Lerøy Seafood Group´s strategy is based on an eternal perspective and comprises specific and continuous sustainable improvement measures throughout the value chain.
The Group aim to be a little bit better every day and we are focused on making the right decisions each day to reach this goal.
Our focus areas
For Lerøy Seafood Group as a corporation, maintaining a constant focus on areas where we have the greatest influence in terms of sustainability is essential. Based on a critical evaluation of the value chain and our processes, we have concluded that we currently have the greatest influence within our work on the different areas related to our fish-farming activities. A major share of our efforts related to the environment and sustainability will therefore focus on fish farming.
Vision for the Group
«We shall be the leading and most profitable global supplier of sustainable high-quality seafood.»
Quality and sustainability vision
Safe, sustainable, quality seafood
Quality and sustainability policy
We live by what is produced in the ocean and rely on sustainable management of resources. This enables us to produce and sell quality seafood in the future. Through close cooperation with professional bodies, customers and suppliers, we will deliver: a safe working environment, high professional competence, the right quality and sustainable solutions throughout the value chain.
Mission
“Take action today for a difference tomorrow”
The board of Lerøy Seafood Group has the overall responsibility for decision-making and overseeing the management of the organization’s impacts on the environment, economy and people.
Commitees of the highest governance body that are responsible for decisionmaking
The Audit Committee follows up ESG-related matters and makes recommendations and proposals for changes and improvements The Audit Committee consists of Didrik Munch (Chair) Britt Kathrine Drivenes. The Audit Committee report to the Chair of the Board. The Audit Committee holds meetings four times a year. Both a representative from ESG & Quality department as well as an independent auditor is present at these meetings.
Chair of the board
Arne Møgster (He/him) (1975) was elected to the board at the annual general meeting on 26 May 2009. He holds a Master of Science (MSc) in International Shipping and a Bachelor degree in Business and Administration. Arne Møgster is the CEO of Austevoll Seafoood AS, and a board member for a number of companies in the Austevoll Seafood Group. Prior to joining Austevoll Seafood ASA in 2006 - Arne Møgster earned himself versatile experience working within fishing, shipbuilding and the offshore supply market. He was the Managing Director of Norskan AS for 3 years, with one year based in Brazil. Through his position as CEO and board member in listed companies for more than a decade Arne has extensive knowledge of a broad range of subjects including wide experience in working with ESG. Austevoll Seafood is the majority owner in Lerøy Seafood Group, and the majority owner in Austevoll Seafood is Laco AS. Arne Møgster is a shareholder in Laco AS, and indirectly holds shares in Lerøy Seafood Group ASA. There are some transactions between companies in the Austevoll Seafood Group and Lerøy. Such transactions take place according to the arm’s length principle and are described in the company’s annual report. The Chair of the Board is not a senior executive in the organization.
Board members
Board memeber - Siri Lill Mannes (She/her) (1970) was elected to the board at the annual general meeting on 23 May 2018. She majored in history , with a minor in Russian and a basic course in Russian-Soviet studies. She also completed the Armed Forces’ course in Russian (officer's training school) and studied political science in Georgia, USA, on a one-year Rotary Club scholarship. Having worked as a TV host and entrepreneur, Siri Lill Mannes has an extensive background in journalism. She started working for TV2 in 1992, when the channel was founded. Since 2010, she has been director of the communications company SpeakLab AS, where she is also a partner and founder. Siri Lill Mannes is an independent director in the board. She owned no shares in the company as of 31 December 2022.
Board member Didrik Munch (He/him) (1956) was elected to the Board at the annual general meeting on 23 May 2012. He has a law degree from the University of Bergen. Didrik Munch qualified as a police officer at the Norwegian Police University College in Oslo and held a number of positions within the Norwegian police force (1977–1986). From 1986 to 1997, he worked in finance, primarily in the DnB system, where he ultimately joined corporate management as Director for the DnB Corporate Customer division. From 1997 to 2008, Didrik Munch was CEO of Bergens Tidende AS. He was CEO of Schibsted Norge AS (formerly Media Norge AS) from 2008 to 2018 and is currently self-employed. Didrik Munch has served on several boards in a number of companies, both as chairperson and ordinary member. He is currently Chairman of the Board for Storebrand ASA, Solstrand Fjordhotell Holding AS, and NWT Media AS and a board member for Grieg Maritime Group AS, SH Holding AS and Jonstadveien 6 AS. Didrik Munch is currently chair of the audit committee in Lerøy Seafood Group ASA. He has far-reaching knowledge also within ESG, through his extensive experience from both the management and board of some of Norway’s largest companies. Didrik Munch is an independent director in the board. He owned no shares in the company as of 31 December 2022.
Board member Britt Kathrine Drivenes (She/her) (1963) was elected to the board at the annual general meeting on 20 May 2008. She holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from the Norwegian School of Management (BI) and a Master of Business Administration in Strategic Management from the Norwegian School of Economics (NHH). She is CFO of Austevoll Seafood ASA and also a board member in a number of companies in the Austevoll Seafood Group. Britt Kathrine Drivenes has extensive experience from the fish industry as well as financing, accounting and ESG. She is the Board member who is responsible for overseeing ESG related issues. Britt Kathrine Drivenes owns shares indirectly in Lerøy Seafood Group ASA, as a shareholder in Austevoll Seafood ASA.
