Back in 2015, Thai Union had run into choppy waters. The multi-billion dollar seafood giant behind global tinned fish brands John West in the United Kingdom, Chicken of the Sea in the United States and King Oscar in Norway, among many others, had a PR shipwreck in its sights, and needed to shift coordinates swiftly.
Exposés in the New York Times, Associated Press and The Guardian had laid bare human rights abuses, forced labor and environmentally destructive fishing methods in Asian supply chains for canned seafood and prawns that ended up in U.K. supermarkets, placing Thai Union one of the biggest producers in the world firmly in the media and campaigner firing line.
Greenpeace didn’t mince its words, calling on consumers and investors to boycott the company, accusing it of “sacrificing the world’s oceans” and “destructive, wasteful fishing practices from its supply chains.”
“For far too long Thai Union Group has passed the blame onto others and hidden behind ineffective policies,” Greenpeace campaigner Graham Forbes said at the time. “Until this industry giant takes responsibility and demonstrates real leadership, we will work to ensure that every single customer knows it’s not just tuna that comes with buying one of its tainted brands.”
Yet fast-forward five years, and the company is top-ranked in both the latest Dow Jones Sustainability Index for food products, as well as the inaugural Seafood Stewardship Index of the 30 largest seafood companies globally, with particular commendations for its supply chain traceability, sourcing policies, and environmental footprint. Even Greenpeace is on board (PDF), striking an agreement in 2017 that will see the campaign group monitor Thai Union’s progress towards mutually agreed targets on human rights and sustainable fishing.
The firm is navigating a turnaround towards more sustainable practices albeit with some way to go that many, many corporates may have to chart in the coming years, or face increasingly angry regulators, investors and consumers, not to mention fierce competition from greener challengers and widespread market disruption. It is a binary choice between seeking change or being changed; sinking or swimming.
And Thai Union, according to CEO Thiraphong Chansiri, chose to swim. “We are one of the leading seafood companies in Thailand,” he said in a 2018 interview. “It is our responsibility to correct the situation and make it right.”
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