Social auditing and social compliance frameworks were created out of a desire by brands to understand the current state of labor risks, communicate expectations through their supply chains, and ensure continuous improvement and monitoring to mitigate associated brand risks. In seafood, the use of these tools was a natural evolution out of the already established use of eco-certifications as assurance models for end-buyers and brands. When early investigations into labor abuses in 2015 unearthed significant issues in seafood, companies turned to audits and certifications to try to fix things, as many other sectors had done. At the time, the logic seemed sound: increased monitoring would lead to improvements.
As audits and certifications became more widespread, their limitations became apparent. Companies created slightly different, but duplicative requirements, leading to inefficiencies and a high cost and burden of process, which weighed largely on upstream supply chain actors. Many suppliers and producers began doing the minimum to comply in order to maintain or gain entry into the market, creating less impactful efforts. All of this has resulted in fairwashing and distrust of the approach.
Human rights abuses and labor exploitation continue to be well documented in seafood supply chains across the globe despite existing efforts, and regulatory pressure is starting to mandate company action. In response, Human Rights Due Diligence (HRDD) is gaining traction. HRDD is a more comprehensive, cyclical approach, designed to handle the ever-changing and complex nature of seafood. HRDD not only meets increasing regulatory requirements, it also has the potential to build responsible and resilient pathways to sourcing through engagement across supply chains.
Yet, for many companies, the challenge lies in the how. At a theoretical level, businesses know what they should be doing; but it can be challenging to put it into action. One facet of this confusion centers around the role that social certifications and audits should play in HRDD. Some groups advocate abandoning these tools entirely, while others promote them as a ‘silver bullet’ solution. Unsurprisingly, the approach most organizations are now aligning on falls somewhere in the middle. FishWise believes that certifications and social audits can play a role, but only as part of a much broader and more comprehensive human rights due diligence program. Companies should be aware of the financial investment involved and make a conscious determination as to whether this is the best use of their limited resources for social responsibility programs.
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Author: Hanae Matsui
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