Tuna
Sardines
PURCHASEs ASSESSMENT
Supplier Credibility and Raw Materials Traceability
We look beyond the sustainability of our own company and further examine the sustainability efforts of our suppliers. Our procurement team takes care of ensuring suppliers are able to consistently provide us with high-quality raw materials, compliant with government regulations and accredited by international organizations.
At the moment, we are able to trace the origins of our major raw materials such as fish, meat, milk powder, and coconut back to the fishing ground or farm each main raw material was sourced from.
In early 2021, we formalized and institutionalized the Supplier Code of Conduct and Ethics covering actions of all raw material suppliers and service providers. It covers the following issues: (a) Human Rights (child labor, forced labor, and human trafficking, non-discrimination, harassment, working hours, wages and benefits), (b) Ethics (business integrity, no gift policy, fair competition, privacy, and intellectual property, conflict of interest ), (c) Health, Safety and Quality, (d) Environment, and (e) Management Systems.
The Supplier Code of Conduct covers the systematic assessment of suppliers’ social performance during the procurement process, among others. All legally binding agreements will require compliance with the set social standards. We will internally audit our business partners accordingly annually thereafter to monitor their compliance with our supply chain standards and to address social supply chain issues, if any. We will also engage with non-conforming suppliers to reach compliance as needed.
To keep abreast with changes in supply chain issues, we will engage with various stakeholders and amend our Supplier Code of Conduct and Ethics when necessary. Such stakeholders include our own employees who are able to elevate supply chain concerns through formal channels.
The role of our Board’s Corporate Governance Committee was likewise expanded to include ESG matters, establishing board-level responsibility for supply chain management. We will also engage with NGOs, labor groups, or industry peers to be conversant with social supply chain issues and amend our Code of Conduct and Ethics when necessary, and will create formal channels that will enable workers throughout our supply chain to elevate concerns.
Tuna
Sardines
Meat
Milk
Coconut
Tuna
In 2020, we expressed our intent to adopt the Global Dialogue on Seafood Traceability standards. It has issued the first-ever global standards for end-to-end seafood traceability, providing guidance on which information to monitor beginning from point of origin all the way to point of sale, and which digital formats to adopt for information sharing. The establishment of these standards is a momentous step for the industry as it strives for high standards with regard to ethical sourcing and combats illegal fishing and unethical labor practices.
We also support the use of sustainable fishing methods. For our Century Tuna Handline product, we employ a sustainable fishing method that eliminates by-catch and juveniles, contributing to the conservation of marine life. This product is supported by WWF Philippines which encourages the development of small-scale tuna fishing sustainability programs. Apart from tuna, CNPF also offers Century Bangus (milkfish), a farm-cultured marine product which is a healthy seafood alternative that reduces the load on wild-caught fish stocks.
Our commitment is further reflected in our participation in the Global Tuna Alliance, a market-led initiative to deliver sustainable tuna, which formed the Tuna Traceability Declaration 2020 in support of the U.N. Sustainable Development Goal 14: Life Below Water.
Read more on our Tuna Purchase Assessment
Sardines
To further enhance the competitiveness of our sardines business, we upgraded our guidelines, specifications, and standards to conform with international requirements. As a result, the Company has been able to comply with the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) and the British Retail Consortium (BRC).
Meat
All our meat inputs are purchased from accredited international sources who produce according to standards approved for export to the U.S. and European Union. Meat imported from the U.S. follows the Federal Meat Inspection Act and passes through mandatory federal inspection by the Food Safety Inspection Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, while meat from Europe are governed by the European Food Safety Authority. These have been in place since the beginning of our meat operations.
Milk
We have obtained the Food Safety System Certification (FSSC), as well as the USFDA certification to export to the U.S. We are also compliant with the standards of the Philippine Bureau of Food and Drug’s Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) and the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).
Our raw material sourcing process is aligned with the latest developments and practices in the dairy industry, with heightened focus on quality and safety to include sustainability.
Coconut
We adhere to the following international standards: European Organic Standard (EOS), National Organic Program (NOP), Japan Agricultural Standard (JAS), and Korean Standard (KONKUK).
Our processes are aligned with the Sedex Members Ethical Trade Audit (SMETA) global standards for responsible and ethical sourcing, health, safety, and welfare of workers, as well as environment management. We likewise fulfill the requirements of the U.S. FDA Voluntary Qualified Importer Program in our raw material sourcing, and receive third-party certification from the Ecocert Group.
As we also produce organic products, we conform with stricter standards to ensure we are organic-certified, following international standards regarding farming practices and raw material storage. We provide incentives to our farmers and traders for their efforts in complying with the more stringent organic standards.
