Parlevliet & Van der Plas

No leading practices were identified for the company in the governance and strategy measurement area.

Animal welfare
Parlevliet & Van der Plas states that all the farmed fish it sources are certified according to the GLOBAL G.A.P, Best Aquaculture Practices and/or Aquaculture Stewardship Council standards, which addresses multiple animal welfare issues. The company also discloses evidence of processes to implement this policy, including third-party certifications and audits. Further, the company explains how it works with lobster and avoids harmful slaughtering techniques. Parlevliet & Van der Plas can improve by working with its suppliers on relevant animal welfare issues and publicly reporting on the proportion of its farmed-fish certifications as well as disclosing time bound targets to address more welfare issues it has identified in future reporting.

No leading practices were identified for the company in the nutrition measurement area.

No leading practices were found for the company in the social inclusion measurement area.

Sustainable development strategy
Parlevliet & Van der Plas discloses its process for identifying and prioritising its most relevant sustainability topics as well as the outcome of this process in relation to its sustainability strategy. However, it has an opportunity to set time-bound targets for these topics and to draft nutrition-related objectives.

Governance and accountability for sustainable development
While responsibility for the company’s sustainable development strategy lies with the Corporate Social Responsibility department, Parlevliet & Van der Plas has an opportunity to strengthen accountability by assigning this responsibility to its highest governance body. It can also disclose further information on its decision-making processes and oversight responsibilities, in addition to linking sustainability objectives and targets to roles and remuneration.

Stakeholder engagement
While Parlevliet & Van der Plas has conducted stakeholder engagement activities and discloses an overview of the issues raised via these activities, it has an opportunity to disclose how it identifies its most relevant stakeholders, along with information on how the outcomes of the engagement process are integrated into the company’s sustainable development strategy.

Scope 1, 2 and 3 greenhouse gas emissions
Parlevliet & Van der Plas discloses a few examples of activities to reduce its scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions, but no group-wide reporting and target-setting were found. The company has an opportunity to strengthen its commitment by setting targets and reporting progress against them, which its subsidiary Deutsche See is already doing.

Sustainable fishing and aquaculture
Parlevliet & Van der Plas commits that its entire wild-fish portfolio will be certified by 2030. Currently, the company reports that about 22% of its volumes are not certified, with the rest receiving MSC, Friends of the Sea, ASC and GlobalG.A.P. certification. The company has an opportunity to clarify whether its farmed seafood sourcing is also in scope of its 2030 target.

Water use
Parlevliet & Van der Plas does not disclose that it is reducing water withdrawals across its operations and supply chain. The company has room for improvement and should report its consumption use, particularly in water-stressed areas, and set relevant time-bound reduction targets.

Antibiotics use and growth-promoting substances
Although some of Parlevliet & Van der Plas’ portfolio receives certifications covering antibiotic use, it does not disclose a policy or information demonstrating it is reducing or prohibiting the prophylactic use of antibiotics and growth-promoting substances. It has an opportunity to disclose a commitment on antibiotics that addresses the topic across its relevant species, geographies and products.

Availability of healthy foods
While Parlevliet & Van der Plas discloses that it is committed to reducing the use of salt and other additives in its products, it has an opportunity to disclose quantitative evidence of these activities.

Accessibility and affordability of healthy foods
While Parlevliet & Van der Plas has a commitment to address food insecurity by improving the accessibility and affordability of healthy foods, it has an opportunity to demonstrate how its commercial activities, especially in Africa, are designed to make healthy foods more accessible and affordable for vulnerable groups.

Food safety
While Parlevliet & Van der Plas discloses evidence that some sites of its own operations are certified to a food safety scheme recognised by the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI), it does not demonstrate that all its own operations follow the same standard. The company has an opportunity to improve by extending this approach and disclosing the number of sites that are GFSI-compliant.

Forced labour
While Parlevliet & Van der Plas commits to prohibiting forced labour in its own operations and supply chain, it has an opportunity to disclose a requirement that prohibits its suppliers from retaining workers’ personal documents or restricting workers’ freedom of movement.

Living wage
Parlevliet & Van der Plas does not disclose that it pays its workers a living wage or requires its suppliers to do the same. However, the company states it will implement a pilot project in a high-risk country soon.

Farmer productivity and resilience
The company does not disclose a commitment or examples of activities to support the resilience, productivity and access to markets for fishers and/or small-scale producers in its supply chain.

Health and safety of vulnerable groups
Parlevliet & Van der Plas does not disclose that it specifically recognises the health and safety risks to vulnerable groups, such as migrant and temporary labourers, women and young farmers. The company has an opportunity to improve by assessing the risks of its workers and establishing a specific strategy for vulnerable groups.

Parlevliet & Van der Plas commits to respecting the human rights of workers in its operations and supply chain. However, no sufficient overall commitment to human rights was found in the public domain, and the company does not provide evidence of a human rights due diligence process, a substantial engagement with affected and potentially affected stakeholders or grievance mechanisms for either workers or external individuals.

No policies or commitments related to providing and promoting decent work were found in the public domain. As such, Parlevliet & Van der Plas does not demonstrate that it provides secure, safe and healthy workplaces, where workers are fairly remunerated and have a meaningful say in decision making.

Parlevliet & Van der Plas commits to tackling bribery and corruption, although it does not provide a confidential and anonymous mechanism accessible to all stakeholders to raise bribery and corruption complaints without fear of reprisals. No policies or commitments related to all other key ethical business topics – personal data protection, tax, and lobbying and political engagement – were found in the public domain.