This document provides information about an upcoming conference on sustainable seafood sourcing. The two-day conference will be held in London and feature presentations from experts in the seafood industry on key topics:
- How leading retailers and brands are responding to demands for transparency and traceability in their seafood supply chains.
- Case studies from major seafood suppliers on engaging with customers and suppliers to ensure sustainable practices.
- A critical examination of various seafood certification schemes, and their benefits as well as limitations.
- The potential for aquaculture to meet the growing demand for seafood in a sustainable way, and the challenges it faces.
The conference aims to facilitate focused discussion between industry professionals on
Entrepreneurship & organisations: influences and organizations
Sustainable seafood sourcing conference brochure
1. Book now at www.innovation-forum.co.uk/sustainable-seafood-sourcing or call +44 (0) 20 3780 7435
LEAD SPONSOR:
www.innovation-forum.co.uk/sustainable-seafood-sourcing
Hearfromthese leadingexperts:
Sustainable
seafoodsourcing
Howbusinesscanmanageglobalriskandcollaborate
forsustainableimprovementseffectively
25th-26thNovember | CoinStreetConferenceCentre,London
Achangingseafoodindustry – Debate the pressures for reform,
and hear NGO perspectives on the benefits of adapting business
Howbusinessisresponding– Gain insight on how leading brands
and retailers build alternative business cases and learn from supplier
case studies the actions and priorities that enable sustainable supply
Tacklinghumanrightsissuesinseafoodsupplychains – How do
leading companies engage with suppliers to develop collaborative
action plans targeting human and labour rights issues?
Beyondcertification – A critical analysis of certification and
its limits: understand the benefits and challenges, and learn how
to avoid classic pitfalls
Policyanditsimplications – Debate the effectiveness of
governments in developing national and international cooperation
Counteringillegalfishing:collaborationandengagement
– Practical steps for your business to unite brands and their suppliers
to develop sustainable practices and avoid critical supply risks
Consumerrolesindrivingchange – How can we educate and
engage consumers and relevant stakeholders to create more
sustainable practices?
Lasse Gustavsson
executive director
Oceana
Nick Kightley
category lead food and farming
EthicalTradingInitiative
Toby Middleton
senior country manager
MarineStewardshipCouncil
Dr. Darian McBain
group director of sustainable
development
ThaiUnionGroup,Thailand
Laky Zervudachi
sustainability director
DirectSeafoodGroup
Chris Ninnes
CEO
AquacultureStewardshipCouncil
Huw Thomas
fisheries and aquaculture manager
WMMorrison
Ally Dingwall
aquaculture and fisheries manager
Sainsbury’s
Anaïs Pauwels
sustainable private brand manager
DelhaizeBelgium
Blake Lee-Harwood
communications and strategy director
SustainableFisheriesPartnership
Three things you will get from this conference:
Internationalattendance– network with figures across the supply
chain, from all around the world
Focusedsessions– discuss in depth the issues that really matter
to you and your peers
Candiddialogue – open discussion between companies about
their experiences, successes, and off the record challenges
1
2
3
2. As with most commodities and raw materials, there has been
a steady increase in awareness and interest as to where our
seafood comes from and how it is sourced.
According to a 2014 consumer study by the MarineStewardship
Council(MSC), 90% of people believe ocean sustainability to be
“important”, with 41% claiming to actively look for fish products
that have come from a sustainable source – an increase of 5%
since the MSC carried out the same survey in 2010. Clearly, more
people are concerned about the state of our seas and the impact
of poor fishing practices on our environment.
Yet the seafood sector has a long way to go in appeasing
the increasingly demanding consumer, NGO and investment
communities, which are asking more and more questions about
traceability in the supply chain. While disclosure of corporate
sustainability information has improved in recent years,
transparency in the sector remains fairly poor.
And there is still much work to be done across the sector to
ensure that seafood is sourced in a way that is both sensitive to
the environment and socially responsible for the people working
throughout the industry.
