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“WWF is always
happy when a big retailer like Delhaize commits to 100%
sustainable seafood as this is a strong signal towards Europe and the fishing
industry: the market is ready to make change. We have the same final goal (100%
sustainable products at retail) but for WWF those sustainable products should
be certified by credible and independent labels like MSC. The customer can also join to stop
overfishing by choosing sustainable seafood recognizable thanks to the MSC
label”
Sonia Bonus, WWF Corporate Partnerships Manager
Due to current fishing practices, a growing amount
of fish stock is being threatened as a result of overfishing, by catch methods or
destruction of the marine habitat. For the preservation of biodiversity and the
reproduction capability of the oceans, it is of great importance that
environmentally compatible and sustainable fishery be supported. Companies have the option to support environmentally
compatible and sustainable fishery by way of considerable supply alternatives,
by their choices of products from their suppliers, as well as through
participation in political discussions.
The goal of Delhaize is to propose a maximum of sustainable products in
its local market for their own brand by end 2020, using a step by step
approach.
Therefore WWF have
started, with Delhaize, a long term partnership to work on 3 axes: to reduce impact of Delhaize activities on the
planet, to motivate their staff and to communicate with their stakeholders and to
contribute to a change of behavior through an awareness campaign.
In the first phase (2010-2012) WWF supported Delhaize
to develop a sustainable sourcing policy for seafood by guiding them towards
the goal of 100% responsible sourcing by end 2012. The first topic for the 2nd phase
(2013-2015) will be an ambition to work towards 100% sustainable segregated
palm oil.
The Approach
As in all partnerships between WWF and companies, WWF
and Delhaize are working in a step by step approach. Initially, the supply chain of seafood assortment at
Delhaize Belgium has been assessed by the North Sea Foundation using the
sustainability assessment methodology of WWF (collection of data, source,
fishing methods etc) for all fresh, frozen and canned seafood products from
wild and aquaculture fishing. Based on
the assessment (a full classification of seafood assortment at Delhaize), a
procurement policy improvement plan has been developed in order to gradually improve
the assortment process at Delhaize, rather than simply suppressing all species
in the bad category.
To support and validate the consultancy work of third
parties, identify priorities, define/refine targets and translate the targets
into actions, we have used the WWF Smart Seafood Procurement Guide as a
framework. Our WWF methodology is a step by step approach, using the FAO
sustainability criteria:
The health status of the fish stocks – the fishing
method – the impact of the fishing on other species – the respect of the
habitat and marine ecosystem where the fish is caught – the management of the
fish stock.
The objective was to have a sustainable fish strategy
in place by end of year 1, including ambitious and SMART targets for each of
the 3 years of the partnership, thus trying to reach 100% sustainable sourcing
of seafood by 2012. We also took into account the fact that defining which fish
can be caught sustainably can change over time due to changes in fish stocks
worldwide.
The win-win collaboration
Delhaize contributes to the WWF mission by reducing
impact of its activities on the planet and WWF challenges and supports Delhaize
to define its approach by putting the retailer in touch with experts, best
practices, tools and information (studies, stories) developed or used by WWF.
Although WWF pushes Delhaize towards 100% MSC
certified seafood, the target for the first phase was actually 100% sustainable
seafood by end 2012 as not all fisheries are MSC certified so far. Although a significant share of their fresh
seafood comes from MSC certified fisheries, Delhaize still needs to obtain
so-called chain of custody certification to use the MSC label on fresh seafood
packed in their own stores. This is to
ensure that seafood with the MSC logo packed in store is fully traceable.
WWF
gave a full day’s training to all 120 members of Delhaize staff who work in
fish departments in the various shops. They were gathered together at premises
of one of their big suppliers to tackle issues like fish, threats, what is WWF
doing, what is MSC, what is sustainable fishing.
WWF
also help to translate the results of the Delhaize journey into a series of internal
and external communications – therefore changing behavior through awareness
campaigns.
In
late 2010, WWF developed a fish guide showing the state of seafood in Belgium
after the assessment of the first year. They did this because there are not
certified fisheries for all species around the world and the situation can vary
from one location to another. The
fish guide shows the situation for each species in each place and helps categorise
the best choice: green (if species are in good health and the impact of the
environment is limited), orange (second choice) and red (if there is a severe
issue with the fish stocks or impact on the ecosystems due to CO2 emissions or
fishing methods).
In November
2012 WWF and Delhaize have developed a joint campaign at retail points to
encourage customers to adopt a sustainable behavior. They have also issued a
new fish guide showing that there is no seafood sold at Delhaize which is still
in the red column.
Some of the Results
- No seafood sold in Delhaize is in the red column (Delhaize stopped the sale of some fishes or find alternatives so that the fish is not anymore in the red column)
- 100% fresh seafood is from sustainable sourcing
- 80% frozen seafood is from sustainable sourcing
- Delhaize has 62 references of fish which are MSC certified
- Increased Employee Engagement
- Increased Customer Awareness
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