TSSS 10th Special Feature : Completing a Massive Jigsaw Puzzle Spanning the Entire Society for Sustainable Seafood Worldwide(Part 2)
INTERVIEW
Adam Brennan spent his childhood in Southeast Asia, where he developed a strong interest in sustainability after directly witnessing the social and environmental challenges caused by the expansion of international corporations into developing countries. The first part covers his journey from completing graduate school, working as a sustainability advocate in the fashion industry, to entering the seafood industry, where he has actively engaged in sustainability activities at Thai Union. (<<< Read Part 1)
Part 2 will delve more specifically into the practical approaches and realities with regard to advancing a wide range of sustainability initiatives together with various stakeholders.
–What are your top priorities in your current position?
Human rights, climate change, biodiversity, and many other factors are all essential to the future of sustainability, and we cannot just pick one. However, if I really had to pick one, I’d start with transparency.
We’re currently executing a very ambitious plan at Thai Union. Therefore, it’s crucial to be transparent about everything—not only our successes but also our failures, the difficulties we encounter, and the reasons behind them.
Being a frontrunner means we often won’t know what will work until we try, meaning we will sometimes encounter failures. However, failure isn’t necessarily a bad thing if it teaches us something. That’s why it’s crucial to keep everything visible, both internally and externally, and to maintain open communication.
Another crucial aspect is accountability, which means having clearly defined responsibilities. Whether within our company or across the entire supply chain, driving change requires that appropriate people have the appropriate authority and responsibilities.
Thai Union’s processing plant in Thailand.
–Sustainability issues are multifaceted and involve a wide range of factors. As a seafood company, how far do you think your responsibility extends?
SeaChange® 2030 has five goals: human and labor rights, health and wellness, climate action, biodiversity, and circularity. I consider all of these as within our scope of responsibility.
Since we don’t actually have any fishing vessels, we could try and dodge responsibility for the activities of fishing boats. However, we do purchase fish from them, so we ultimately believe we should extend our responsibility to these boats. This applies even if it’s outside of our operations or even beyond national borders.
As mentioned earlier, our business relies on the ocean, even though we don’t directly engage in fishing activities. Meaning, the decline of fishery resources poses a direct threat to our operations. This is why SeaChange® has set expansive goals. Looking ahead, we cannot overlook the five areas—from human rights to climate change—for our future. All our employees commonly acknowledge that focusing solely on our own actions is insufficient.
We must be more mindful that this issue directly concerns us. Our focus should extend beyond our immediate scope and include the upstream and downstream. In fact, this perspective directly contributes to Thai Union’s business strength. Environmental laws and regulations are currently being tightened worldwide, and Japan is no exception. In other words, this initiative is also a strategy to minimize our company’s risks concerning future regulatory changes.
–Still, you’ve got quite a long, daunting road ahead of you.
On the bright side, collaboration has been thriving between competitors on a pre competitive basis. This is quite helpful in addressing issues like labor rights, overfishing, and IUU (Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated) fishing, which are challenging for a single company to tackle alone.
While leaders can show the way and share successful methods, industry-wide collaboration is necessary to go further. We participate in several groups for this purpose. For instance, SeaBOS, an initiative involving eight of the world’s largest seafood companies, includes Thai Union and two Japanese firms.
Industry-wide collaboration is essential to making a meaningful impact that changes the world. We must join hands with competitors, learn from each other, and find industry-wide solutions.
–Among the wide range of issues, is there anything you are specifically focusing on right now?
While SeaChange® 2030’s five goals are closely intertwined, my current focus is on three short-term priorities: responsible fishing, responsible aquaculture, and climate change—collectively known as the “Big 3,” the most challenging and pressing issues at present. To tackle these, we are developing action plans, outlining roadmaps, and preparing for actions over the next two to three years.
Thai Union’s supply chain. The left encompasses the entire aquaculture supply chain, including raw materials for feed, feed production, hatcheries, farming, manufacturing, processing, distribution, and delivery to consumers through retail and food service outlets of various sizes. The right covers the entire fishery supply chain, from fishing at sea on fishing vessels, similarly through to delivering products to consumers.
Another area I’m currently focusing on is partnerships with NGOs. Since 2016, collaborating with leading NGOs worldwide has been a significant part of our strategy. Currently, we are working with The Nature Conservancy on monitoring fishing vessels and actively exploring opportunities to collaborate with Sustainable Fisheries Partnership while seeking new partners.
Partnerships like these are crucial for addressing new challenges, as no single company can cover all the required expertise and skills in emerging fields by itself.
–One last thing: What advice would you give to Japanese companies or individuals striving for a sustainable seafood industry?
From my experience, I find that what matters most is the ability to engage with people, connect with them, and influence them positively.
Specifically, I break down complex and significant sustainability challenges into language that stakeholders from different backgrounds can understand. This begins with adapting my communication style to suit the person I’m speaking to and their needs.
Let’s say I’ll be talking with people on the supplier’s fishing vessel tomorrow. The next day, I might be in the corporate boardroom pitching a large-scale investment for a new sustainable strategy. To effectively engage with the people in front of me in each situation, I need to be flexible and dynamic.
–I see. Since this issue involves many stakeholders, it’s crucial to remember that your words must resonate with each party to make progress.
Exactly. The key is to communicate in a way that the other person can understand and take it personally. To create mutual impact through communication, you must convey your message in a manner that is meaningful to them.
Just recently, at a Thai Union board meeting, I explained the financial risks of climate change. If I remember correctly, the annual loss risk due to climate change was just under 10.7 million USD. Framing it in terms of the direct impact on their business made it resonate well in the boardroom.
Sustainability can be made personal and relatable for any audience. However, doing so requires a different approach. To communicate it in a way that resonates with them, we need a substantial shift in perspective.
–With that perspective in mind, what are your impressions of Japan’s seafood industry? If you were to give advice to Japanese seafood companies and stakeholders, what would it be?
Looking at our Japanese clients, I feel there have been several positive changes in recent years, including the Japanese government.
People tend to ask which country is the most advanced, but comparing ourselves to others is futile. Instead, we should focus on understanding which direction we should go and whether we are going toward that goal.
In that respect, Japan is undoubtedly heading in the right direction. In my dealings with Japanese seafood companies, I feel they are positive toward collaboration and open to listening to topics from other regions. So, I encourage them to continue in their current direction with confidence. I would also like to contribute to that effort as well.
However, change doesn’t happen overnight. Thai Union started its efforts in 2016 but still has a long journey ahead to achieve its SeaChange® 2030 commitment. Looking beyond 2030, we’ll likely face more challenges to come.
Since goals will also change, we must prepare for that in mind. As we continue this long journey, we must be aware of our roles, carry out our responsibilities, and continue moving forward.
Adam Brennan
Adam Brennan is Thai Union’s Chief Sustainability Officer (CSO) and a member of its Global Leadership Team. He spearheads the development and implementation of the global sustainability strategy “SeaChange® 2030”. Before joining Thai Union, he held sustainability management roles in Asia at Puma, Saitex, and C&A, among others. He graduated from Harper Adams University and earned a master’s degree in Renewable Energy: Technology and Sustainability at the University of Reading.
Original Japanese text: Keiko Ihara
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