Seafood Legacy Times is collaborating with Seafood Source, a major seafood media outlet focused on North America and Europe, to deliver the series "Japan: How Sustainability and Changing Markets are Impacting Seafood Production," which aims to promote the excellent efforts of the Japanese government, companies, and fishermen to overseas audiences.
The third installment is Nichirei Corporation, a leading Japanese frozen food and low-temperature logistics company. The Nichirei Group operates in a wide range of areas, from food procurement, production, logistics, and sales.
In Part 1, we asked about the company's history, sustainability strategy and specific initiatives, but in Part 2, we will talk to Nichirei Corporation's Director and Senior Executive Officer, Mr. Ya Tanabe, about his motivation for working on sustainability, the new human rights due diligence that the company has begun, and its outlook for the future. (<<）
This article is also published in English on Seafood Source
(Seafood Source is written for Western readers, so there are some differences from the Japanese version.)
Profile: Wataru Tanabe
He joined Nichirei Corporation in 1992, and in 2021 became representative director of Nichirei Fresh Corporation, which handles seafood and livestock products, and in the same year became an executive director of Nichirei Corporation.
Your company not only invests in sustainability, but also in extensive quality assurance, management, transparency and reporting around your commitments and ESG activities. What motivates you to invest in these activities?
In order to achieve its long-term management goal of "Vision in 2030," the Nichirei Group identified five important issues (materiality) for the group in 2020 and set an ideal state for each. From 5, we will specifically implement materiality and position the balance between social value through the resolution of social issues and economic value that leads to business growth as the ideal state of sustainability management that we aim to achieve, and will promote it.
One of these five is "Sustainable food procurement and the realization of a circular society." The reason for choosing this is that if we cannot solve various social issues related to the supply chain, which is the foundation of our business, and contribute to the realization of sustainable food procurement and a circular society, our existence will not be recognized by society and we will no longer be sustainable as a company.
To that end, we are focusing on sustainability education at each level, from executives to general employees. For example, we hold study sessions for executives to learn about the latest information and trends on sustainability, measure the impact on management, and apply it to both financial and non-financial management strategies. We also created a unique SDG materiality training program called "One for Future" for all executives in the Nichirei Group (approximately 1,300 people). This program provides training aimed at helping employees understand the sustainability management that Nichirei aims for and encouraging them to acquire a sustainability mindset and change their behavior through a simulated experience of achieving both social and economic value by solving social issues.
We aim to develop human resources in which each employee understands the direction and materiality of the Nichirei Group's sustainability management and can act with an awareness that their own work activities contribute to achieving the SDG targets and realizing a sustainable society.
--You are now working with Seafood Legacy on human rights due diligence. What prompted this initiative and what is the content of the initiative?
Marine products are one of the important resources that support the business activities of the Nichirei Group. However, in recent years, a number of issues have been pointed out, including climate change, the impact of overfishing and bycatch on ecosystems, habitat destruction such as deforestation for the development of artificial fish farms, and human rights violations against those involved in the fishing industry.
In order to address issues related to sustainable seafood procurement in the supply chain and work with suppliers and stakeholders to realize a sustainable society, the Nichirei Group established the "Nichirei Group Sustainable Seafood Procurement Guidelines" in April 2023 and set new KPIs as targets for the Group's materiality. One of the initiatives listed in the guidelines is "4. We will conduct appropriate due diligence to confirm whether human rights are respected in the fishing supply chain."
Seafood Legacy has been offering advice since the creation of these guidelines, and from the start has understood and sympathized with our awareness of the issues we face. Now that our shared desire to "build a sustainable seafood supply chain" has led us to launch a collaborative project aimed at determining how due diligence can be conducted with a focus on human rights in seafood supply chains.
This project is a two-year plan from 2023 to 2024, and its output will be to build a human rights due diligence program specialized for seafood industry suppliers and establish a human rights audit methodology. Utilizing the "Human Rights Principles" of the "Monterey Framework¹" as a comprehensive framework, it is intended to target three types of suppliers: wild seafood products, farmed seafood products, and processed seafood products.
In fiscal 2023, we conducted trials of human rights audits and developed a pilot model for suppliers of farmed seafood and processed seafood products. In fiscal 2024, we plan to conduct trials of human rights audits and develop a pilot model for suppliers of wild seafood products.
--Your company sources livestock and fisheries products from as many as 30 countries. From a sustainability perspective, what is your focus in terms of supply chain management?
We are particularly focused on building better partnerships for both parties, and place great importance on mutual trust.
Of the suppliers that Nichirei Fresh procures from, roughly 7% are long-term business partners who share our mission, the six concepts of "carefully selected ingredients," and our thoughts and activities regarding sustainability. On average, we have had relationships with these suppliers for over 20 years, and the longest-running relationship has continued for over 40 years.
To deepen relationships of trust, Nichirei Fresh employees visit the supplier site multiple times to hold repeated dialogues. By gaining experience working together to solve each of the issues facing both parties, we are strengthening our partnerships.
In seafood, sustainability, security of supply, social good and risk reduction go hand in hand. Does your company see sustainability as the core of your business, or is it just part of expanding your product range?
We see sustainability as the foundation of our business.
We are conducting business activities based on the Nichirei Group's Basic Sustainability Policy in our medium-term management plan "Compass Rose 2022," which began in 2024. While fulfilling our social responsibility as a company that supports rich dietary habits and good health, we aim to increase social and economic value by accelerating sustainability management and pursuing capital efficiency.
In addition, as a Group materiality target (KPI), we have set a goal of achieving a 2023% procurement rate in accordance with the Sustainable Seafood Procurement Guidelines by fiscal 4, effective from April 1, 2030, of which 100% should be globally certified seafood products, such as MSC- or ASC-certified products, and are working toward this goal.
--What are the strengths of Japan's fishing industry in terms of sustainability? What do you think are the challenges it faces going forward?
The fishing industry is a global growth industry. We believe that communicating the value of our ingredients to consumers through the power of branding, such as our "special ingredients," is our reason for being and will also help make Japan's fishing industry a sustainable industry.
--What sustainability issues will your company be focusing on in the future? Also, please tell us how you plan to tackle these issues.
In the future, it is expected that regulations on fishing grounds and catch quotas will become even stricter due to the depletion of marine resources and global warming of water temperatures. In this environment, we will focus on coexistence with the environment, human rights, and local communities, with the aim of building a sustainable supply chain.
--Do you have any message for our readers (especially those involved in the seafood industry in Europe and the United States)?
We will continue our activities based on the concepts of "sustainability" and "food and health." Through these activities, we hope to achieve the following two goals:
1. Discover the potential of ingredients and "cooling power" and contribute to "the future of the earth" and "people's health in mind and body" through food.
2. By providing high-quality animal protein, we contribute to extending the healthy lifespan of consumers, and by offering "environmentally friendly, carefully selected ingredients," we contribute to the creation of a sustainable society.
To achieve this goal, we will continue to work together with our stakeholders as we develop our business. We appreciate your continued support.
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Key terms and concepts to understand seafood sustainability.
