Seafood Progress
Brand's Commitment to Sustainable and Socially Responsible Seafood
Seafood Progress Average : 66
Overview
Commitment to Sustainable Seafood
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Summary
Sustainability Commitment. Clover Leaf’s overarching commitment states that all seafood sourced will be externally recognized as sustainable or in a formal program moving towards certification by 2025. For sardines, this means 100% MSC certified; for shrimp and clams, this means MSC certified, and where MSC certified isn’t available, these products must be in a FIP; for Albacore tuna, this means MSC certified, in MSC assessment or in a FIP. Clover Leaf has achieved its commitments for all wild salmon, pollock, Pacific whiting and quahog clams to be MSC certified, and for all smoked oysters and mussels to be ASC certified. Clover Leaf reported to SeaChoice that all its skipjack and yellowfin tuna sold in Canadian retail stores will be MSC certified by the end of 2023. Clover Leaf has a full chain traceability policy for all its products to support its sustainability commitment (personal communication, R. Kennedy, 06/04/2023).
Social Responsibility Commitment. Clover Leaf’s overarching commitment to social responsibility is informed by its Supplier Code of Conduct, which applies to all suppliers and is informed by many standards including the International Labour Organization (ILO) 188 convention, Regional Fishery Management Organization (RFMO) requirements and national laws in the countries it operates. Clover Leaf has also made the commitment for all tuna supply fleets, company sites, processing locations and third-party suppliers to be covered by an audit program with third-party oversight by 2025. Its US affiliate, Bumble Bee Seafoods, reported publicly on its progress toward meeting this tuna-specific commitment through its 2022 Impact Report. Clover Leaf has not yet set a goal for extending this audit program to cover the other commodities that it sells (personal communication, P. Gallagher, 23/01/2023).
Step Scores
1
Commitment on sustainable seafood
5
Education
6
Supporting System Improvements
Notes
Step Scores
6
Taking Initiative
Notes
Step 1: Commitment
1
Commitment
1.1 The brand has a publicly available commitment on environmentally sustainable seafood.
Clover Leaf’s overarching commitment states that all seafood sourced will be externally recognized as sustainable or in a formal program moving towards certification by 2025. For sardines, this means 100% MSC certified; for shrimp and clams, this means MSC certified, and where MSC certified isn’t available, these products must be in a FIP; for Albacore tuna, this means MSC certified, in MSC assessment or in a FIP. Clover Leaf has achieved its commitments for all wild salmon, pollock, Pacific whiting and quahog clams to be MSC certified, and for all smoked oysters and mussels to be ASC certified. Clover Leaf reported to SeaChoice that all its skipjack and yellowfin tuna sold in Canadian retail stores will be MSC certified by the end of 2023. Clover Leaf has a full chain traceability policy for all its products to support its sustainability commitment (personal communication, R. Kennedy, 06/04/2023).
1.2 The brand has a publicly available commitment on socially responsible seafood.
Clover Leaf’s overarching commitment to social responsibility is informed by its Supplier Code of Conduct, which applies to all suppliers and is informed by many standards including the International Labour Organization (ILO) 188 convention, Regional Fishery Management Organization (RFMO) requirements and national laws in the countries it operates. Clover Leaf has also made the commitment for all tuna supply fleets, company sites, processing locations and third-party suppliers to be covered by an audit program with third-party oversight by 2025. Its US affiliate, Bumble Bee Seafoods, reported publicly on its progress toward meeting this tuna-specific commitment through its 2022 Impact Report. Clover Leaf has not yet set a goal for extending this audit program to cover the other commodities that it sells (personal communication, P. Gallagher, 23/01/2023).
Step 2: Collecting Data
2
Collecting Data
2.1 The brand collects data on scientific name.
Clover Leaf collects data on species scientific name for all its products (personal communication, P. Gallagher, 23/01/2023).
2.2 The brand collects data on geographic origin.
Clover Leaf collects data on geographic origin for all its products (personal communication, P. Gallagher, 23/01/2023).
2.3 The brand collects data on whether wild or farmed.
Clover Leaf collects data on whether wild or farmed for all its products (personal communication, P. Gallagher, 23/01/2023).
2.4 The brand collects data on gear type or farming methods.
Clover Leaf collects data on gear type or farming method for all its products (personal communication, P. Gallagher, 23/01/2023).
Step 3: Sourcing
3
Responsible Sourcing
3.1 The brand publishes a clear hierarchy demonstrating its sourcing priorities.
Through its Seafood Progress profile, Clover Leaf has published a clear hierarchy of sustainability standards it uses to inform its purchasing decisions for all products.
3.2 The brand has reported on the percentage of seafood sold in the past year that met its sustainability commitment by volume or value.
Clover Leaf reported to SeaChoice that 85% of Brunswick and Clover Leaf combined volume in 2022 met its sustainability commitment (personal communication, R. Kennedy, 06/04/2023).
