Thai Union unveils USD 200 million sustainability initiative

On 18 July, Thai Union unveiled a multi-pronged plan backed by a THB 6.9 billion (USD 200 million, EUR 178 million) investment aiming to ensure 100 percent of the company’s seafood comes from responsible sources by 2030.

SeaChange 2030 represents the company’s most extensive sustainability initiative to date, spanning 11 overarching objectives. It has the support of the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership, the Aquaculture Stewardship Council, IDH – the Sustainable Trade Initiative, and The Nature Conservancy.

“The investment is equal to Thai Union’s net profits in 2022, demonstrating the magnitude of the commitment,” Thai Union Chief Financial Officer Ludovic Garnier told SeafoodSource.

In 2016, Thai Union introduced its SeaChange global sustainability strategy, which contained measurable commitments to foster transformations across its operations and its supply chain. SeaChange 2030 is set to expand Thai Union’s tuna sustainability efforts to other wild species it sources, such as mackerel, herring, salmon, blue swimming crab, and lobster. To do this, the company wants to ensure that all of its wild-caught seafood comes from currently responsible sources or, at the very least, from fisheries in an improvement program with plans of implementing responsible fishing and labor practices by 2030.

Thai Union has been working toward implementing sustainable fisheries management practices, including combating illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing and achieving Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification, within its tuna supply chain for a number of years, according to Thai Union Chief Sustainability Officer Adam Brennan.

Now, 88 percent of the company’s tuna comes from responsible sources, he said, with a goal of 100 percent by 2025.

Brennan said after Thai Union concentrated on its tuna sustainability efforts, it sought to …

Photo courtesy of Thai Union