It’s A Dog’s Life

It’s fair to say as a society, we’re becoming more focused on sustainability and what we eat. For Sabrina Jaap, founder of German based TENETRIO, these values also apply to man’s best friend. Four years ago Sabrina, together with her two business partners Ina Henkel and Katrin Figueroa, established TENETRIO. In short, they are a part of the EntoNative GmbH and produce dog nutrition (whole food and snacks) based on edible insects as a sustainable protein alternative. They pride themselves on their commitment to people and their dogs, working towards a healthier, more sustainable world. TENETRIO develops products with the utmost care from concept, through to development and manufacturing and from that, produces healthy, sustainable dog food. They also campaign for climate protection by taking a stand against chemically processed products.

Why B-Corp?

Sabrina explains that they heard about B-Corp Certification through a contact. It totally inspired the team and they started wondering whether they already could become certified, despite being a relatively small business. Their company philosophy rests on the three pillars of sustainability; ecology, economy and social. This continues to be their focus when developing and launching new products. As Sabrina says, ‘Besides the bottom line, we are always factoring in our environmental impact, we look at the health benefits of our pet food and how we can increase that value in an authentic and efficient manner.’ To date, they have made reductions in their CO2 emissions and water usage; Over the past four years they have saved 167 million litres of water, 30 tonnes of CO2 emissions and around ten tonnes of meat. They also work with a fulfillment facility, who employ those with disabilities, thus fully engaging themselves in the local community. And then there’s the animals themselves, who they support via local animal welfare initiatives (i.e. Tierschutz Potsdam and Tiertafel Berlin) providing both financial support as well as pet food for their daily operations.
It’s still early days for TENETRIO’s B-Corp journey. However, they have already substituted packaging solutions to more sustainable and compostable options, without plastics or aluminum. In fact, they are a part of Oatly’s food alliance that strives for a CO2-footprint declaration on all food packaging. The good news is, the effects of this are already noticeable from happy customers and it increases company integrity.

And the next steps?

Sabrina sees a holistically sustainable company that lives and breathes its mantra through every part of the business. They are busy finalizing the B-Corp assessment and prioritizing which area to focus on first, with a goal to become a B-Corp certified entity by the end of 2022. Day to day they want to inspire others – to support them, by buying their products, but also by changing their daily habits too. Their BHAG; To be THE company that supports the world’s nutritional needs with the help of insect protein as a sustainable alternative.

The track was very well administered, I loved the structure and exercises as well as the connection to many other inspiring entrepreneurs with similar goals. I was amazed by the multitude of great tools and free information on the platform that helped in the assessment and evaluation.

Sabrina Jaap

EntoNative GmbH | TENETRIO