where Project X is now, how our team has been dealing with the pandemic, plans for the future - and more!
“We need approaches that work for innovators, large corporates and investors alike – and that bring measurable benefits for people and planet. FEED-X and Project X promise just that.”
- Thomas Vellacott, CEO, WWF CH
Where are we?
Our Demonstration Programmes
We are at a very exciting stage of our FEED-X programme. Through the 9-stage Project X Model, feed industry and independent experts have applied the systematic process to identify key categories of innovation in alternative feed ingredients.
After assessing 89 potential alternative feed ingredient solutions, industry experts have selected the Ten most promising Innovations.
Each ingredient went through an independent assessment across six Project X sustainability index metrics, including nutritional performance, environmental, and ethical.
Five of the innovations are now in the testing stage and these can be found on our website!
So what now?
We are now ready to engage with a broader audience and exchange our experiences and information with others interested in sustainably fed food through what we have called: The Knowledge X-Change Programme.
Our communications team has also been getting creative and has designed this fantastic Knowledge X-Change logo and branding, of which we are very proud.
B-Corp Certification!
In addition, we are proud to announce two key paragraphs have been added to Project X’s Articles of Association.
The first is legally committing Project X to donate a minimum of 10% of distributable profits to charitable purposes and allows a further 10% to be donated to impact organisations.
The second addition is embedding and protecting our B-Corp principles by requiring a 90% majority vote by shareholders to amend or delete those principles.
Staff Welcome!
Project X Global would like to welcome Dean Faithfull, who has recently joined as our Project Manager. It has been great getting a him on board, setting up the project and ensuring furloughed staff are now back in the fold.
Project X Global would also like to welcome Pablo Rozo-Navarro, who returns as our Communications Officer – he has been working on different collateral for the Project X website and social media pages since joining the team.
We're engaged!
Time to hear from our CEO - Marcela!
Hi, everyone! Farmers play a huge role in the value chain, and Project X has started engaging in detail with salmon farm-er groups Our team has created an engagement document, designed to solicit participation from both farmers and retailers.
This participation includes being part of an interview session with our experts at Project X, to identify the risks, incentives and the barriers to shifting to alternative feed ingredients.
In addition, we are continuing to engage with retailers – including Tesco, Sainsburys and IKEA – who have helped Project X shape the content for the Knowledge X-Change Programme.
Our engagement with organisations doesn’t stop there. I was delighted to be a panel member at the World Agri-Tech South America Summit on the 29th and 30th July.
It was fantastic to be part of the panel alongside other experts and influential figures in the world of animal health and nutrition including:
Cristiano Veloso, President and CEO of Verde Agritech; Carlos Saviani, Global Sustainability lead for Animal nutrition and Health at DSM; Luis Azevedo, former Executive Director of Business Development at Novus International, and Vinicius Chiappetta, Global Livestock Director- Digital Insights at Cargill.
We discussed critical issues facing the industry, and how it is addressing key challenges in animal nutrition, how innovation can support more sustainable sources, and the regulatory concerns for animal feed innovation.
Partnerships Posts!
We are very thankful for The Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, which has awarded Project X a grant to be utilised in Stage 9 (Industry Roll-out) of the FEED-X Project. This begins with the creation of our Knowledge X-Change Programme.
Since kickstarting our work with the Esmee Fairbairn Foundation, we have also brought on board a new partnership: The Soil Association. We are also working with the Panda Labs-Impactio platform.
The Soil Association is a fantastic organization that works across the spectrum of human health, the environment, and animal welfare. They will collaborate with Project X to accelerate both parties’ common goals.
The Panda Labs-Impactio platform is a curation plat-form for innovation – Project X has contributed to its development process by giving feedback as a curator. This partnership will enable more curated innovations to come on-board faster in the future.
Put it to the test!
As we delve into Stage-9 of the project, we also turn our attention to testing of our expertly selected feed innovations. The team has put together a protocol that outlines the variants we want to test.
Project X through its partner entity SIV that it co-founded is supporting the scale-up finance to enable the innovators to produce their ingredients at volumes that can be consistently tested and produced at volumes required for raw material processing.
Our work with our investment partner has led to the creation of the SIV Food Equity Fund. The Fund will invest in a portfolio of at least 12 companies reviewing in priority the curated innovators from the FEED-X programme to support them with scale up funds.
After consolidating the relationship with our founding partners, Skretting, we now have the freedom to engage with other feed companies who can assist us with testing the selected innovative ingredients.
Skretting has already agreed to test 5 of the innovations!
At the moment we are focused on salmon and shrimp feed, but later aim to include the test protocols for chicken, pets, and beef.
Let's wrap it up!
We are pleased with our progress over the past three months. The Knowledge X-Change programme will be crucial in achieving our goal of shifting 10% of the animal feed industry to sustainable solutions by 2025.
Bringing new partners on board is always positive and we are thrilled to be collaborating with such influential organisations. Celebrating our top ten innovators will be a significant moment, as we recognize the valuable products being produced that will make a real difference to the animal feed industry.
With that said, there has been difficulties along the way. COVID 19 has undoubtedly affected many organisations and while work seemed to slow down at Project X, it did not come to a halt.
The team remained vigilant and positive and despite the situation, we continued to engage with many stakeholders and build relationships (and new partnerships!).
We, like so many have had to adapt our plans to engage using online tools rather than face to face. There were events we had wanted to use to frame our engagement plans but these have undergone constant revision as what is possible with COVID 19 becomes clearer.
Retailers are developing feed strategies, which is great – it does mean, however, they have not wanted to commit to demonstration actions until they have an internally approved strategy in place.
The testing the selected feed innovations has not started as quickly as expected; due to the current situation, innovators have had to adapt to get test volumes ready. Despite these obstacles, we are giving the innovators our full support to ensure that everything gets back on track. We are stronger together.
What's next?
This month, I am delighted to be taking part in this year’s Animal AgTech Innovation Summit on 14th September 2020, and especially pleased to be chairing the panel on Supply Chain Safety, Transparency and Traceability.
Our communications team will be collaborating to develop an exciting social media approach and plan to support the Knowledge X-Change programme, so look out for our posts on Twitter and LinkedIn with the handle @projectxglobal – or connect with us using the icons below!
As we move forward, Project X will continue to engage with farmers, retailers, feed companies, innovators, and financiers – while continuing to share our knowledge across the value-chain.
Thanks for your support; I hope you enjoyed reading about our progress!
Until next time,
Marcela Navarro, CEO and Co-Founder of Project X Global
This programme is supported by