Socialconcerns
As has been highlighted by the media and by NGOs in recent
years, trafficking, excessive working hours, forced labour and
discrimination remains commonplace across the seafood sector,
particularly at the lower tiers of supply chains. The Ethical Trading
Initiative has been particularly vocalabout large-scale prawn and
shrimp harvesting in Thailand, pointing to “deplorable practices
adopted by local industry to recruit migrant workers from
neighbouring countries to work in horrific conditions”.
The NGO community will no doubt continue to keep corporates
on their toes, putting pressure on big businesses to enforce
best practice along their supply chains and get to grips with the
numerous social and environmental issues that are putting their
long-term supply viability of seafood under threat.
With ongoing clashes between the interests of big factory
trawlers and small-scale fishermen (who have a tradition of
fishing sustainably, but who don’t get access to the quotas)
and widespread illegal fishing (partly as a result of a lack of
data tracking), big brands have a key role to play in supporting
international regulators that can develop and enforce better
policies and legislation at both a national and international level.
Some food brands and retailers, such as Marks&Spencer’s,
Sainsbury’s and the Co-operativeGroup, have made positive
strides in recent years – pressured by NGOs or otherwise – by
working with suppliers to trace where their seafood is coming
from and how they can be sure it has been harvested sustainably.
Certificationoverload
Communicating this story to consumers is another challenge
altogether. With a plethora of certification systems and eco-
labels being used – from the MSC, to Fish for Life and the RSPCA’s
Freedom Food badge – consumers can be forgiven for being
confused, despite their growing interest in the subject.
The Global Sustainable Seafood Initiative’s benchmarking tool
will help in bringing some consistency and openness in connecting
labelling with seafood certification programmes. But as with
other sustainable commodity certification systems, such as
timber or palm oil, the role of standards has been called into
question. While the strictly-defined criteria set out by the likes
Sustainableseafoodsourcing:
managingriskandmakingsustainable
improvements
Investors,campaignersandconsumerswantmoretransparency
inseafoodsupplychains,andcompaniesareresponding,ifslowly
3. of MSC and Aquaculture Stewardship Council offers a useful
framework for compliance and best practice, some schemes
have been criticised for taking too much of a lowest common
denominator approach.
However, any tools that can help shift consumer behaviour
and drive more responsible sourcing throughout the sector
are welcome. By educating consumers – and changing their
spending patterns – real change can be brought about. But
helping business develop the right motivation to turn complex
product metrics into clear consumer-friendly messaging to
help bring about this change is an on-going challenge.
All of these issues, challenges and opportunities will be
explored extensively during the forthcoming Innovation Forum
conference – Sustainable seafood sourcing: How business
can manage global risk and collaborate for sustainable
improvements effectively – taking place in London on 25-26th
November 2015.
Speakersinclude:
• Lasse Gustavsson, executive
director, Oceana,Europe
• Chris Ninnes, CEO,
AquacultureStewardship
Council
• Toby Middleton, senior
country manager, Marine
StewardshipCouncil
• Huw Thomas, fisheries and
aquaculture manager,
WMMorrison
• Ally Dingwall, aquaculture
& fisheries manager,
Sainsbury’s
• Anaïs Pauwels, sustainable
private brand manager,
DelhaizeBelgium
• Sylvia Low, Hilton Group,
corporate responsibility
manager Asia Pacific, Hilton
Worldwide,Singapore
• Brendan May, chairman,
Robertsbridge(former CEO,
MSC)
• Hyacinthe Cloarec, director
global fish management,
MetroAG
• Laky Zervudachi,
sustainability director,
DirectSeafoodGroup
• Lucy Blow,
sustainability specialist,
NewEnglandSeafood
• Guy Dean, vice president,
AlbionFisheries,Canada
• Dr. Darian McBain, group
director of sustainable
development, ThaiUnion
Group,Thailand
• Blake Lee-Harwood,
communications
and strategy director,
SustainableFisheries
Partnership
• Gareth Butterfield,
commercial manager,
MarineHarvest
• Will McCallum, head
of oceans campaigns,
GreenpeaceUK
• Tatjana Gerling,
senior manager whitefish
& markets,
WWF
• Dr. Dierk Peters, markets
