Thai Union has topped the food industry rankings on the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSI), the company announced 13 December.
The seafood giant has been on the DJSI, a set of indices assessing the sustainability performance of thousands of publicly traded companies, for nine years in a row. This year, Thai Union ranked first in the Food Products Industry Index of the DJSI, which it was also granted back in 2018 and 2019.
The company received a 97th percentile score in the Governance & Economic Dimension. It also got an 100th percentile score in the Social and Environmental Dimension and 18 other areas, including: Materiality, Risk and Crisis Management, Policy Influence, Supply Chain Management, Innovation Management, Environmental Reporting, Environmental Policy and Management Systems, Operational Eco-Efficiency, Biodiversity, Sustainable Agricultural Practices, Water Related Risks, Social Reporting, Human Rights, Living Wage, Talent Attraction & Retention, Corporate Citizenship and Philanthropy, Occupational Health and Safety, and Health and Nutrition.
“Sustainability sits at the heart of Thai Union’s business,” Thai Union’ President and CEO Thirapong Chansiri said. “We are ambitious about driving positive change not just in our own operations but across the entire global seafood industry. Through our commitment to ‘Healthy Living, Healthy Oceans,’ Thai Union is implementing industry-leading initiatives that are not just addressing some of the biggest challenges facing the industry, but delivering impactful change.”
Last year, Thai Union was recognized as the top on the Seafood Stewardship Index (SSI) for the second consecutive time for its contributions to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs).
According to Thai Union, over the past year, it has further advanced its sustainability strategy through various activities. These included: adding 7 MW of solar power to its factory in Samut Sakhon, Thailand; raising the area covered by solar panels in its fish processing plant in the Seychelles to 30 percent; striking a partnership with the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership to boost the transparency in Thai Union’s supply chains; ensuring that migrant workers do not have to pay for their jobs via the adoption of the “Employer Pays Principle”; conducting Thai Union’s first at-sea audits, and advancing its blue finance scheme with Sustainability-Linked Loans and Sustainability-Linked Bonds.
“At Thai Union, we’re proud to be a leader and set the standard for others in the seafood industry to follow,” Thai Union Group Director for Sustainability Adam Brennan said. “We are committed to continuing to demonstrate that leadership, and we’re excited that in early 2023 we will announce the next iteration of SeaChange, with a series of ambitious targets through to 2030 including climate change goals in line with the Science Based Targets Initiative.”
Photo courtesy of Thai Union
