STF on Inspiring People & Demonstrating New and Better ways to do Business
Martin Thurley, Founding Member and Executive Director of the Seafood Task Force, pays tribute to the inspiring people at STF and looks forward to further expanding its membership across the seafood supply chain.
When retailers, brands, Government representatives, NGOs and charities gathered in October for our first in-person Summit in two years, the momentum was tangible.
STF’s work never stopped through the pandemic, of course, but the value of real rather than virtual meetings cannot be overestimated in terms of making new connections, getting down to business and having the difficult conversations necessary needed to make real progress.
We’re now well underway with planning for the 2023 Summit and look forward to welcoming new members as we gather our collective expertise to seek new perspectives, insights and ideas.
The STF Membership is truly an inspirational group of people representing every part of the supply chain as well as the organisations who support and influence them. Major retailers, international suppliers, some of the world’s largest environmental charities and philanthropists who are dedicated to supporting initiatives which drive sustainability and human welfare.
The Seafood Task Force is not just about getting the job done. I firmly believe it’s going to be the way we all do business in the future.
Industry leaders recognize that human welfare is part of the changing environment and Environmental Social and Governance (ESG) good practice is now a fundamental requirement for companies and shareholders.
STF members are seeing the commercial as well as the societal imperative of our industry alliance and recognize that to make meaningful progress they have to work together as a team. Pro-competitive collaboration across the supply chain, enables change at scale, which simply could not be achieved in isolation. A collaborative effort of committed individuals, with the right technical skills, connections and – most importantly – philosophy, is the only way we will drive continued and systemic change.
We’re indebted to our NGO colleagues who are helping us to develop, refine and ultimately test our ESG actions. Often critical, sometimes complimentary, always challenging and constructive, they are an invaluable part of the STF team.
As Governments, the media and NGOs continue to document issues of social and environmental abuse in global shrimp and tuna supply chains, the impact on corporate reputations can be devastating. By working together we can restore global market confidence to trade in our incredible industry.
STF is continuing to expand its membership this year and is reaching out to like-minded retailers and brands who we know will add incredible value to our mission. We invite you to come and see for yourself what we do, how we do it and what real changes we’re making. You will receive a very warm welcome.
The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of the STF or other members of the STF Board.