Nueva Pescanova

Stakeholder engagement

Nueva Pescanova has developed an in-depth and comprehensive approach to stakeholder engagement. The group has managed to incorporate local perspectives into pilot projects in Ecuador, Guatemala, Nicaragua and Namibia. Furthermore, it devised a detailed materiality matrix using the four guiding principles of its sustainability strategy – Planet, People, Product and Communities – to weigh the relevance of key concerns and issues raised by its diverse group of stakeholders.

Food loss and waste

Nueva Pescanova’s circular management approach to the issue of food loss and waste stands out among industry peers. The group applies waste management and food loss reduction standards throughout the entirety of its operations and employs waste managers to oversee implementation. In Nicaragua and Ecuador, it reuses organic shrimp waste for animal feed production, saving a combined 2,487 tonnes of waste in 2018 and creating 18 local jobs in Nicaragua. In Namibia, the group sells its organic waste to a flour plant, which ultimately processes 5,790 tonnes of the group’s waste in 2018. At a broader level, the group donated 19,658 kilograms of excess food to various food banks in 2018.

Support for local communities

Nueva Pescanova commits to respecting the customary rights of local communities and has developed several capacity building activities. The group has 226 projects that support local communities in four countries – Ecuador, Guatemala, Nicaragua and Namibia. These projects mainly focus on promoting new skills and knowledge transfer among other capacity building activities. The group also links the projects to specific SDGs and corresponding targets.

Impact of aquaculture operations

Compared to its peers, Nueva Pescanova discloses little information about how it minimises the impact of its aquaculture activities on ecosystems. The group could share what treatment and disease management strategies it has in place or the ingredients and sources of its aquaculture feed.

Implementation of human and labour rights

Nueva Pescanova’s strong performance in human rights and working conditions is the result of its commitment to respect human and labour rights, evident through the Code of Ethics applied to the group’s operations and the Providers’ Ethical and Social Charter for its suppliers. In addition to these policies, the group has also established a unit that ensures compliance with its Code of Ethics, among others, and is embedded in its Regulatory System for Corporate Governance and Compliance. Nueva Pescanova could further improve its performance by disclosing details on how it applies these policies to respect human and labour rights.

Origins of marine ingredients

While Nueva Pescanova states that all of its suppliers must comply with the Providers’ Ethical and Social Charter, the group lags behind it peers in terms of disclosing the origins of its marine ingredients. It could improve accountability by publicly providing information on species, volumes, origins and the certification standards of the materials it sources.