Case study: How Lerøy Seafood Group promotes sustainability among its suppliers
Lerøy Seafood Group is a world-leading seafood corporation with an extensive range of sustainable, healthy products, which are served on tables in more than 80 different countries. Lerøy Seafood Group sets strict ethical and environmental requirements for itself as well as its suppliers and subcontractors Tweet This!, seeking to make sure that its suppliers act according to the Group’s governing documents.
This case study is based on the 2019 Sustainability Report by Lerøy Seafood Group published on the Global Reporting Initiative Sustainability Disclosure Database that can be found at this link. Through all case studies we aim to demonstrate what CSR/ ESG/ sustainability reporting done responsibly means. Essentially, it means: a) identifying a company’s most important impacts on the environment, economy and society, and b) measuring, managing and changing.
Abstract
Lerøy Seafood Group constantly seeks to contribute towards improving human rights, labour rights and environmental protection within the Group, in relation to its suppliers and subcontractors, and also in relation to its trading partners. In order to promote sustainability among its suppliers Lerøy Seafood Group took action to:
- promote supplier involvement
- develop a supply management system
Subscribe for free and read the rest of this case study
Please subscribe to the SustainCase Newsletter to keep up to date with the latest sustainability news and gain access to over 2000 case studies. These case studies demonstrate how companies are dealing responsibly with their most important impacts, building trust with their stakeholders (Identify > Measure > Manage > Change).
With this case study you will see:
- Which are the most important impacts (material issues) Lerøy Seafood Group has identified;
- How Lerøy Seafood Group proceeded with stakeholder engagement, and
- What actions were taken by Lerøy Seafood Group to promote sustainability among its suppliers
Already Subscribed? Type your email below and click submit
What are the material issues the company has identified?
In its 2019 Sustainability Report Lerøy Seafood Group identified a range of material issues, such as consumer health, compliance with environmental regulations, animal welfare, traceability, education and training. Among these, promoting sustainability among its suppliers stands out as a key material issue for Lerøy Seafood Group.
Stakeholder engagement in accordance with the GRI Standards
The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) defines the Principle of Stakeholder Inclusiveness when identifying material issues (or a company’s most important impacts) as follows:
Stakeholders must be consulted in the process of identifying a company’s most important impacts and their reasonable expectations and interests must be taken into account. This is an important cornerstone for CSR / sustainability reporting done responsibly.
Key stakeholder groups Lerøy Seafood Group engages with:
| Stakeholder Group |
| Joint venture partners |
| Suppliers / Contractors |
| Service providers |
| R&D Partners |
| Board of Directors / management |
| Shareholders / Investors |
| Employees |
| B2B – clients |
| B2C – clients |
| International clients |
| Domestic clients |
| Government & Regulatory agencies |
| Standard bodies |
| Industry associations |
| Advocacy groups / citizens initiatives |
| NGOs |
| Research organisations |
| Indigenous communities |
| Local communities |
How stakeholder engagement was made to identify material issues
To identify and prioritise material topics Lerøy Seafood Group conducted, through a third-party company, interviews with a sample of its key external and internal stakeholders, by telephone or face to face.
What actions were taken by Lerøy Seafood Group to promote sustainability among its suppliers?
In its 2019 Sustainability Report Lerøy Seafood Group reports that it took the following actions for promoting sustainability among its suppliers:
- Promoting supplier involvement
- By implementing a structured and standardised approach to supplier management, Lerøy Seafood Group is able to verify that its suppliers adhere to the Group’s requirements and, if necessary, initiate corrective measures. As a buyer, Lerøy Seafood Group has an ethical responsibility to make sure that its suppliers act in accordance with relevant laws and regulations. Accordingly, suppliers, including subcontractors, are requested to adhere to the highest industry standards, and it is a prerequisite that laws and regulations are followed. In the Group, supplier audits are a tool for developing cooperation and continuous improvement between the companies in the Group and its suppliers, and a requirement to assure compliance. As a part of its programme for continuous improvement and preventive action, Lerøy Seafood Group performed 209 supplier audits in 2019. As a responsible buyer, Lerøy Seafood Group has also developed a risk-based approach to supplier management, to assure that its supply chains are sustainable and robust. Lerøy Seafood Group is influenced by internal and external factors ranging from biodiversity to political risks, and therefore analyses and focuses on understanding those factors.
- Developing a supply management system
- To cope with the risk of several suppliers, and to take responsibility for working with continuous improvement with all its suppliers, Lerøy Seafood Group has developed a supply management system. The system includes the following:
- Overview of all suppliers at a corporate level
- Evaluation and risk evaluation of all suppliers related to social, economic and environment factors
- Audit scheme based on risk evaluation
- All new suppliers have to go through a risk evaluation before they can supply goods/services to the Group
Which GRI Standards and corresponding Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have been addressed?
The GRI Standards addressed in this case are:
1) Disclosure 308-1 New suppliers that were screened using environmental criteria
2) Disclosure 308-2 Negative environmental impacts in the supply chain and actions taken
3) Disclosure 414-2 Negative social impacts in the supply chain and actions taken
Disclosure 308-1 New suppliers that were screened using environmental criteria does not correspond to any SDG.
Disclosure 308-2 Negative environmental impacts in the supply chain and actions taken does not correspond to any SDG.
Disclosure 414-2 Negative social impacts in the supply chain and actions taken corresponds to:
- Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5: Gender Equality
- Targets: 5.2
- Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
- Targets: 8.8
- Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
- Targets: 16.1
78% of the world’s 250 largest companies report in accordance with the GRI Standards
SustainCase was primarily created to demonstrate, through case studies, the importance of dealing with a company’s most important impacts in a structured way, with use of the GRI Standards. To show how today’s best-run companies are achieving economic, social and environmental success – and how you can too.
Research by well-recognised institutions is clearly proving that responsible companies can look to the future with optimism.
7 GRI sustainability disclosures get you started
Any size business can start taking sustainability action
GRI, ISEP, CPD Certified Sustainability courses (2-5 days): Live Online or Classroom (venue: London School of Economics)
- Exclusive FBRH template to begin reporting from day one
- Identify your most important impacts on the Environment, Economy and People
- Formulate in group exercises your plan for action. Begin taking solid, focused, all-round sustainability action ASAP.
- Benchmarking methodology to set you on a path of continuous improvement
See upcoming training dates.
References:
1) This case study is based on published information by Lerøy Seafood Group, located at the link below. For the sake of readability, we did not use brackets or ellipses. However, we made sure that the extra or missing words did not change the report’s meaning. If you would like to quote these written sources from the original, please revert to the original on the Global Reporting Initiative’s Sustainability Disclosure Database at the link:
http://database.globalreporting.org/
2) https://www.globalreporting.org/standards/gri-standards-download-center/
Note to Lerøy Seafood Group: With each case study we send out an email requesting a comment on this case study. If you have not received such an email please contact us.