The Science & Creativity of Sustainable Seaweed

When harvested responsibly seaweed has the potential to address some of the world’s biggest sustainable development challenges through nature-based solutions.

Over the last few years IFF has expanded our global leadership position in many high-value ingredients across key categories including those derived from seaweed. Now as one of the world’s largest global buyers and harvesters of red and brown seaweed for hydrocolloids (such as alginates and carrageenan that are essential ingredients for many foods pharmaceuticals fertilizers and cosmetics) IFF is excited to continue and further strengthen the impressive legacy of the Seaweeds Responsible Sourcing Program (SRSP) and achieving many industry ‘firsts.’

Inspiring Responsible Sourcing

As leaders in the hydrocolloid industry our teams carefully source red and brown seaweed from cold and warm water locations around the world. We process both fresh and dry seaweed to produce best-in-class alginate and carrageenan products for customers in our Nourish Health & Biosciences and Pharma Solutions divisions. For decades our seaweed experts have worked hand in hand – both above and below the water – with thousands of seaweed farmers and harvesters in Southeast Asia the Western Indian Ocean and along the coasts of Norway Iceland Australia Latin America Canada and Morocco. This holistic and collaborative approach to planting growing and harvesting seaweed is fully aligned with IFF’s long history of preserving natural resources while strengthening local communities.

The SRSP seeks to continuously improve the social and environmental performance of our seaweed cultivation and harvesting processes as well as to inspire sustainable production across the wider hydrocolloid industry. To achieve these objectives we are working at the important intersection of both science and creativity.

Science-driven Conservation Solutions

At the core of the SRSP’s continuous improvement process is a comprehensive set of “Environmental & Social Good Practices for Seaweed Harvesting” (“the Practices”) that include a variety of key sustainability criteria from the protection of coral reefs and limiting shading on sea grasses to worker safety. The criteria are periodically reviewed to reflect the latest science and incorporate lessons learned from the implementation of the SRSP.

We have also started to share these Practices with our upstream seaweed farmers to engage them in capacity building and training opportunities including providing guidance on plastic waste management. Since 2019 more than 500 seaweed farmers in Indonesia were trained using these environmental and social criteria. We also promote opportunities to bring in new recruits and explain how families can make a living as seaweed farmers.

“The most rewarding thing to see is how people’s lives have improved since they’ve joined this industry” says Erick Ask Senior Scientist at IFF. “People protect what they love and because their livelihoods depend on it farmers take an active role in conservation while raising awareness about the health and cleanliness of the ocean in their own communities.”

Creating Industry Innovations

Our passion for science-driven seaweed farming has also led us to develop creative innovations that we are proud to see others in the hydrocolloid industry now using widely. Back in the early 2000s in Zanzibar our seaweed experts saw an opportunity to increase efficiencies. Farms are on sandy bottoms in the intertidal and farmers work during the few hours of low tide. In the past they would carry their harvest (typically weighing about 20 kg or 44 lbs) on their heads to the drying area about 500 to 1000 meters away. By the time they returned to the water to work the tide would have come in preventing further harvesting. Erick Ask collaborated with a North American sports watercraft company to develop a more durable lightweight boat or “seaweed barge” that could carry up to 400 kg (nearly 900 lbs) of seaweed in just a few centimeters of water as the tide came in – replacing the traditional expensive dugout canoes made of heavy wood linked to deforestation.

In addition to being the first in the industry to develop the “seaweed barge” our experts also invented the “Made Loop” (pronounced “Maudie”) after Made Simbik a key figure on our team at the time who developed a better system for attaching seaweed cuttings to ropes thereby increasing farmer productivity and decreasing waste.

We also support sustainable innovations in our own operations to drive efficiencies. In addition to our largest seaweed processing sites being ISO14001:2015 certified we have actively phased out coal as an energy source in all seaweed plants globally and we are focused on expanding the use of renewable energy in line with IFF’s energy management goals. For example one of our seaweed production sites uses geothermal energy for seaweed drying. In collaboration with an industry partner we are also supporting the circular economy by upcycling a byproduct of the carrageenan extraction process that would otherwise be discarded to derive a mineral rich pH-balancing soil enhancement for agriculture applications in the United States.

The Power of Stakeholder Engagement

To continue to build on the success of the SRSP we know we can’t do this important work alone. By regularly engaging with relevant stakeholders we are not only improving our own processes and helping our customers achieve their sustainability goals but also supporting the health of the world’s aquatic ecosystems. IFF staff bring years of on-the-ground experience to support third-party frameworks and other advancements in sustainable seaweed production. In addition to contributing to the development of the ASC-MSC Seaweed Standard and the Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) Seaweed Farm Standard of the Global Seafood Alliance (GSA) we are members of the Global Seaweed STAR project Advisory Board.

In addition IFF is a signatory of the Seaweed Manifesto a visionary statement for the industry that describes how seaweed can contribute to achieving the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals through food security climate change mitigation poverty alleviation and support for marine ecosystems.

As a member of the U.N. Global Compact (UNGC) we also aim to inspire others in the industry to promote greater environmental responsibility. We have contributed to the Practical Guidance for the UNGC Sustainable Ocean Principles: Seaweed intended to promote ocean health and emphasize the shared responsibility of all businesses to secure a productive marine ecosystem.

Learn more about our commitment to seaweed the raw material used to produce carrageenan & alginate.