outreach associate,
InternationalSeafood
SustainabilityFoundation
(ISSF),Germany
• Sam Stone, fisheries officer,
MarineConservation
Society
• Tony Long, director, Ending
Illegal Fishing Project,
ThePewCharitableTrusts
• Nick Kightley, category
lead food and farming,
EthicalTradingInitiative
• Steve Trent, executive
director, Environmental
JusticeFoundation
• Dr Andreina Fenech
Farrugia, director,
Department of Fisheries and
Aquaculture, Ministryfor
SustainableDevelopment,
Malta
• Kristian Teleki, director of
global engagement, Global
OceanCommission
• Yngve Torgersen, director,
Department of Fisheries
and Aquaculture, Ministry
ofIndustry,Tradeand
Fisheries,Norway
• Agathe Grossmith,
CSR manager, Carrefour
• Peter Andrews,
sustainability policy adviser,
BritishRetailConsortium
• Eric Enno Tamm, team
leader, ThisFish,Canada
• Simon Bush, lecturer
environmental policy group,
WageningenUniversity
• Daniel Knoop, International
Programme Coordinator
Aquaculture, Solidaridad
• Lesley Sander, director
sustainability metrics and
performance measures,
Sodexo
• Andy Hall, international
relations advisor,
SERC
4. • Focused debate
• Senior participants
• Candid dialogue
DayOne:Wednesday25thNovember2015
Welcome and opening remarks
Brendan May, chairman, Robertsbridge(former CEO, MSC)
Seafood governance: The state of play
Consumers, investors and NGOs all want to see more transparency
in supply chains – and the seafood industry is no different. This
is, however, a significant change for a sector that has had a poor
record in terms of transparency.
The increased disclosure of company sustainability data has
helped improve corporate reputation for some of the big brands
in the industry. But this has not been a smooth process – some
more progressive companies have taken a lead; others have been
reluctant, to say the least.
The international governance of the seafood industry is playing a
major role – companies are now benchmarking their performance
against each other, making improvements and developing industry
best practice.
In this opening session, with key note speaker Lasse Gustavsson
from ocean strategy specialists Oceana, we will:
• explore what the industry must do to secure a sustainable
future for seafood;
• determine the most pressing risks for supply chains; and
• focus on what individual companies must do to rebuild fish
stocks and restore marine biodiversity.
Lasse Gustavsson, executive director, OceanaEurope
How are retailers and big seafood firms
responding? The NGO perspective
Campaigning groups have targeted the seafood sector for some
time, putting pressure on the big businesses involved to comply
with best practices, take account of declining stocks and the
subsequent implications for long-term supply viability, and to stick
to quotas. There is an apparent clash between the interests of the
big factory trawlers and the small-scale fishermen – and it’s the
latter that have a tradition of fishing sustainably, and supporting
local economies, but who don’t get access to the quotas.
Illegal fishing is a major concern – a lack of data tracking
where fish come from means that significant amounts of the
global seafood supply is unregulated and without traceability.
International cooperation, supported by big brands, is
essential to develop effective enforcement. Better policies and
implementation, at national and international levels, can help
identify individual vessels and their catch. New technologies have
a clear and essential role to play.
In this session, leading campaigners will explain:
• how they have seen the seafood industry adapt in the face of
pressure for reform;
• their experience on how to direct, moderate and improve
collaboration, transparency and traceability;
• how engagement with companies has benefits for both sides; and
• where they think activists’ focus will be next.
Will McCallum, head of oceans campaigns, GreenpeaceUK
Tony Long, director, ThePewCharitableTrusts
Sam Stone, fisheries officer, MarineConservationSociety
Tatjana Gerling, senior manager whitefish & markets, WWF
Business responses to seafood risk agenda:
Brands and retailers respond
Food brands and retailers have made strides in the past few years
to properly develop transparency in seafood supply chains – and
not just because they’ve been the targets of concerted activist
campaigning. They have worked with their suppliers to trace
where seafood comes from, who is catching it, and how they are
ensuring it is being harvested sustainably.
