Leading practices 22 April 2022

Governance and strategy | Leading practices from the 2021 Seafood Stewardship Index

Governance and strategy

This measurement area focuses on the integration of sustainable development objectives and targets into seafood companies’ core strategy, business model and governance structure. It captures companies’ overall commitment to sustainable development, with a focus on seafood-specific environmental and social issues. It aims to assess the extent to which companies’ highest governing bodies can be held responsible and accountable for their progress on targets, as well as their stakeholder engagement activities and how outcomes are incorporated in their business strategy reviews.

Stakeholder engagement

Companies are part of society, at global and local levels, directly and indirectly impacting the environment, global health, as well as the lives of workers, consumers and communities around the world. Regularly engaging with stakeholders -such as local communities, governments, academia, business partners, investors and non-governmental organisations – contributes to a company’s understanding of diverse and frequently opposing perspectives, potentially driving innovation and supporting the development of robust and inclusive practices.

Regularly listening to a range of stakeholder views can help companies identify and respond to risks and opportunities, creating a more resilient and successful organisation. Stakeholders may raise concerns that could influence medium- or long-term financial or operating performance or create acute short-term financial impacts through the loss of a license to operate, reputational damage, changes in customer demand and/or disruptions to business viability. For those reasons, companies should engage proactively in multi-stakeholder dialogues and initiatives relating to stewardship challenges in the industry. Complaints, disputes or significant adverse impacts highlighted by stakeholders should be addressed and resolved. Engagement processes are expected to produce a clear output or action and an acknowledgement of how stakeholder inputs are used – ideally feeding back intro strategic planning and decision-making by the company.

Leading practice examples

In the seafood industry, Nissui demonstrates leadership on this topic by having one of the most robust stakeholder engagement approaches. The company discloses its process for identifying and engaging with stakeholders across its value chain, including an explanation of the relevance of each stakeholder group. The company also presents the outcomes of its stakeholder engagement and how the stakeholder feedback will be integrated into its sustainability strategy. Such a feedback loop illustrates how issues raised have been heard and responded to. Its stakeholder engagement covers the most relevant sustainability topics in the seafood industry, as the company engages with stakeholders across its value chain.