Thai Union, the flagship company of Thailand’s transformed seafood industry

Christoph Beierl | September 29, 2023

Thai Union, the world’s largest canned tuna producer and a major seafood exporter, has been on a remarkable journey of transformation in the past eight years. From facing a serious threat of trade sanctions from the EU for failing to combat illegal fishing in 2015, over becoming a leader in seafood traceability, to spending an entire year’s worth of profit on furthering it sustainability strategy in 2023.

Source: Thai Union

Thailand’s yellow card

In April 2015, Thailand received a yellow card from the EU for shortcomings in its fisheries sector that needed to be addressed urgently. The EU found that Thailand had failed to sufficiently combat illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, and issued the yellow card as a warning that Thailand could be facing import bans if it did not improve its fisheries management drastically.

Quelle: Bing

SeaChange 2020

The yellow card was a wake-up call for Thailand’s seafood industry in general, but for Thai Union in particular. In 2016, Thai Union launched with SeaChange a comprehensive sustainability plan covering every aspect of its business, from vessel to shelf.

One of the key elements of phase one of the strategy was transparency. After all, only what’s measured can be managed, right? That’s why Thai Union invested in various tools and initiatives to enhance transparency and traceability across its supply chain.

Most notably, Thai Union...

... joined the Global Dialogue on Seafood Traceability (GDST), which is a pre-competitive platform that aims to establish global standards for seafood traceability.

... participated in the Ocean Disclosure Project (ODP), which is a voluntary initiative that encourages seafood companies to publicly disclose their sourcing practices and environmental impacts.

Many more achievements are briefly touched upon in the video below:

Quelle: Thai Union

SeaChange 2030

While the EU lifted its yellow card in January 2019 already, Thai Union hasn’t been resting on its laurels. In July 2023, Thai Union announced with SeaChange 2030 the next phase of its sustainability strategy.

SeaChange 2030 is based on five focus areas:

  • human and labor rights
  • health and wellness
  • climate action
  • biodiversity
  • circularity

Quelle: Thai Union

Under each focus area, Thai Union set ambitious goals and targets for 2030 that align with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and reflect the company’s aspiration to create positive impacts for both people and the planet, including:

  • 100% of seafood from sustainable or verifiably improving sources
  • 100% of certified soy and palm oil
  • 100% of sustainably sourced chicken
  • 100% elimination of food waste, waste to landfill and water discharge
  • 42% reduction in absolute Scope 123 emissions

USD 200 million for sustainable tuna

To achieve these ambitious targets, Thai Union promised to invest USD 200 million into various sustainability initiatives. This represents the entirety of Thai Union’s profits in 2022 and can be considered a clear sign of commitment towards sustainable tuna by the company. The rapid increase in MSC certified tuna over the last few years confirms that the seafood industry and Thai Union are on the right track here, helping to turn seafood into the sustainable protein it actually is.

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