Thanks to effective campaigning that’s enjoyed a high media profile,
seafood’s consumers are well informed and, to a higher degree than
most other sectors, engaged with the sustainability debate. Leading
retailers now report annually on the fisheries that supply them,
the management practices in place that ensure transparency and
best practices, environmental impacts, and relevant certification
and verification. They are also developing the role of aquaculture
practices in producing their seafood products – which is providing
a rapidly increasing proportion of what’s on the shelves.
In this session we will examine how leading retailers have
recognised the essential benefits of sustainable seafood supply;
the business case for working with suppliers to ensure that the
seafood consumers want is not only available now but also secured
for the future, and how to develop effective partnerships in the
supply chain, and with NGOs and other relevant stakeholders.
Anais Pauwels, sustainable private brand manager, DelhaizeBelgium
Ally Dingwall, aquaculture and fisheries manager, Sainsbury’s
Sylvia Low, Hilton Group, corporate responsibility manager
Asia Pacific, HiltonWorldwide,Singapore
Agathe Grossmith, CSR manager, Carrefour
5. The supplier perspective – actions and
priorities that ensure sustainable supply.
Corporate case studies
In this session we will engage with major seafood suppliers that
are committed to providing their customers with sustainable
fish and shellfish – including certified products when and where
appropriate.
Seafood suppliers have the challenge themselves of engaging
their own supply chain to find solutions for transparency and
traceability, and developing clear visibility on where seafood is
sourced from. Retailers also require this data to monitor and
measure improvements, but mainly to enable them track their
products from source to market.
This all requires significant education as end suppliers learn to
deal with changing customer requirements – and we’ll find out
how international suppliers engage with customers and all their
sourcing partners.
Laky Zervudachi, sustainability director, DirectSeafoodGroup
Dr Darian McBain, group director of sustainable development,
ThaiUnionFrozenProducts
Gareth Butterfield, commercial manager, MarineHarvest
Lucy Blow, sustainability specialist, NewEnglandSeafood
Has – and can – certification deliver for
sustainable seafood?
The pros and cons of certification and eco-label schemes has
become one of the most hotly debated sustainable supply chain
issues. While there are clear benefits from certification schemes
that have strictly defined criteria and a transparent compliance
process, many schemes have been criticised for taking too much
of a lowest common denominator approach.
In this session, seafood certification experts will explain how
effective schemes for the sector are avoiding the classic
certification pitfalls, the benefits for fisheries and their
stakeholders of achieving certified-sustainable status and what
they mean for consumer-facing brands and retailers.
We will have critical commentary on what certification schemes
do well, and less well, from a senior fishery manager, who will
give his on-the-ground experience of implementing schemes, the
challenges involved and the benefits he has seen for his business.
Chris Ninnes, CEO, AquacultureStewardshipCouncil
TobyMiddleton,seniorcountrymanager,MarineStewardshipCouncil(MSC)
Simon Bush, lecturer environmental policy group, WageningenUniversity
With commentary from: Guy Dean, vice president, AlbionFisheries
Aquaculture and sustainability – can it deliver?
As the global demand for seafood continues to grow, and wild
stocks dwindle through over-exploitation, the lure of farming
fish and shellfish is increasing. While farmed fish can, of course,
help preserve ocean eco-systems, aquaculture processes can
themselves be resource-heavy and environmentally damaging,
particularly at a local level.
This session will explore the future of aquaculture, and how the
industry is meeting these challenges. We will examine the impact
from introduction of new innovative technologies and debate how
best practices are effectively implemented.
• How is the aquaculture industry developing sustainable
processes that maximise growth rates and minimise
production costs in order to meet the increasing demand for
fish and shellfish?
• What is the effect of this demand on natural stocks and how
can regulation ensure their long-term future?
