Salmon co tops global transparency list
Cermaq, which produces trout and salmon in Norway, Chile and Canada, has been rated as the world’s most transparent seafood company.
The honour was conferred by Seafood Intelligence, which ranked the planet’s 100 largest seafood companies for their transparency.
“We are pleased to comment on Cermaq’s performance as the firm has consistently displayed an outstanding level of transparency, since we started monitoring the salmon farming industry’s performance seven years ago,” comments Bertrand Charron, Editor of Seafood Intelligence and author of the yearly 'Top 100' seafood sustainability reporting & transparency benchmark.
Cermaq say that sustainability, transparency, and comprehensive reporting are key parts of their operations.
“Our customers show a growing attention and interest in the transparency about the products and our production. Our comprehensive and audited reporting provides customers insight and trust, which is key for building partnerships,” says Geir Molvik, Cermaq’s CEO.
Among other initiatives, Cermaq has been a driver for industry sustainability as one of the founding members of the 'game-changing' Global Salmon Initiative (GSI) in 2013.
In the past months, Cermaq has selected a few key engagements to actively contribute to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and in particular Goal 14 – Life below water. Prioritized partnerships include the ‘Keystone Dialogues’, together with seven of the largest global seafood companies including Cargill and Thai Union. The partner companies are committed to lead the way on ocean sustainability through concrete commitments to transparency and sustainable practices in their operations and in their supply chains.
In January, Cermaq also joined the FReSH initiative to integrate sustainable aquaculture in the ongoing work to define healthy and sustainable diets, and roadmaps for responsible food production. This initiative is led by EAT and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, and includes 25 companies such as Danone and Unilever.
“These initiatives, and several others, are a clear demonstration of the firm’s dedication to ‘Sustainability’ issues in the realm of aquaculture and fisheries. Furthermore, the seafood industry and its stakeholders – from suppliers to retailers and consumers – should take stock of the fact that Cermaq is currently the world’s only seafood company to have embarked upon not only annual, but also quarterly, sustainability reporting,” says Charron.
Cermaq will publish its quarterly results for Q4 2016 shortly and the full GRI sustainability report for 2016 in April. It is a fully owned subsidiary of Mitsubishi Corporation and has its head office in Oslo.
