Sustainability

Our Commitment

 

Woolworths Group is committed to responsible sourcing of seafood. Ecologically responsible fisheries and aquaculture are critical to reduce the environmental impacts of seafood production, while safeguarding people and animal welfare. Priority must be placed on fishing and farming more responsibly to support fish stocks and marine ecosystems regeneration, to continue to provide for future generations. 

Woolworths Group is also committed to respecting the human rights of workers in its supply chain and notes the detrimental impact that unsustainable seafood sourcing can have on vulnerable communities, including Indigenous peoples and migrant workers, as well as access to safe water and sanitation. Our approach to responsible sourcing is available here.
 

Own Brand Sourcing

 

All Woolworths Own Brand behind the counter, fresh packaged, frozen and canned seafood sold within our Australian Supermarkets and Metro Stores is responsibly sourced, as defined in our Woolworths Group Seafood Sourcing Policy. 

As part of our Sustainability Plan 2025 we will continue on our journey to transition seafood as an ingredient to be ecologically responsible.

Whenever you see our Woolworths Responsibly Sourced symbol, this means that the seafood you are buying meets the requirements laid out in our Woolworths Group Seafood Sourcing Policy.

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Responsibly Sourced

 

For more information see our Woolworths Group Seafood Sourcing Policy here.

Farmed Seafood

We source from aquaculture operations that are third-party certified or independently verified. Accepted certifications are: 

Where farmed seafood products carry the ASC logo these products are additionally assessed against the ASC Chain of Custody Standard.

The ecological responsibility of mussels and oysters farmed in Australia have undergone an extensive risk assessment by an expert third party and are approved for sourcing as independently verified.

Wild-Caught Seafood

We source from fishery operations that are third-party certified or independently verified.

Where wild caught seafood products carry the MSC logo these products are additionally assessed against the MSC Chain of Custody Standard.

Recognition / Awards


Woolworths Group has been recognised by the Marine Stewardship Council as the National Community Champion for 2024 at the Sustainable Seafood Awards Australia.

This is great industry recognition of our support of our communities and of our suppliers to produce ecologically responsible seafood.

Woolworths received the same award  in 2022.

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MSC
MSC

The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) is an international non-profit on a mission to end overfishing that set standards for sustainable fishing and traceability within the seafood supply chain.

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msc
 

When you see the MSC blue fish tick on a wild-caught seafood product or menu, it can be traced back to an MSC certified sustainable fishery. By looking at each fishery individually using science, fisheries prove and improve their sustainability performance.

There's a wide variety of wild-caught sustainable seafood with the MSC blue fish tick label available at Woolworths. This includes family favourites such as tuna, salmon and prawns.

Woolworths Ocean Pool Fund

 

Woolworths Ocean Pool Fund’s mission is to help support the environmental performance of the Australian Seafood Industry through traceability, data capture, certification, process improvements and education. The Fund was developed in collaboration with WWF as part of our partnership to support our suppliers on their journey towards a more sustainable seafood industry. 

Launched in 2021, the Fund has awarded over $320, 000, over several years, to initiatives including:

  • Monitoring habitat of ocean floor

  • Reduction of waste water in seafood manufacture

  • Shelf life extension and plastic reduction in seafood manufacturing

  • Fishery MSC pre assessment

  • Bird exclusion technology in fish farming

  • Animal welfare research in fish farming

  • Improving on farm humane processing techniques


For more information on the progress for all our Sustainability commitments, see our website here.