Thai Union publishes its 2021 Sustainability Report ahead of update to global SeaChange strategy

Thai Union Group has published its ninth annual Sustainability Report, that outlines the progress that the company has made through SeaChange, the Company’s sustainability strategy. There were a number of significant achievements, as the Company further strengthened its sustainability efforts. Those successes included completing Thai Union’s first greenhouse gas inventory across Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions.

“2021 marked another great year for Thai Union in our sustainability journey,” said Thiraphong Chansiri, CEO of Thai Union Group. “While we faced the ongoing challenge of COVID-19 and the risks it created for our business, the pandemic did not prevent us from continuing our long-term efforts to pursue positive change, not just across our own business but also the broader seafood industry“.

“We not only continued to implement initiatives across the four key programs of SeaChange, but also explored new areas such as Blue Finance, maintaining our position as a sustainability leader in the industry,” he added. The annual Sustainability Report provides an in-depth look at how the Company’s programs and initiatives are helping transform its operations and the global seafood industry.

Major update to the company’s sustainability strategy

The 2021 Sustainability Report reports about the progress that Thai Union has made through SeaChange, the Company’s sustainability strategy, which will this year receive a major update including the introduction of new science-based targets to address the threats that climate change present.

There were a number of significant achievements, as the company further strengthened its sustainability efforts. Moreover to completing Thai Union’s first greenhouse gas inventory across Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions, the company introduced its Tuna Commitment up to 2025, which includes commitments to address illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing and modern slavery; adopting the ‘Employer Pays Principle’ to ensure no worker should pay for a job; and donating nearly 1 million servings of food along with other COVID-19 supplies as part of the Thai Union Cares program.

“We are incredibly proud of what we have achieved, not just last year, but since we introduced SeaChange,” said Adam Brennan, Group Director, Sustainability, at Thai Union.

“We are also excited about our future plans, which will extend even further our leadership role in the industry, starting with a significant revision to SeaChange, including setting new goals and commitments to 2030. We have also submitted a commitment letter to the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) and look forward to announcing our near-term and long-term climate targets, as we step up our action to address the existential threat of global warming,” Brennan assured.

Thai Union was also recognized last year for the progress made in its sustainability pursuits, with the Company listed on the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices for the eighth straight year, and ranked No. 1 on the Seafood Stewardship Index in recognition of Thai Union’s leadership among global seafood companies in contributing to the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Investing in Mara Renewables Corporation, a leading micro-algae ingredients producer

Days before publishing the announcement, Thai Union reportes a CAD 10 million investment in Mara Renewables Corporation as part of this company CAD 39.5 million growth funding round. Thai Union joined other industry-leading financial partners to accelerate the expansion of Mara’s proven portfolio of micro-algal products and unique innovation. Thai Union will appoint one representative to join Mara’s Board of Directors.

Mara, based in Nova Scotia, Canada, is one of the world’s leading producers of sustainably grown algae-based bio-products. Since its inception in 2012, Mara has successfully built a portfolio of micro-algal strains, some of which are processed using a clean, environmentally-friendly extraction method into high quality algal oil.

The plant-based oil offers a non-GMO vegan option for DHA-rich omega-3 fatty acids for human nutrition. Mara’s ingredients are approved by multiple respected regulatory bodies, and are used by leading infant nutrition, supplement and food and beverage customers worldwide.

Thai Union’s commitment to sustainable nutrition aligns closely with Mara’s mission. In 2018, Thai Union started its Ingredients business to transform its co-products from fish processing into natural ingredients for human nutrition. It creates highest quality tuna oil by processing raw tuna heads through a low temperature extraction method that preserves the oil’s natural functionality. Thai Union’s tuna oil contains the highest DHA omega-3 fatty acids content compared to other fish sources.

Together with Mara, Thai Union is actively working to create more choices in the market for omega-3 fatty acids and expanding the reach of this critical nutritional element, from both algal and tuna-based sources. The investment creates opportunities for both companies to accelerate growth through cooperation in go-to-market, research and development and operations.

Mara is exploring, for example, refining its crude algal oil at Thai Union’s state-of-the-art oil refinery in Rostock, northern Germany. Thai Union has also already been cooperating with Mara in Thai Union’s Omega-3 Center of Excellence at their headquarters in Samut Sakhon by performing successful trials using Mara’s crude algal oil. Together, the two companies are well-positioned to serve the growing demand for omega-3-rich products.