• Where are the key challenges for aquaculture in minimising
environmental impacts?
• How can aquaculture provide a properly sustainable solution to
consumer demand for seafood?
Chris Ninnes, CEO, AquacultureStewardshipCouncil
Huw Thomas, fisheries and aquaculture manager, WM Morrison
Daniel Knoop, international programme coordinator aquaculture,
Solidaridad
With commentary from: Lasse Gustavsson, executive director,
Oceana Europe
DayOne:Wednesday25thNovember2015
Support independent debate and progress
Innovation Forum are looking for a small number of partners
to work with to push forward the agenda to make the seafood
industry more sustainable. The conference along with our
publishing of analysis and briefings on the subject provide the
perfect platform to promote debate, innovation and action in the
attempt to improve practices in corporate supply chain.
Three key facts:
1. Promote innovation and action amongst a room filled with
your peers and wider stakeholders
2. Highlight your extensive, leading work in front of industry
media, peers, NGOs, suppliers and government
3. Build relationships with key organisations to help promote
action through collaboration
If you are interested in supporting independent debate around
sustainability, get in touch to discuss partnership opportunities:
lea.vavrik@innovation-forum.co.uk |+ 44 (0) 20 3780 7435
6. DayTwo:Thursday26thNovember2015
Human rights and forced labour: seafood supply
chains at risk
The supply of some seafood – such as large scale prawn and
shrimp harvesting in southeast Asia – has been affected with
serious labour rights issues, including trafficking, forced labour
and dangerous working practices. These in turn impact the long-
term viability of the supply chain for brands and retailers.
There are challenges for buyers to spread knowledge among
relevant stakeholders and build capacity with suppliers to
eliminate unsustainable labour practices.
This session will set the scene and specifically address how
businesses are currently tackling issues to improve working
conditions:
• Andy Hall, human rights activist in Thailand, will offer his
on-ground experience to illuminate the reality and severity of
Human rights issues in supply chains.
• Ethical Trading Initiative’s Nick Kightley will explain how the
ETI’s base code can help companies engage their suppliers and
develop key target and collaborative action plans.
• Steve Trent from the Environmental Justice Foundation will
highlight the nexus between IUU fishing in Thailand and human
rights issues.
Andy Hall, international relations advisor, SERC
Nick Kightley, category lead, food and farming, EthicalTradingInitiative
Steve Trent, executive director, EnvironmentalJusticeFoundation
How policy can drive marine sustainability
– national and international cooperation
A number of high profile campaigns – such as chef and
environmentalist Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s Fish Fight
in the UK – have highlighted some negative consequences of
operating quota systems for fish and shellfish catches. However
well-meaning the regulations are, their conservation aims can
be undermined and diverted by problems including by-catch
discarding and arguments over quota distribution.
Quotas also encourage, inevitably, an increase in illegal fishing
as fishermen struggle to find ways to maintain income and a
sustainable livelihood.
However, some politicians and administrators at regional,
national and international levels do seem determined to achieve
the balance between having a viable fishing industry, supplying
the seafood that the global market desires, and maintaining wild
stocks for the long-term.
In this session, we will address:
• The intricacies and apparent illogicality in quota systems
– and, on the other hand, what they try to achieve.
• At the EU level, the challenges of agreeing quotas between
member governments – how the competing interests can be
best aligned.
• How local small-scale fishing boats can be encouraged and
enabled to compete with the factory trawlers.
Dr Andreina Fenech Farrugia, director, Department of Fisheries and
Aquaculture, MinistryforSustainableDevelopment,Malta
Yngve Torgersen, director, Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture,
MinistryofIndustry,TradeandFisheries,Norway
Kristian Teleki, director of global engagement, GlobalOcean
Commission
Supply chain collaboration – the challenges
from working with NGOs and other corporate
stakeholders to drive sustainable change
To date much of the pressure for developing sustainable
practices in the seafood industry has come from the activist NGO
community. There is a growing movement within the industry that
recognises the need for business engagement, and cooperation
along the supply chain, if long-term sustainability is to be achieved.