3.3 Suppliers are required to agree in writing to uphold the brand's sustainability commitment.
Clover Leaf indicates in its product specifications that all tuna suppliers must either be members of ISSF or abide by ISSF’s policies which inform Clover Leaf’s policies on tuna procurement. Clover Leaf also specifies its sourcing standards for all commodities on its purchase orders and meets with suppliers across the globe (virtually or in-person) on an annual basis to verify that these commitments are being upheld (personal communication, K. McClain, 23/01/2023).
3.4 Suppliers are required to sign a code of conduct to uphold the brand's social responsibility commitment.
Clover Leaf’s Supplier Code of Conduct is informed by many standards including the International Labour Organization (ILO) 188 convention, Regional Fishery Management Organization (RFMO) requirements and national laws in the countries it operates. Clover Leaf’s tuna suppliers are subject to its auditing program which includes extensive training, a risk-based screening approach and third-party audits on fishing vessels to identify and address issues and protect crew members. Additionally, Clover Leaf’s parent company, FCF Co., conducts a worker voice program on its Taiwanese tuna vessels that gives crew members the opportunity to anonymously and independently provide feedback to a third party NGO on their working environment and vessel compliance. The company is working with the Seafood Task Force to expand this program to other flag states, including Fiji. Clover Leaf conducts third party audits every two years for companies that produce satisfactory results and annually for those that do not and conducts internal audits of its own facilities annually. The company also makes due diligence visits on occasion, and Clover Leaf’s team in Bangkok regularly visits the facilities of its primary tuna suppliers. Clover Leaf has not set a time frame for extending its audit program to cover its other commodities (personal communication, K. McClain, 23/01/2023).
Step 4: Transparency
4
Transparency
4.1 The brand labels products with the information that allows consumers to make informed decisions.
SeaChoice found evidence that Clover Leaf labels some products as wild but no products as farmed. Furthermore, it does not label any products with scientific name, geographic origin, gear type or farming method (personal communication, P. Gallagher, 23/01/2023).
4.2 The brand follows best practice guidelines for making environmental claims on its products.
Clover Leaf uses its “Responsibly Sourced” self claim and the Dolphin Friendly endorsement on some products and makes evidence to back up these claims publicly available through its “Trace My Catch” platform. Clover Leaf also labels some products with the MSC and ASC certification claims which include a unique chain of custody number that serves as evidence to back up these claims. The company aims to eventually replace its “Responsibly Sourced” claim with the MSC or ASC claim (personal communication, K. McClain, 23/01/2023).
4.3 Key information regarding the brand's products has been made publicly available.
Clover Leaf provides the scientific name, geographic origin and harvest method of all its products through its “Trace My Catch” platform and/or the product details on its website. The company has addressed functionality issues with the platform over the past year and intends to improve upon the user experience to more clearly communicate key product information (personal communication, K. McClain, 23/01/2023).
4.4 The brand publicly reports how much of its seafood meets its sustainability criteria by volume or value of sales on an annual basis.
Through its Seafood Progress profile, Clover Leaf reported the overall percentage of seafood sold that mets its commitment by volume in 2021, and again in 2022.
Step 5: Education
5
Education
5.1 There is a description of the brand's commitments to sustainable and socially responsible seafood on its website.
There are comprehensive descriptions of Clover Leaf’s commitments to sustainable and socially responsible seafood on its website.
5.2 The brand has taken actions to ensure its suppliers are aware of its sustainable seafood commitment.
Clover Leaf conducts annual meetings with its suppliers across the globe (virtually and in-person when possible) in which its sustainability commitment is relayed, and communicates regularly with suppliers to ensure their products are in line with its policies. Clover Leaf also works with some suppliers directly in Fishery Improvement Projects (FIPs) to help bring their practices in line with its commitments. Additionally, Clover Leaf’s parent company, Bumble Bee, has a fully-staffed office in Bangkok that supports the continued implementation of its commitments through supplier engagement (personal communication, P. Gallagher, 23/01/2023).
Step 6: Taking Initiative
6
Taking Initiative
6.3 Skipjack tuna (Katsuwonus pelamis)
Clover Leaf’s website states that it is a founding member of the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF). It also states that, as a member, Clover Leaf supports their work on Fish Aggregating Devices (FADs) to reduce bycatch and is subject to 3rd party audits. All of Clover Leaf’s skipjack and yellowfin tuna products are MSC certified which means they are fully traceable through chain of custody. Finally, FCF (Clover Leaf’s parent company) is financially supporting a Atlantic Ocean longline tuna FIP, and an Indian Ocean longline tuna FIP (personal communication, K. McClain, 31/01/2023). Finally, in November 2022, Clover Leaf signed on to a letter to the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission advocating for the implementation of harvest control rules.
6.4 Other species
Clover Leaf has achieved its commitments for all wild salmon, pollock, Pacific whiting, quahog clams, skipjack tuna and yellowfin tuna to be MSC certified, and for all smoked oysters and mussels to be ASC certified. Furthermore, the company is committed to prioritizing the procurement of all other products from MSC or ASC certified sources which are traceable through chain of custody. Over the past year, the company has financially supported a herring FIP and a blue swimming crab FIP, and conducted the removal of ghost gear in the Bay of Fundy to improve herring spawning conditions (personal communications, P. Gallager, 23/01/2023).
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