Royal Greenland

Engagement in policy advocacy
Royal Greenland demonstrates how it advocates for improving fisheries management to work towards Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification of several fisheries in Greenland. As a member of Sustainable Fisheries Greenland, the company works with Greenland’s Ministry of Fisheries, Hunting and Agriculture to improve management plans and prepare these fisheries for MSC certification. The company reports that in 2020 sustainable management plans for several species were developed.

Sustainable target fish stocks
Royal Greenland is one of the few companies that undertakes an annual assessment of the sustainability status of all species and fisheries in its portfolio. The company reports that 80% of its portfolio is considered sustainable, while the remaining 20% is categorised as less sustainable. The company explains that this 20% is primarily related to inshore cod and Greenland halibut fishing, adding that the latter fishery will also be characterised as sustainable in 2021 thanks to improvements in the management of the fishery.

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

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

Sustainable development strategy
Royal Greenland has done a materiality assessment and has identified four priorities for its sustainability programme, derived from the Sustainable Development Goals. For each of these priorities, the company has set 2022 goals, along with ambitions for 2030. While the company has set time-bound targets covering relevant topics for the seafood industry, it has an opportunity to disclose how it identifies and prioritises the topics where it has the most impact.

Governance and accountability for sustainable development
Accountability and oversight of Royal Greenland’s sustainability strategy lie with its highest governance body, the Group Executive Board. The board can earn a performance-based bonus, but it is not clear whether this bonus is related to sustainability.

Stakeholder engagement
Royal Greenland has conducted stakeholder engagement activities and disclosed an overview of the stakeholders it interacts with. However, it has an opportunity to show 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.

Commitment to sustainable fisheries and aquaculture
Within its sustainability programme, Royal Greenland has set targets for its certified raw material and finished products (60% certified in 2022, more than 75% in 2030) and reports that 57% of its products were certified in 2020. The company also has set a target that by 2030 more than 95% of all its fisheries and species will be sustainable, according to its internal assessment. While the company has set time-bound targets for the majority of its portfolio, it still can improve its commitment by developing targets that cover 100% of its portfolio.

Ecosystem impacts of fisheries
Royal Greenland reports on several activities to reduce impacts related to by-catch, endangered species and habitats. Examples include a sorting grid in its prawn fisheries to reduce by-catch, testing new fishing gear to avoid mortalities of birds in its lumpfish fishery and investigating impacts of trawling on seabed’s. The company can, however, improve its performance by clearly reporting where the most significant risks for by-catch, endangered species and habitats occur in its operations and supply chain and how these are addressed. Alternatively, for the annual assessment of the sustainability status of all species and fisheries in its portfolio, the company can disclose how by-catch, endangered species and habitats are addressed in this assessment.

Abandoned, discarded or lost fishing gear
Within the company’s sustainability programme, Royal Greenland has committed to reduce abandoned, discarded or lost fishing gear (ADLFG) and has set a target that by 2030 all trawls and nets will be fully recycled. The company has developed an app that enables fishermen to track the position of lost fishing gear, and, through a sponsorship, it has contributed to the recovery of lost fishing gear. The company also states that ADLFG is a risk for 23% of its fisheries, but it can improve by providing additional information about how it has assessed ADLFG risks in its operations and supply chain.

Commitment to traceability
In its Sustainable Fisheries Policy, Royal Greenland commits to traceability. The company could strengthen this commitment by setting a time-bound target on fully traceable operations and supply chain, or by committing to the Global Dialogue on Seafood Traceability standard.

Traceability system for seafood products and aquaculture feed ingredients
Royal Greenland describes its programme to address traceability, which includes DNA analysis and auditing. The company also has Chain of Custody certification to trace back the origins of its MSC-certified seafood. The company however still has an opportunity to improve by dislcosing which key data elements it collects and explain how data is verified and shared along the supply chain.

Risk-based approach to IUU fishing
Royal Greenland describes several measures to address IUU fishing risks in its operations and supply chain. It holds MSC certification for 57% of its portfolio, conducts DNA analysis and undertakes supplier audits. The company also states it that it has an internal procedure to check for IUU fishing risks by using an IUU vessel list to check for black-listed vessels. However, the company can disclose more information about this procedure, in particular how often IUU fishing risks are assessed and whether other data sources are used for the assessment.

Disclosure of the origin of its seafood and marine ingredients
Royal Greenland shares information about its fishing activities and its procurement on whether these are fished or sourced from a third party supplier. However, the company has a clear opportunity to become more transparent about the origins of its seafood products by providing information about species, the geographical location of where fish are caught and the management status of each fishery it is involved in and sources from.

Forced labour
Royal Greenland commits to not using forced labour in its operations and requires its suppliers to adhere to the same standard. It also commits to respecting workers’ rights to collective bargaining and freedom of association in its own operations and supply chain. It has an opportunity to disclose a commitment that prohibits any form of intimidation against workers seeking to exercise these rights in its operations and supply chain

Living wage
The company does not disclose that it pays its workers a living wage or requires its suppliers to do the same. Neither has it set targets to do so in the future.

Farmer and fisher productivity and resilience
Royal Greenland commits to supporting local fishermen and provides evidence of how it jointly operates facilities and processing plants with these local fishermen. While its performance on this topic, Royal Greenland can further improve by providing disclosure on the impact of its support activities to fishermen in its supply chain.

Working and living conditions on board fishing vessels
Royal Greenland states that employees on its vessels are trained in safety exercises, and that for each trip a safety committee is established. The company has an opportunity to explain how working and living conditions on its vessels are monitored. It could also improve its performance by releasing the monitoring results and disclosing how it improves where issues are identified.

Engagement with and support for local communities
Royal Greenland supports local communities by creating opportunities for education, and has set up its own academy that provides courses for employees and young people in local communities in Greenland. The company also reports on the number of people that attended training and development courses. Royal Greenland has an opportunity to further improve its performance by demonstrating how it prioritises its community engagement to ensure its activities support communities that need it most.

Royal Greenland has a commitment to respect the human rights and the ILO core labour rights expects the same of its suppliers. However, the company lacks disclosure on how it identifies, assesses and takes action to address its human rights salient risks in its operations and supply chain. The company also does not provide evidence of a grievance mechanism that is accessible to employees and external individuals and communities.

Royal Greenland publicly commits to respecting the health and safety for its own employees and workers in the supply chain and provides commitments to gender equality and women’s empowerment with time-bound targets and have achieve 33% women on the board. However, no commitments to providing a living wage, fair working hours, collective bargaining and data on workforce diversity have been publicly disclosed.

Royal Greenland publicly commits to prohibiting bribery and corruption and personal data protection. However, no relevant policies or commitments on other key ethical business topics – tax, and lobbying and political engagement – were found in the public domain.