In this session we will engage with seafood industry experts,
and debate how companies at each stage of the seafood
supply chain can best work together – with NGO partners
when appropriate – focusing on developing collaboration and
transparency to drive the required change.
We will also consider the risks of illegal, unreported and
unregulated fish entering supply chains, and how to counter
this – taking as a case study the impending ban on Thai products
through the EU’s IUU regulations.
Guy Dean, vice president, AlbionFisheries
Peter Andrews, sustainability policy adviser,
BritishRetailConsortium
Dr. Dierk Peters, markets outreach associate, InternationalSeafood
SustainabilityFoundation,Germany
Blake Lee-Harwood, communications and strategy director,
SustainableFisheriesPartnership
Corporate case studies: Q&A panels
– Leading by example
In these two moderated sessions leading retailers and suppliers,
such as Metro AG and Thai Union Group, will talk about their work
and experience in the seafood industry.
7. DayTwo:Thursday26thNovember2015
Closing discussion: can consumers REALLY
drive the sustainable fish agenda? Or is it down
to business to make the necessary changes?
The impact of consumer engagement is one of the sustainable
business movement’s most-debated topics. Some will argue
that it’s only through education of customers – and resulting
changes in their spending patterns – that real change towards a
sustainable economy will be made. Others say that only corporate
policy change, such as introducing minimum standards for
products, is effective.
Either way, customers are hungry for information about products
and their sustainability – so what do brands need to do to turn
potentially complex product metrics into clear consumer-friendly
messaging?
In this final session, we will draw together some of the
arguments from the two days of debate, by looking at how seafood
brands, and their suppliers, can work together to develop more
sustainable practices and also engage consumers and relevant
stakeholders.
Will McCallum, head of oceans campaigns, GreenpeaceUK
Eric Enno Tamm, team leader, ThisFish
Sylvia Low, Hilton Group, corporate responsibility manager
Asia Pacific, HiltonWorldwide,Singapore
Lesley Sander, director sustainability metrics and performance
measures, Sodexo
8. Keyquestionsyou
maybeasking
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Who will be in the room?
We will be hosting a truly international group, with senior executives representing large corporations from
supply chain, sourcing, sustainability, public and corporate affairs, and communications job functions.
Seafood and marine conservation NGOs, and certification bodies who can help you make a real difference
will also be present. Experts from academic, governmental and science areas will be providing you with
their expert knowledge. A minimum of 80% of attendees are corporate practitioners and key NGOs to
ensure the conference delivers maximum value – and maximum action, allowing you to network with all
key players from across the whole industry.
Is it just another talking shop? Will there be outcomes?
The conference is specifically designed to promote action by providing the practical tools necessary to
implement more sustainable practices. By bringing together an intimate group of corporate practitioners
and seafood and marine conservation advocates, the conference provides a strong platform for delegates
to take away actionable insight that can be implemented from the first day back on the office.
This conference will be our first of an ongoing series of annual events revolving around sustainability in the
seafood industry. As for our other conferences, we will complement our events with insightful reporting
and analysis.
Why will this event be different from others?
While all event organisers like to tell you they are different and unique, we can tell you a few things about
our approach, and you can decide for yourself if we’re worth your attention. The people behind Innovation
Forum are experienced in the field of sustainable business. We’re very clear that we’re in this space for
the long term, and we want to create an event that discusses the trends, debates the issues, connects key
players and most importantly – drives change.
We are seeking to also host this event elsewhere in the world in the coming 12 months, and your support of
this event helps us spread the word about solutions to the seafood sustainability problem.
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Downloadourreportsforfree
The management briefing that complements this event has been put together as a result of cross-industry research
with leading experts in the field. The report covers the current state of play in the industry as well as assessing and
analysing some practical steps companies can take, and the challenges/opportunities that will result. The report is a
useful tool in itself, but also works well to set the scene for discussion at the conference.
Make sure to download your copy for free from www.innovation-forum.co.uk/sustainable-seafood-sourcing