Thai Union Group has published its ninth annual Sustainability Report, providing an in-depth look at how the company’s programs and initiatives are helping transform its operations and the global seafood industry. The 2021 Sustainability Report outlines the progress that Thai Union has made through SeaChange®, the company’s sustainability strategy, which will receive a major update including the introduction of new science-based targets to address the threats that climate change present.
“2021 marked another great year for Thai Union in our sustainability journey,” said Thiraphong Chansiri, CEO of Thai Union Group. “While we faced the ongoing challenge of COVID-19 and the risks it created for our business, the pandemic did not prevent us from continuing our long-term efforts to pursue positive change, not just across our own business but also in the broader seafood industry. We not only continued to implement initiatives across the four key programs of SeaChange®, but also explored new areas such as Blue Finance, maintaining our position as a sustainability leader in the industry.”
There were a number of significant achievements, as the company further strengthened its sustainability efforts. Those successes included completing Thai Union’s first greenhouse gas inventory across Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions; introducing its Tuna Commitment up to 2025, which includes commitments to address illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing and modern slavery; adopting the “Employer Pays Principle” to ensure no worker should pay for a job; and donating nearly 1 million servings of food along with other COVID-19 supplies as part of the Thai Union Cares program.
“We are incredibly proud of what we have achieved, not just last year, but since we introduced SeaChange®,” said Adam Brennan, Group Director, Sustainability, at Thai Union. “We are also excited about our future plans, which will extend even further our leadership role in the industry, starting with a significant revision to SeaChange®, including setting new goals and commitments to 2030. We have also submitted a commitment letter to the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) and look forward to announcing our near-term and long-term climate targets, as we step up our action to address the existential threat of global warming.”
Responsible sourcing for feed production
Thai Union Feedmill (TFM), a subsidiary, has strengthened its responsible sourcing of raw materials and ingredients used for feed production. This includes sourcing MarinTrust certified fishmeal that comes from wild-caught fisheries that adhere to environment and social sustainability standards. TFM is also involved in the MarinTrust Improver Program with the Gulf of Thailand mixed-trawl Fishery Improvement Project (FIP) which assesses the fisheries and their sustainability; it has introduced some new feed products that contain zero fishmeal; replaced fish oil with Corbion’s
AlgaPrime DHA; has achieved 100% sourcing of Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) certified palm oil; and is committed to sourcing at least 50% Round Table on Responsible Soy Association (RTRS) certified (or equivalent) soy ingredients by June 2022 as per the Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) Feed Mill Standard Issue 3.0.
The 2021 Sustainability Report can be downloaded here.
