Benchmark’s mission is “Driving Sustainability in aquaculture”. We are doing so by delivering products and solutions which improve sustainability for aquaculture producers through better animal welfare.
We also seek to make our business increasingly sustainable, identifying environmental, social and governance (ESG) opportunities and actively managing risks that are material to our business and our stakeholders.
Our sustainability programme has five focus areas which together address the main drivers of sustainability and ESG risks in our business, recognising that financial sustainability and corporate governance are managed through our finance and legal functions. These areas are Product Impact, Environment, Animal Welfare, Being Well and Communities.
Every industry is impacting the environment in some ways. Our aim is not to add to the pollution but to reduce its levels if we can. Our flagship invention – CleanTreat® does exactly that – purifies water used for medicinal treatment of fish, so there is no trace of our activity left behind.
Our offices around the world run regularly ongoing awareness campaign for the employees how to reduce our individual impact, from cycling to work schemes through to cleaning the beaches and forests. More and more of our offices are using green energy suppliers only.
At Benchmark, we are promoting animal health and welfare through our products and our operations.
Benchmark for Better (‘B4B’) is the Company’s new communities and charity initiative which is an umbrella for our existing charitable and community work, and a platform from which to build. B4B combines charity and sustainability, aligning our efforts with the UN Sustainable Development Goals and with our corporate purpose of improving the sustainability of aquaculture. We also look beyond our corporate existence and contribute to improvements for our broader communities, making a meaningful and positive impact on the communities in which we operate – for its people, animals and the environment. In 2020, Benchmark implemented a Group volunteering policy, allowing employees to take two days off each year to volunteer for a chosen charity.