Nueva Pescanova

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

Animal welfare
Nueva Pescanova discloses a commitment to upholding animal welfare practices. This includes disclosing that it is addressing specific welfare issues, including respecting stocking density, managing diseases, improving water quality, minimizing transportation times and humane slaughter methods for its key species. The company also discloses its process for implementing this policy through relevant third party certifications, including the Global G.A.P, ASC and BAP certifications. Going forward, the company should look to apply the approach it has taken towards reporting on survival rates, i.e. reporting progress and metrics against a time bound target, to other animal welfare issues it has identified.

Antibiotics use and growth-promoting substances
Nueva Pescanova approach on antibiotics is leading within the Food and Agriculture sector. The company discloses a ’zero use’ policy towards its use of antibiotics, including prophylactic application and growth promoting substances in all farmed species and geographies. This policy also includes antibiotics classified as critically important antimicrobials for human medicine. The company discloses the process for implementing this policy, through sector-specific certification schemes and auditing process. The company also discloses a time bound target for the policy, 2021, which includes reporting progress against the target on the quantities of antibiotics used for the reporting year across all of its species and geographies.

Clear and transparent labelling
Nueva Pescanova is committed to clear labelling and is one of the few companies to disclose the percentage of markets in which both front-of-pack and back-of-pack labelling has been rolled out. Front-of-pack refers to Nutri-Score, and the company reports it is already available in most European Union markets.

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

Sustainable development strategy
Nueva Pescanova 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. Although the company has several targets across all benchmark dimensions, several of these were set after they had been fully achieved . The company has an opportunity to set more ambitious long-term goals.

Governance and accountability for sustainable development
Nueva Pescanova discloses that accountability for and oversight of its sustainability strategy lies with the highest governance body (Governance and Corporate Responsibility Committee of the Board of Directors). In addition, its highest governance body’s remuneration policy is sometimes linked to sustainability objectives. The company could further improve by systematically integrating sustainability objectives covering the three benchmark dimensions (environment, nutrition and social inclusion) in its remuneration policy.

Stakeholder engagement
Nueva Pescanova discloses its process for identifying and engaging with stakeholders across its value chain and that its stakeholder engagement covers sustainability topics addressed by all three benchmark dimensions across its value chain. However, how stakeholder engagement outcomes are integrated into its strategy, beyond its materiality assessment, remains unclear.

Sustainable fishing and aquaculture
Nueva Pescanova has a target to achieve 100% sustainable sourcing of seafood raw materials by 2030. Further, the company reports on progress towards this target. However, there is an opportunity for improvement, as there is still a part of the company’s seafood supply chain where sustainability is not assessed, and the certification status of its externally supplied seafood products remains unclear.

Scope 1, 2 and 3 greenhouse gas emissions
Nueva Pescanova has set a scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions reduction target of 30% by 2030 and 50% by 2040, relative to 2020. However, the latest reporting shows a yearly increase in these emissions due to a change in scope of activities reported. As such, Nueva Pescanova has an opportunity to strive to meet its scope 1 and 2 emissions commitment while scoping and setting ambitious scope 3 emissions targets as well.

Water use
Nueva Pescanova has not set targets for reducing water use, although it has a continuous improvement process and has conducted a water withdrawal risk analysis. There remains an opportunity for the company to build on its existing work and set time-bound targets on water use globally.

Availability of healthy foods
Nueva Pescanova reports detailed metrics on how it is improving the nutritional quality of products by reducing salt and fat concentration, one of the few seafood companies to do so. The company has also set a target that, by 2030, 100% of its products must have some health benefits. There remains an opportunity for the company to improve by reporting progress against this target and introducing a sales-based objective.

Accessibility and affordability of healthy foods
Nueva Pescanova has a commitment to address food insecurity through improving the accessibility and affordability of its products. However, the company does not provide evidence of relevant commercial activities designed to improve the accessibility and affordability of healthy food products for vulnerable groups.

Forced labour
While Nueva Pescanova 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 and restricting workers’ freedom of movement. Although it is a vertically integrated company, Nueva Pescanova still relies on external suppliers for a significant portion of its sourcing.

Living wage
While demonstrating abiding by minimum wage laws and requiring its suppliers to do the same, Nueva Pescanova does not demonstrate that it is paying workers a living wage that is sufficient to cover basic needs and some discretionary income for a worker and his or her family. Neither does the company disclose time-bound targets towards paying a living wage in its operations and supply chain.

Health and safety of vulnerable groups
While Nueva Pescanova has several health and safety policies and assesses safety risks, no information on risk assessment related to vulnerable groups was found. The company has an opportunity to identify specific risks to more vulnerable employees or suppliers, such migrant and temporary labourers, women and youth.

Farmer and fisher productivity and resilience
Nueva Pescanova reports (training) activities to support fish farmers or fishers. However, the extent of the impact of these is unclear. Moreover, no evidence was found that the activities relate to improving the resilience of fish farmers or fishers.

Nueva Pescanova commits to respecting human rights and ILO core labour rights in its operations and expects suppliers to respect the ILO core labour rights. While the company provides a grievance mechanism for workers and suppliers, it does not disclose whether grievances can be reported anonymously and whether potentially affected external individuals and communities can also makes reports through this mechanisms. Moreover, the company does not provide evidence of a human rights due diligence process nor disclose how it engages with affected and potentially affected stakeholders.

Nueva Pescanova commits to respect the health and safety of its workers and expects it suppliers to do the same. While disclosing, for example, the number and frequency of accidents, the company lacks disclosure on the main types of work-related injuries and number of hours worked. Related to workforce diversity, Nueva Pescanova discloses data on age and gender and has an opportunity to also disclose data on race or ethnicity. Although the company discloses on collective bargaining agreement coverage in Argentina, Spain, Namibia and Mozambique, it does not disclose the proportion of its total direct workforce covered by collective bargaining agreements. The company does not disclose commitments regarding paying a living wage and ensuring decent working hours in its operations and supply chain.

Nueva Pescanova addresses all key issues for ethical business conduct through publicly available policies or statements, but there remains an opportunity to disclose more specific information about these topics. While disclosing a global tax policy and total income tax paid, the company does not disclose income taxes paid for each tax jurisdiction. Nueva Pescanova prohibits bribery and corruption in its operations and business relations and describes the due diligence process and practices implemented to identify and prevent bribery and corruption on its activities, operations and third party relations. Nueva Pescanova prohibits political contributions and sets out its approach to political engagement. However, the company does not disclose its approach to lobbying nor its lobbying expenditures.