Thai Union Group

Brand portfolio

Thai Union's brand portfolio includes:

Financial performance

In its fiscal year 2015, Thai Union had revenues of 126.9 billion baht, with a net profit of 5.3 billion baht. Total assets amounted to 111.5 billion baht. Total shareholder equity was 48.6 billion baht.

Thai Union's target is to achieve US$8 billion in revenue by 2020. The revenue contribution of its different businesses as of 2015 are:

History

Acquisitions

Greenpeace accusations

Thai Union Group has been accused by Greenpeace of being "seriously implicated in horrendous human rights and environmental abuses" and warned shareholders and investors "of the financial risks associated with these destructive and harmful practices." The company faces a number of other legal challenges.

Thai Union released a statement in response to the accusations made by Greenpeace in 2015. It reiterated its commitment to human rights and the company's vision of "an industry that respects the oceans and protects marine life, offers safe employment for millions of people around the world, supports the development of coastal communities and continues to provide a safe, affordable and healthy food source for a global population well into the future." Thai Union also noted that it works closely with the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF) to "benefit the wider tuna fishing industry" and concluded by calling on Greenpeace to join the "industry debate that is already underway, to work towards achieving our shared objectives."

Slave Labor and human rights

Thai Union was named, but was not a defendant, in a lawsuit brought against Nestle Corporation for violating California laws. Thai Union has been under scrutiny since the July 2015 publication of a New York Times article citing a former slave fisherman stating he had been held captive on a vessel supplying a mother ship that ended up selling to Thai Union's Songkla canning operation.

In a response to the New York Times, Thai Union re-asserted its commitment to the protection of human rights. A spokesperson stated the company worked to prevent "any human trafficking or any human rights violation of any kind" highlighting procedures that are in place, such as routine audits of its canneries and boats in port to ensure against forced and child labor.

In 2015, Thai Union released new codes of conduct, replacing the company's 2013 code of conduct. The "more stringent" new code of conduct allows for higher levels of "accountability and transparency" and showcased Thai Union's commitment to "earn the trust of customers, consumers and the world by operating with integrity and high ethical standards". The company also claims to have terminated relationships with 17 suppliers as a result of forced labor or human trafficking violations since the start of 2015, and have ended the use of employment brokers to source for workers for its seafood processing plants to stop workers being indebted to brokers (bonded labor).

In December 2016, Thai Union and the World Tuna Purse Seine Organization (WTPO) signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to establish a high-level framework of cooperation and coordination in ensuring fair labor practices. The MOU includes the establishment and implementation of best practice on fair labor standards in operations.

Slave labor in the shrimp industry

Thailand's seafood industry, and by implication, Thai Union, was the subject of a year-long study of the Thai shrimp industry commissioned by Nestlé. The report, conducted by Verité on behalf of Geneva-based Nestlé, was released on 23 November 2015. It found "indicators of forced labor, trafficking, and child labor to be present among sea-based and land-based workers."

In a statement issued on 10 December 2015, Thai Union declared that it will cease working with all shrimp processing subcontractors by the end of 2015. The company said that it would bring all shrimp processing operations in-house to enable full oversight. All processing work will be directly controlled by Thai Union to ensure that all workers, whether migrants or Thai, have safe, legal employment and are treated fairly and with dignity. Thai Union estimates that subcontractors employ about 1,000 migrant workers. Andy Hall, a British human rights defender and a migrant worker specialist based in Thailand, said that "Thai Union ... must be commended for belatedly moving seafood primary processing in house."

The working conditions have shown to be improved for the workers that Thai Union brought in-house to its shrimp processing operations; with a clean working environment, subsidized meals, increased salaries, and opportunities for bonuses, time off work, and workers' rights.

Sourcing

In October 2015 Greenpeace accused Thai Union subsidiary John West (UK) of making a "plainly false" claim that customers can trace its tuna back to the vessel that caught it. John West's website includes a tool that allows customers to enter the can code to "see exactly where your fish came from". The tool does not identify sources of Thai tuna and instead invites customers to email John West. John West said that the problem is a website limitation, and all its tuna is fully traceable.

Greenpeace has also ranked John West last in sustainability surveys because 98% of its tuna was caught using "fish aggregation devices" that kill other marine wildlife.

Thai Union has committed to the following by 2020:

Specific to its tuna business, Thai Union has committed to the following by 2020:

Thai Union Europe is working with WWF-UK and WWF France between 2014 and 2018 improve sustainability of seafood species, and working towards Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification and Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) certification across the Thai Union Europe supply chain.

In December 2016, Thai Union announced a strategy to ensure 100 percent of its branded tuna is sustainably sourced with a commitment of achieving a minimum of 75 percent by 2020. As part of the new tuna strategy, Thai Union is investing US$90 million in initiatives that will increase the supply of sustainable tuna. This includes establishing 11 new fishery improvement projects (FIPs) around the world.

In December 2016, eight of the world's largest seafood companies, including Thai Union, issued a 10-point statement committing to action on ocean stewardship following the first "keystone dialogue" between scientists and business leaders. The companies have committed to improving transparency and traceability, and reducing illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing in their supply chains.

In December 2016, Greenpeace reported that the Thai Union subsidiary, Lucky Union Foods Co. Ltd. (LUF), purchased surimi base from Pacific Marine Food Products Co. Ltd., a company which confirmed that it had sourced from "vessels of concern". LUF also supplied shaped surimi to Thai Union Manufacturing Co. Ltd. (TUM) for use in pet foods.

Bumble Bee Foods

In December 2014 Thai Union announced it would spend US$1.5 billion to acquire Bumble Bee Foods. That deal was put in jeopardy after the US Department of Justice announced it began an anti-trust investigation into the company over-pricing and competitive practices. Thai Union abandoned its purchase plans in early-December 2015 after US officials objected on the grounds that it would reduce competition. "'Consumers are better off without this deal," Bill Baer, assistant attorney general of the US Department of Justice's anti-trust division, said....'Our investigation convinced us—and the parties knew or should have known from the get go— that the market is not functioning competitively today, and further consolidation would only make things worse.'"

2016 Gold Standard Award for corporate citizenship

The Gold Standard Award rewards excellence in sustainability, good governance, and corporate responsibility. The award is a recognition of the importance of SeaChange®, Thai Union's sustainability strategy.