Thai Union and Sustainable Fisheries Partnership (SFP) are planning to expand a collaboration initiated in March 2022.
One of the world's largest seafood producers, with THB 155.6 billion (USD 4.4 billion, EUR 4 billion) in sales in 2022, Thai Union partnered with SFP, a marine conservation organization founded in 2006, on a range of initiatives, including SFP’s Ocean Disclosure Project and its Protecting Ocean Wildlife initiative, requiring suppliers to participate in fishery improvement projects (FIPs) and supply chain roundtables (SRs), and use of SFP’s Seafood Metrics system.
“Thai Union and SFP are committed to building upon their first year,” Thai Union said in a 22 August press release. “Their shared vision and complementary expertise promise to continue fostering progress, driving transformative change within the seafood industry.”
In a newly issued report outlining the achievements of the first year of the partnership, Thai Union noted progress on protecting marine biodiversity through an audit process, promoting transparency in the company’s supply chain, adopting SFP’s universal fishery identification system in its blue swimming crab supply chain, championing landscape-level aquaculture management to minimize ecosystem impacts, and chairing SFP's Asian Farmed Shrimp Supply Chain Roundtable.
In July 2023, Thai Union also pledged THB 7.2 billion (USD 200 million, EUR 178 million) to implement its SeaChange 2030 sustainability plan. The amount is the equivalent of the company’s entire net profit in 2022, and the money will go toward implementing 11 overarching objectives to foster sustainable transformation across its operations and supply chain.
“The time for aggressive action is now,” Thai Union Chief Sustainability Officer Adam Brennan said. “Through SeaChange, we aim to drive meaningful improvements across the entire global seafood industry. Commitments this ambitious require the power and collaboration of partners like SFP that can help make long overdue structural changes a reality. Together, we’re asking the wider industry and our peers to join this effort.”
Thai Union’s other sustainability initiatives include being a founding participating company of the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF), chairing the Seafood Business for Ocean Stewardship (SeaBOS) organization, joining the United Nations Global Compact, and being ranked first in the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices.
“Thai Union is setting a new level and expectations for seafood sustainability with its ambitious and concrete commitments to protect ocean wildlife,” SFP Biodiversity and Nature Director Kathryn Novak said.
If everyone followed suit, the seafood industry could play a huge role in addressing this biodiversity crisis and help restore marine wildlife.”
Photo courtesy of Thai Union
