Case:
EcoSound project:
sustainable
fisheries
Ahold U.S. retail
Being a foodprovider
Company
Issue
Solution
Implementation
Results
Constraints or dilemmas
Recognition
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Ahold Sustainability Report 2004 25
What issue/challenge is being
addressed by this program
How does this program contribute
to solving the issue/challenge
Describe how you put this
program into practice
Objectives
Time frame
Scope
Describe the main current and/or
expected results from this program:
social, environmental or commercial
Describe the main difficulties, constraints,
dilemmas you encountered throughout the
program, and how did you handle this
What kind of recognition have you
received for this program and by
whom (e.g. award or other)?
Harmful impacts of fishing on marine and freshwater resources and ecosystems.
The EcoSound mission is to ensure the sustainability and traceability of Ahold's
seafood products through a process in which Ahold's U.S. retail operations and
the New England Aquarium work to reach realistic sourcing standards, ensuring
social and environmental stewardship and traceability throughout the supply chain.
The EcoSound project audits domestic and international sources of seafood for
environmental impact and sustainability based on the best available scientific
information. The recommendations that emerge from these audits affect the
buying decisions of Ahold's U.S. retail arenas and help shift decisions towards
products that are harvested in a manner that favors marine conservation.
The project aims to improve environmentally friendly buying practices, using the
following strategy:
Stop ad and promotional activities for overfished species.
Shift sourcing of specific fish species towards regions with healthier
populations and better management.
As a result of the project, we have stopped selling Chilean sea bass, reduced
purchases of orange roughy by 75% and increased sales of Icelandic cod by
moving most of our purchases to two suppliers who are direct purchasers of this
species. Furthermore, we have shifted our purchases of New England cod to
source from environmentally friendly hook and line cod (which minimizes
bycatch of other non-targeted species and has no impact on the ocean floor)
and started promoting haddock as a replacement.
Some environmentalists may criticize us for not taking a harder stand and always
refusing to sell threatened fish species. Through our EcoSound strategy, however,
we have reduced our pressure on various overfished fisheries to help the stocks
rebuild while still providing customers with choice.
The EcoSound partnership was recently highlighted in the October 2004 issue
of Seafood Business Magazine and in a February 2005 article in the Japan
Times. EcoSound leaders were also invited to speak on the project at the 2004
World Fisheries Congress in Vancouver and at the 2005 International Boston
Seafood Show.
