Stavis Seafoods
Sustainability is a lifestyle for Massachusetts-based seafood supplier Stavis Seafoods – so much so, the firm even has a brand dedicated to it.
The internationally-known, vertically-integrated company and prominent operator on Boston’s waterfront has been in business for over 90 years. Its latest sustainability initiatives and developments are some the company anticipates will light its way well into the future.
Among those developments is Stavis’ SeaTru, a lifestyle brand created with the aim of connecting and empowering people to make informed decisions about the seafood that they eat. Founded on principles of providing “delicious, high-quality seafood that is completely traceable, socially responsible, and sustainably sourced,” the SeaTru brand appeals to “people who care” and “for whom [Stavis Seafoods’] value system is important,” Richard Stavis, the chief sustainability officer for Stavis Seafoods, told SeafoodSource in 2019.
“People could decide that this is important for many different reasons,” Stavis said of SeaTru. “There could be some people who want to get into it because of sustainability. There could be some people for whom it’s social responsibility.”
Stavis, which owns the BOS’N brand, one of the oldest most established seafood brands in the United States, has been consulted on several forward-thinking sustainability ventures, including the Roadmap for Improving Seafood Ethics (RISE) website, which was developed in partnership with the seafood industry and leading conservation and human rights experts to aid companies in making improvements to protect workers and to mitigate their own regulatory and reputational risks.
“Social responsibility – keeping people safe, valuing their contribution, and preserving their dignity sounds simple, but it’s incredibly complex,” Stavis told SeafoodSource of the factors behind the creation of RISE last year. “Even with the best of intentions, it’s hard for companies to focus and organize their efforts to improve people’s lives. It’s even harder to track company progress to an improvement goal. As an invaluably rich and comprehensive resource that gives overview, guidance, and resources, we hope RISE allows more companies to set a path to improvement and follow it.”
Stavis Seafoods shared its core aspirations and the new developments steering its sustainable seafood strategy today in a Q&A with SeafoodSource.
