Rio Mare - SeaChoice

Seafood Progress

Brand's Commitment to Sustainable and Socially Responsible Seafood

2023 aggregate score
0

Seafood Progress Average : 66

Score Trend
Increased Since Last Year
Parent Company
Sustainability Commitment
Progress Report PDFs
Headquarters
Milan, Italy
Seafood Progress: Rio Mare

Overview

Commitment to Sustainable Seafood

How committed is Rio Mare to sustainable and socially responsible seafood?
FreshFrozenShelf
Store brand
Seafood brand
No brand

Summary

of products sold in 2023 met commitment.
85 %

Sustainability Commitment. Rio Mare’s sustainable seafood commitment is informed by its parent company, Bolton Food Group, and its NGO partner, World Wildlife Fund (WWF) International. According to its website, Bolton’s commitment is comprised of three goals: (1) preserve and improve the health of oceans and fish stocks. This means that 100% of the tuna sold by Bolton Food will be fished from MSC certified fisheries first or from fisheries taking part in credible and comprehensive Fishery Improvement Projects (FIPs) when MSC certified tuna is not available, and 100% of the other fish species sourced by Bolton Food (Salmon, Mackerel and Sardines) will come from MSC/ASC fishing activities first or from FIPs/AIPs when MSC/ASC certified products are not available by 2024, (2) guarantee transparency from boat to plate. This means extending Bolton’s certified traceability system from tuna to all species and adding information on species, ocean of catch, FAO area and fishing method on all product labels and providing realtime communication on traceability on its website by 2024, and (3) promote seafood market positive change. This means continuing to form partnerships with NGOs, engaging stakeholders on its commitment and educating consumers on responsible purchasing. Additionally, Bolton’s Year 5 Progress Report states that ” the company has agreed to increase the traceability and transparency of its tuna products, by guaranteeing that 100% of its supply vessels are tracked and listed publicly and that 100% of the tracking data of its company-owned vessels will be transparently shared online. The same traceability and transparency systems developed for tuna will be applied to all the other species marketed by the company by the end of 2024″ (personal communication, L. Pirovano, 13/02/2023).

Clear Objectives
Supplier Expectations
Traceability Policy
Reporting on Activities

Social Responsibility Commitment. Bolton Food’s latest Human Rights Policy (published in February 2023) was prepared with the support of Oxfam. The company is the first in the world to have partnered with Oxfam to raise the standards that protect human rights in the global seafood supply chain. The policy is directly derived from the Bolton’s Code of Ethics [need new link] and applies to its entire family of suppliers and other relevant stakeholders. Furthermore, the policy states that the company is committed to upholding internationally recognized human rights, as laid out in the Universal Bill of Human Rights and the conventions which it has inspired, such as the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and the United Nations Conventions on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). Where national laws and international human rights standards differ, Bolton will follow the higher standard. Finally, the partnership with Oxfam involves Bolton reporting on its activities through a Human Rights Impact Assessment Report within the next year. Beyond that, the partners will design a Human Rights Due Diligence Management System, that will provide a framework and tools to adopt a governance process through which the company puts in place a series of tools or measures to identify, avoid, prevent, mitigate and explain how it addresses actual and potential negative impacts in its own activities, its supply chain and other business relationships to ensure that respect for Human Rights is effectively monitored throughout the company’s supply chain (personal communication, L. Pirovano, 13/02/2023). 

Step Scores

1

Commitment on sustainable seafood

Does the grocer have comprehensive seafood commitments?

2

Colecting Data

Does the grocer collect data to support its commitment?

3

Responsible Sourcing

Does the grocer make responsible sourcing decisions?

4

Transparency

Is the grocer transparent about its commitment to sustainable seafood?

5

Education

Does the grocer educate key stakeholders about the importance of its seafood commitments?

6

Supporting System Improvements

Does the grocer take initiative to support improvements to fisheries and aquaculture?

Notes

In the process of developing this profile SeaChoice corresponded with Luciano Pirovano, Global Sustainable Development Director at Bolton Food and Hector Fernandez, Sustainable Development Manager – Advocacy, Policy and Compliance at Bolton Food.

Step Scores

1

Commitments

Does the brand have comprehensive seafood commitments?

2

Collecting Data

Is the brand collecting data to support its commitment?

3

Responsible Sourcing

Is the brand making responsible sourcing decisions?

4

Transparency

Is the brand transparent about its commitment to sustainable seafood?

5

Education

Does the brand educate key stakeholders about its seafood commitments?

6

Taking Initiative

Does the brand take actions to support improvements to fisheries and aquaculture?

Notes

In the process of developing this profile SeaChoice corresponded with Luciano Pirovano, Global Sustainable Development Director at Bolton Food and Hector Fernandez, Sustainable Development Manager – Advocacy, Policy and Compliance at Bolton Food.

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SeaChoice is a sustainable seafood partnership of the following three conservation groups: