Financing the transition to responsible seafood supply chains will take scaling existing approaches and innovating ways to fund our shared ambitions.
Last week, over 1,500 people from around the world and from all parts of the ocean economy came together in person in Lisbon, Portugal for the first time since 2019 to take stock of our progress in moving toward a sustainable ocean or ‘blue’ economy at the World Ocean Summit.
Is protecting biodiversity part of your business’ future planning? If not, it should be. In December, representatives from governments around the world met at the UN’s COP15 biodiversity summit in Montreal to discuss global action that was needed to address biodiversity loss. The outcome: a landmark framework, agreed upon by 190 countries, to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030, including protecting a third of the planet by the same date.
Our oceans are a lifeline for many communities and economies around the world. Over 3 billion people depend on marine and coastal biodiversity for their livelihoods. With ocean goods and services having an annual tangible and proven value of US $2.5 trillion—equivalent to the world’s seventh-largest economy—working toward a sustainable blue economy is not just a conservation imperative for planet, people, prosperity, and peace, but also an attractive financial opportunity for investors, banks, businesses, and policy-makers.
Businesses whose supply chains are intertwined with the ocean also face increasingly severe risks if a business-as-usual trajectory continues. By extension, the finance sector is also exposed to these ocean-related Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) risks. The reality is that blue economy sectors are heavily reliant on nature remaining intact and climate change being kept to within the limits set out by the Paris Agreement and subsequent climate negotiations.
Sysco’s recently released 2022 Sustainability report highlights continued progress toward its new 2025 seafood sustainability commitments, announced last year in partnership with World Wildlife Fund (WWF). The company continues to make strides in meeting new commitments under its sustainable seafood program, which was expanded in 2021 to include Sysco US and Canada Broadline, and US Specialty company lines of business. In addition to setting higher targets for sourcing of certified seafood products, Sysco made strong commitments to protect endangered species, improve the traceability of its farmed shrimp products, and work to mitigate impacts on mangroves and other coastal ecosystems.
World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and Amyris, a leading synthetic biology company, announced a new three-year partnership aimed at leveraging science to protect ocean biodiversity with an initial focus on shark populations. This new partnership will support WWF’s global efforts to reverse the downward trends that threaten biodiversity and human well-being by repairing, restoring, and protecting the oceans.
World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and the Walmart Foundation are announcing the launch of a new eighteen-month collaboration to scale more sustainable and responsible seafood transformation by developing and piloting a holistic place-based approach. The project aims at improving several key seafood practices within a specific geography.
The initiative will drive current seafood industry and conservation efforts toward a more comprehensive seascape jurisdictional approach to sustainable seafood that utilizes global market solutions and innovative financing strategies to ensure greater, equitable outcomes for our oceans and its coastal communities.
The Science Based Targets Network (SBTN) Ocean Hub officially launched its first workstream: Seafood Value Chains. World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and Conservation International (CI) will co-lead the workstream to help companies adopt a roadmap for integrated action on nature and climate.
The announcement came as world leaders were meeting in Lisbon, Portugal, for the United Nations Oceans Conference, focused on “Scaling up Ocean Action Based on Science and Innovation for the Implementation of Goal 14: Stocktaking, Partnerships, and Solutions.”
Royal Caribbean Group (RCL) announced its new commitment to the next phase of its ongoing partnership with World Wildlife Fund (WWF) for guidance and counsel in establishing bold environmental goals and sustainable business practices.
“Healthy, sustainable oceans are paramount to our mission of delivering the best vacations responsibly,” said Royal Caribbean Group CEO Jason Liberty. “Our partnership with WWF encapsulates our belief in continuous improvement and our commitment to advancing our environmental, social and governance (ESG) work. The support and assistance of WWF will be invaluable to realizing this mission as we work to set and achieve our sustainability goals.”
The Peru Mahi Alliance (PMA), a pre-competitive partnership of 13 Peruvian mahi mahi companies, will be launched officially on March 14th at the Seafood Expo North America (SENA) in Boston, with the presence of major U.S. buyer companies. PMA represents almost 80% of Peru’s mahi mahi exports to the US and is committed to advancing the Peru mahi mahi Fishery Improvement Project (FIP) through activity implementation, political advocacy efforts, and funding.
Seafood buyers can now access the WWF Endangered Seafood Guide to at-risk freshwater and marine species in seafood procurement in four different languages. In addition to the original English version, Spanish, Japanese, and Chinese editions are available for free to download. The goal is to help global seafood industry identify and remove problematic species from their supply chains.
