Labeyrie Fine Foods

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

Ecosystem impacts of fisheries
Labeyrie Fine Foods addresses the ecosystem impacts of the fisheries it sources from by using certified sources. The company reports that close to 30% of its portfolio is certified by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), with the rest being mostly farmed seafood. Labeyrie ensures that it sources from well-managed fisheries with limited impacts on by-catch and other marine species, as well as marine habitats. The company also shares how it works with fisheries that are not yet certified, through activities such as investing in fishery improvement projects (FIPs) in Argentina, Morocco and the UK, which focus on wild shrimp, wild sardines and Norway lobsters respectively.

Commitment to traceable seafood
Labeyrie has made a commitment to the Global Dialogue on Seafood Traceability (GDST) to support the implementation of robust traceability systems in the seafood industry.

Risk-based approach to IUU fishing
Labeyrie’s risk-based approach is one of the most detailed in the benchmark. In addition to sourcing through third-party certifications such as the MSC or MarinTrust, Labeyrie uses its own IUU fishing risk assessment tool to approve its suppliers. Labeyrie goes so far as to disclose the data sources that are used by the assessment tool to verify IUU fishing risks. Depending on results, the company either creates improvement strategies with its suppliers or will not approve the product source.

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

Sustainable development strategy
Labeyrie Fine Foods reports that its sustainability strategy is based on three pillars: responsible sourcing, mastering (focusing on improving internal operations) and respect (focusing on human rights). However, the company can further improve its strategy by developing time-bound targets related to relevant topics for the seafood industry and start annual progress reporting against these targets.

Governance and accountability
Labeyrie Fine Foods states that responsibility for its sustainable development strategy sits with its corporate social responsibility and communication director, who is a board member. No information has been found in the public domain about the remuneration policy for its highest governance body regarding sustainability.

Stakeholder engagement
Labeyrie Fine Foods does not publicly report on how it engages with its stakeholders. The company has an opportunity to disclose its process for identifying and engaging with stakeholders, the outcomes of its engagement and their integration into its sustainability strategy and whether they cover key sustainability topics in the seafood industry across its value chain.

Engagement in policy advocacy
Labeyrie Fine Foods is involved in advocacy activities through its membership in several industry organisations, such as the Seafood Industry Alliance and the Global Dialogue on Seafood Traceability (GDST). The company has an opportunity to explain how its advocacy activities support implementing public policies or strengthening legislation in the seafood industry. Furthermore, it has an opportunity to demonstrate results and/or impacts of these activities.

Commitment to sustainable fisheries and aquaculture
Labeyrie Fine Foods reports several activities to increase its sustainable sourcing from fisheries and aquaculture, such as seeking MSC certifications or being active in several FIPs. However, no group-wide time-bound targets have been found, and the objectives and efforts vary depending on the subsidiaries involved. The company has an opportunity to set group-wide time-bound targets.

Ecosystem impacts of aquaculture
Labeyrie Fine Foods does not disclose group-wide information about how it promotes sustainable aquaculture practices in its operations and supply chains, although some of its aquaculture is third-party certified. The company can improve its performance by disclosing how it addresses issues that are important for aquaculture, such antibiotic use, aquaculture feed use, and animal welfare. It could also disclose information about outbreaks, medicine use and disease management plans in its aquaculture operations.

Abandoned, lost or otherwise discarded fishing gear
Labeyrie Fine Foods does not own fishing vessels, but sets requirements on gear use for its suppliers. The company has an opportunity to identify the parts of its supply chain most at risk of abandoning, losing or otherwise discarding fishing gear and to act upon the results of this assessment. The company recognises the importance of this topic and shares that it currently works with its suppliers on a gear disposal assessment to identify opportunities for recycling and reuse of gear.

Traceability system for seafood products and aquaculture feed ingredients
Labeyrie approaches traceability through its Enterprise Resource Planning system (JD Edwards or SAP), and through certification including the associated chain of custody certification. Additionally, the company has an approval and testing process for suppliers, which measures the quality of their traceability based on specified traceability requirements. Finally, Labeyrie is supporting traceability by rolling out the GDST standard in its shellfish portfolio. The company has an opportunity to improve by disclosing the key data elements it collects.

Disclosure of the origin of its seafood and marine feed ingredients
Labeyrie does not publicly disclose information about the origin of its seafood products. Disclosing this information would contribute to transparency about the origin of its seafood portfolio in its operations and supply chain. The company could improve by sharing information about its portfolio including location, species or management status of the fisheries it sources from across its operations and supply chain.

Forced labour
Labeyrie commits to prohibiting forced labour in its own operations and supply chain. However, it has an opportunity to disclose a requirement that prohibits its suppliers from restricting workers’ freedom of movement, alongside the requirement, which is already found in its suppliers code of conduct, not to retain workers’ personal documents.

Living wage
Labeyrie does not disclose that it pays its workers a living wage or requires its suppliers to do the same. Nor has it set targets to do so in the future.

Health and safety of vulnerable groups
Labeyrie does not disclose that it specifically recognises the health and safety risks to vulnerable groups, such as migrant and temporary labourers, women and young involved in its operations and supply chain.

Working and living conditions on board fishing vessels
Labeyrie does not own fishing vessels. Although the company sets requirements in its supplier code of conduct, the company does not specifically demonstrate how it verifies decent working and living conditions on board fishing vessels in its supply chains. The company has an opportunity to describe how working and living conditions on vessels are monitored, to disclose the results of vessel monitoring, and to demonstrate how risks are mitigated and improvements are implemented, where needed.

Respecting customary and indigenous rights and support for local communities
Labeyrie does not disclose examples of how it supports local communities, nor has it committed to respecting customary and indigenous rights. Labeyrie can improve its performance by disclosing a systematic process for engaging with local communities in its own operations and supply chains. In addition, the company can make a commitment towards respecting customary and indigenous rights.

No policies or commitments related to respect for human rights were found in the public domain. As such, Labeyrie Fine Foods does not demonstrate it has the necessary policies and processes in place to respect basic human rights in its operations and supply chain.

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

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