Maruha Nichiro

Sustainability strategy

Maruha Nichiro’s Medium to Long-term Sustainability Management Plan outlines the company’s strategy on important environmental and social issues. It has set quantitative targets to achieve by 2021 in areas such as greenhouse gas emissions and waste. However, these environmental objectives only apply to the company’s operations in Japan. Furthermore, the plan lacks time-bound targets for social metrics. Maruha Nichiro could formulate a more comprehensive sustainability strategy by including a set of time-bound environmental and social targets that are applicable to the entirety of the company’s operations.

Transparency on sourcing and traceability

Maruha Nichiro’s website discloses its production volumes for tuna, greater amberjack and yellowtail, as well as estimated national market shares. However, the company does not offer significant details about geographic location and certified status for the entirety of its seafood portfolio. Similarly, while Maruha Nichiro states that it considers the “who, where, and when it is manufactured” when it procures resources, the company does not provide supporting evidence of its traceability mechanisms. Given the size of its operations, Maruha Nichiro could greatly improve its transparency around sourcing and traceability.

Environmental footprint

Maruha Nichiro aims to reduce carbon dioxide emissions in Japan by 4 percent per unit of sales by 2021, having achieved a 5 percent reduction between 2013 and 2017. The company also developed an action plan that includes reducing electricity, oil and gas usage in its operations, as well as switching to freezers that are free of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). However, Maruha Nichiro lacks similar targets and mechanisms across other important environmental metrics. For instance, the company has not established a target around water use, though its water consumption has increased compared to the 2014 baseline figures. Moreover, while Maruha Nichiro set a target to reduce its volume of waste by 4 percent per unit of sales by 2021, it has disclosed only a limited amount of information about its progress and activities to achieve this target.

Impact on ecosystems

Maruha Nichiro discloses little information about how it mitigates any potential adverse impacts on ecosystems resulting from its fishing or farming activities. The company has taken initial steps to improve its performance in this area through its participation in the Seafood Business for Ocean Stewardship (SeaBOS). Nevertheless, Maruha Nichiro could continue to increase transparency across its operations by disclosing, for example, how it addresses illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) risks and mitigates bycatch in its fisheries operations as well as how it establishes disease management plans in its aquaculture operations.

Implementation of human and labour rights policies

Through the company’s Medium to Long-term Sustainability Management Plan and its subsidiary Kingfisher Holdings, Maruha Nichiro commits to respecting human and labour rights. While the company has established an internal whistleblowing system, Maruha Nichiro could also disclose what due diligence processes it has in place and how it provides remediation for potential adverse human rights impacts resulting from its operations.

Support for local communities

While Maruha Nichiro states that it participates in environmental conservation activities with local communities, the company could develop and disclose formal commitments or policies around strengthening the livelihoods of people living in areas where it operates.