Thai Union Ingredients

Caption: Thai Union Group PCL has topped the rankings of the inaugural Seafood Stewardship Index (SSI), which assessed the 30 largest seafood companies around the world to understand how they contribute to the sustainable management of the oceans and coastal ecosystems and the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

23 October 2019, BANGKOK – Thai Union Group PCL has been ranked number one on the inaugural Seafood Stewardship Index (SSI), which assessed the contribution of the world’s 30 largest seafood companies to the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Thai Union topped the benchmark in three key areas, including:

• Governance and management of stewardship practices because of the detailed targets and robust reporting of its sustainability strategy, SeaChange®;
• Ecosystems, due to its individual and multi-stakeholder activities to improve fishing practices;
• Local communities, for promoting opportunities for local livelihood development.

The SSI, which was developed by the World Benchmarking Alliance (WBA), said Thai Union also performed strongly in stewardship of the supply chain, specifically for traceability, sourcing and its environmental footprint. It noted the company’s strong commitment towards human and labor rights, although areas of improvement remain.

“Thai Union is incredibly proud to be ranked number one in the Seafood Stewardship Index, which reflects our commitment to building a more sustainable global seafood industry,” said Dr. Darian McBain, Thai Union’s Global Director of Corporate Affairs and Sustainability. “A culture that rewards transparency needs to be developed in the seafood industry, to both understand where the challenges currently are and also the solutions being put in place. Thai Union welcomes the focus that the SSI is bringing through the lens of transparency and continuous improvement.”

The SSI assessed the 30 largest seafood companies around the world, to understand how and to what extent they are contributing to the sustainable management of the oceans and coastal ecosystems and to the SDGs. The review also looked into how companies are implementing responsible social practices in all stages of the supply chain.

The SSI highlighted Thai Union’s performance across key areas, including:

• Governance and management of stewardship practices, for it’s SeaChange strategy including programs around Safe and Legal Labor, Responsible Sourcing, Responsible Operations and People and Communities, with numerous targets in each category;
• Stewardship of the supply chain, for encouraging consumers to use appropriate end-of-life options for its products, and its commitment to ensuring 100 percent of its branded packaging is reusable, recyclable or compostable by 2025;
• Ecosystems, for its partnerships and active role in multi-stakeholder activities including Fishery Improvement Projects (FIPs) for tuna to reduce the impact on ecosystems;
• Local communities, for the development of strong activities and programs to support local communities where the company operates.

About Thai Union Group
Thai Union Group PCL is the world’s seafood leader bringing high quality, healthy, tasty and innovative seafood products to customers across the world for more than 40 years.

Today, Thai Union is regarded as the world’s largest producer of shelf-stable tuna products with annual sales exceeding THB 133.3 billion (US$ 4.1 billion) and a global workforce of over 47,000 people who are dedicated to pioneering sustainable, innovative seafood products.

The company’s global brand portfolio includes market-leading international brands such as Chicken of the Sea, John West, Petit Navire, Parmentier, Mareblu, King Oscar, and Rügen Fisch and Thai-leading brands SEALECT, Fisho, Qfresh, Monori, Bellotta and Marvo.

As a company committed to innovation and globally responsible behavior, Thai Union is proud to be a member of the United Nations Global Compact, and a founding member of the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF). In 2015, Thai Union introduced its SeaChange® sustainability strategy. Find out more at seachangesustainability.org. Thai Union’s on-going work on sustainability issues was recognized in 2018 and 2019 by being ranked number one in the world in the Food Products Industry in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index, achieving a 100th percentile ranking for total sustainability score. Thai Union has now been named to the DJSI for six consecutive years. Thai Union was also named to the FTSE4Good Emerging Index for the third straight year in 2018.