Partnership with OXFAM

In May 2020, we signed a long-term, multi-country partnership with Oxfam Italy to promote the concept of “healthier and more sustainable food”, not only for the environment and those who consume it, but also for those who produce it.

The aim of our partnership with Oxfam a confederation of 21 non-governmental organizations, active in more than 60 countries around the world and working to eliminate the inequalities and injustice of poverty is to develop new standards of social business sustainability in the tuna industry, reinforcing our long-standing commitment.

The tuna supply chain is one of the longest and most complex in the food industry as it involves several actors, primarily located in Global South countries, taking part in the fishing and in the processing phases. Tropical tuna species, used for canning, are caught in the tropics, far from the coast and, in most cases, by fishing vessels flagged under countries with legal and cultural frameworks that may not fully guarantee certain human rights aspects.

Pillars of the partnership

1. In-depth analysis of corporate policies related to human rights
2. Implementation of a Human Rights Impact Assessment in three key supply chain countries: Ecuador, Morocco and Colombia
3. Implementation of a Human Rights Management System (due diligence) to verify respect for human rights throughout the supply chain
4. Communication of results and commitments

Human Rights Policy Structure

Our policies and codes were developed to protect the human rights of all people in our global supply chains:

Human Rights Policy

This Policy, developed with the support of Oxfam and approved in 2022, is designed in accordance with the highest international human rights standards (the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child).

Our Human Rights Policy guarantees the following principles:

Voluntary and stable employment;
Freedom of association and collective bargaining;
Healthy and safe working conditions;
Prohibition of Child labor;
Living wage;
Non-excessive working hours;
No discrimination, no inhumane treatments;
Rights of the local community;
Grievance mechanism.

Whistleblowing Channel – Speak up Policy

We defined as grievance mechanism the procedure to follow in the event of wrongdoing or violation of our Code of Conduct, either internally or by third-party partners of the Company. As described in the Policy, if someone observes, hears about, or suspects any wrongdoing or unethical conduct at work, they are encouraged in the first instance to approach their line manager / supervisor or Human Resources department to raise their concern. If they do not feel that appropriate action has been taken to address the concern and / or wish to raise anonymously, they are encouraged to use our Speak Up platform.

Code of Conduct for Vessels

We are aware that our supply chain extends globally, and the need of our employees vary drastically based on the location they work in. For this reason, we have decided to develop with OXFAM’s support a Code of Conduct for Vessels, in addition to the Human Rights Policy, with specific human rights principles and commitments for sea workers. The Code of Conduct is aligned with ILO Convention 188 (the International Labor Organization guidelines for Sea Workers), which guarantees the highest standards of social and labor rights for seafarers.

Code of Conduct

The Code of Conduct is intended to be a guide to understand our ethical principles and foundations. It shares our culture while setting out the core principles, commitments, guidelines, practices and behaviors expected of our staff and business partners.

This Code contains the following Principles related to human rights:

Diversity, equality and inclusion;
Human rights and fair working conditions;
Occupational health and safety;
Integrity of business relationships and fair dealing;
Community relations;

Code of Conduct For Suppliers

We stand to strengthen the environmental impact of our activities and global supply chains, improving the wellbeing of millions of people whose livelihoods depend on our business and commercial activities. This is the reason behind the development of a Code of Conduct for Suppliers that all current and potential suppliers must sign as it sets out ethical performance they must comply with.

Compliance with these requirements will be verified through our Due Diligence management system. If any supplier has difficulty in upholding this Code of Conduct, we will support them to determine where any misalignment occurs in its supply chain, identify the root causes of the problem, and find effective ways to correct it.

Human Rights Impact Assessment

The Human Rights Impact assessment is based on the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) in addition to the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Business. The assessment conducted by independent researchers involving all key stakeholders and actors (civil society organizations, workforce, authorities, suppliers, trade unions, etc.), aims to understand the nature and real causes of potential negative impacts that business activity can cause on the rights of people involved in its entire supply chain. It includes an analysis of issues concerning:
1) Living wages;
2) Working hours;
3) Health and safety;
4) Terms of the contract and workers association;
5) Grievance mechanism;
6) Harassment and discrimination;
Lastly, it establishes the appropriate procedures and necessary measures to prevent, mitigate and remedy risks for their current and/or future negative impacts.

Phases of the Human Right Impact Assessment

1. Context analysis of the country and tuna supply chain.
2. Mapping of human and labor rights impacts through interviews with workers to identify impacts
3. Analysis of root causes with input from the stakeholder roundtable to validate the impacts
4. Prioritization and attribution of those actual or potential impacts along the supply chain
5. Write the final report and sign off processes
6. Development of an Action Plan to prevent, mitigate and redress impacts on the human rights of people involved in the supply chain.

Due Diligence Management System

We have developed with the support of Oxfam, a Due Diligence Management System aligned to the best international standards which will allow us to Evaluate, Monitor, and Assess Compliance (internally and externally) with our corporate policies and codes.

The system will also allow us to map suppliers based on their level of risk, taking into consideration three elements:

The country risk assessment
The severity and likelihood of the actual or potential negative impacts
The strategic relevance of the product or service provided, and/or the supplier to our overall business

Based on the level of risk, we will assess the reliability of the suppliers with:

1) Questionnaires for lower risk suppliers

2) Impact assessments for medium risk suppliers

3) Full onsite impact assessment for high-risk suppliers