About Sustainability Commitments

Sourcing sustainable seafood not only supports healthy oceans but leads to satisfied customers too! Seafood businesses throughout the supply chain are working to meet customers’ demand for sustainable products by showing a public commitment to improving their practices.

 

Sustainability Commitments Defined

As your company’s goals become more specific and time-bound, that is often called a “policy” or “commitment.” There technically isn't a difference in calling something a commitment, policy, program, or goal as long as it includes the most important components.

 

Any company—whether you are a seafood supplier, retailer, restaurant, etc.—that buys and/or sells seafood can make a sustainable seafood commitment, and commitments vary from company to company.

Commitments often include the following components, depending on the goals of the business:

 

  • Species or products — which species or product offerings will your commitment apply to? It can apply to all of the products you source or produce, only the wild or farmed products, a certain percentage of your products, or specific species.

 

  • Sustainability definition — how will you define sustainability for your business? Which ratings or certifications will be a part of that definition? Will you include products from FIPs or AIPs? For example, your commitment could include “all wild-caught products will come from fisheries rated Best-Choice or Good Alternative by Seafood Watch, from MSC-certified fisheries, or from FIPs”

 

  • Timeframe — if your commitment includes goals you haven’t met yet, when do you hope to achieve them? For example, “by 2025, all of our tuna will be sourced from MSC-certified fisheries or from FIPs” 

   

Examples of Sustainability Commitments

As your company’s goals become more specific and time-bound, that is often called a “policy” or “commitment.” There technically isn't a difference in calling something a commitment, policy, program, or goal as long as it includes the most important components.

The following companies on FishChoice.com have uploaded commitments to their FishChoice Partner Profiles:

 

If your business is considering creating a public commitment or program to source sustainable seafood, or looking to update your existing policies, FishChoice's step-by-step guidance and accessible templates make it easy for you and your team to determine what commitments best fit your goals and business.