Loblaw Companies Ltd has marked the one-year anniversary of its sustainable seafood commitment with an update on its progress, including its pledge to source only sustainable seafood by 2013.
Paul Uys, vice-president sustainable seafood for Canada’s largest food retailer said the chain is on track to meet its self-imposed deadline.
"While we remain focused on achieving our milestones, we continue to invest in meaningful ways to raise awareness of the challenges facing our oceans and why it's important to have sustainable seafood sources," Uys said.
As of February this year, Loblaw had increased its number of Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certified products to 16, the most of any Canadian retailer.
It has also started identifying sources with no improvement potential. These sources have either already been deleted or will be phased out soon.
Species already identified as being "at risk" include orange roughy, chilean seabass, shark and skate.
As Loblaw moves into year two of its sustainability commitment, it has set out to achieve the following milestones by May 2011:
1. Through continued focus on both Loblaw control brands and national brands, double the current number of MSC-certified wild seafood products available to its consumers.
2. Adopt a policy of selling 100% International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF) canned tuna to facilitate a transition to MSC-certification.
3. Work with Canadian fresh salmon farmers to launch a more responsible aquaculture programme into the marketplace; this in turn will support the development of a credible certification standard.
4. Continue to work towards appropriate solutions in managing "species at risk" in partnership with the fishing industry, WWF-Canada and independent marine science advisors.
5. Introduce the appropriate tools to establish and assess the required information to manage the buying process effectively.
6. Engage different levels of government, non-government organisations and other stakeholders to assist in the implementation of Loblaw's stated commitment.
7. Continue to educate colleagues, and inform consumers with an ongoing public awareness campaign and the launch of a Loblaw sustainable seafood website.
To help Canadians make better choices, Loblaw has created a Facebook page, www.facebook.com/LoblawSustainableSeafood, to share information about its seafood sustainability commitment and progress and encourage dialogue about the issue.