Board member Karoline Møgster (She/her) (1980) was elected to the board at the annual general meeting on 23 May 2017. Karoline Møgster has a law degree from the University of Bergen (Candidata juris). She also has a Master of Arts in Accounting and Auditing (MRR) from the Norwegian School of Economics. She worked as a lawyer with Advokatfirmaet Thommessen AS and is now employed as a lawyer for the Møgster Group. She is a board member for Laco AS and has board experience from other listed companies. Laco is the ultimate parent company of Lerøy Seafood Group. There are some transactions between companies in the Austevoll Seafood Group and Lerøy. Such transactions take place according to the arm’s length principle and are described in the company’s annual report. Karoline Møgster indirectly owns shares in Lerøy Seafood Group ASA as a shareholder of Laco AS.
Board member Hans Petter Vestre (He/him) (1966) was elected employees’ representative to the board at the annual general meeting on 24 April 1995. Hans Petter Vestre is a graduate of the Norwegian College of Fishery, University of Tromsø. He started as a sales manager at Hallvard Lerøy AS in 1992, he is today a team manager at Lerøy Seafood AS. Hans Petter Vestre has owns 1,200 shares in the company as of 31 December 2022. Hans Petter is a board member in Bergen CK (Cycle club), and has received training within both ESG and IT security as an employee in Lerøy.
None of the board members represent an underrepresented social group.
Role of the highest governance body in overseeing the management of impacts
Both the Board and Management Team are involved in developing, approving and updating the organization's strategy, policies ang goals related to sustainable development.
ESG & Quality department is carrying out the process of identifying and assessing actual and potential impacts on the economy, environment and people as well as determination of material topics for reporting.
ESG & Quality department created and overview of the Group’s stakeholders and identified a list of actual and potential sustainability impacts. The list was distributed to relevant stakeholders and thay were asked to assess the significance of the impacts. The most significant impacts for reporting were prioritized to determine which topics are material.
The Board and the Management Team are reviewing both the effectiveness and the outcome of the process annually.
Delegation of responsibility for managing impacts
Each member of the Management team is responsible for an area/ an operational segment. This includes responsibility for overseeing the organization’s impacts on the economy, environment, and people. All companies in the Group have defined sustainability related KPI’s and these are managed on local level.
Day-to-day follow-up of sustainability related KPI's is performed locally. Monthly/ quarterly/ annual review of reported information is carried out by ESG & Quality department. Organization’s impacts on the economy, environment, and people are reviewed by the Management Team monthly. The Board is reviewing impacts related to economy, environment, and people at every meeting. The Audit Committee is reviewing impacts on the economy, environment, and people in detail four times a year.
Role of the highest governance body in sustainability reporting
Both the Board and the Management Team review and approve both the list of material topics as well as reported information. The material topics and reported information (on high-level) is presented to and approved by the Board. The information is presented to the Board by the Head of ESG & Quality.
Conflict of interest
The company has developed a Board of Director's Guidance and Working procedure. The document is prepared in cooperation with both the Board and the Chair of the Board. The procedure contains, among other issues, guidance on how the Board and the Management team shall handle agreements with related parties. The company has established a procedure to ensures that both the Board and the Management Team must notify the Board of Directors if Lerøy enters an agreement where a member of the Board or the Management Team might have any significant interest in. In cases where a company which has connections to a Board member performs work for the Board, the independence issue is assessed by the Board. If necessary, appropriate action is taken accordingly.
Should transactions with related parties occur, these shall be documented and executed according to the Arm’s Length Principle. An independent assessment shall be carried out for significant contracts. Exemptions may be made for agreements that represent part of the company’s regular operations, and are based on regular commercial conditions and principles. Agreements with related parties shall be reviewed to ensure sufficient clarity regarding proper balance of the agreements. This is to make sure that the company is aware of potential conflicts of interest and performs due diligence checks prior to entering a contract. The purpose of this process is to prevent assets being transferred from the company to related parties.
Evaluation of the performance of the highest governance body
The Board of Directors of Lerøy Seafood Group ASA underlines the importance of having sound corporate governance that clearly states the distribution of roles between shareholders, the Board of Directors and the company management.
The goal for Lerøy Seafood Group ASA is for all parts of the Group`s value chain to operate and achieve growth and development. The Board of Lerøy Seafood Group ASA emphasizes the importance of having good corporate governance, which clearly establishes the division of roles between shareholders, the Board and the Group's management. The Board has its own dedicated board member who has special responsibility for the environment and sustainability.
The goal of Lerøy Seafood Group ASA is that all parts of the Group's value chain will operate and create growth and development. This is in accordance with the Group's strategy for long-term and sustainable value creation for shareholders, customers, suppliers and society as a whole.
The Board of Lerøy Seafood Group ASA has the overall responsibility for sustainability work within the Group.
In the Group, the CEO has main responsibility for this area. Matters related to sustainability are approved by the Group management before they are sent to the audit committee / board. The Head of ESG & Quality is responsible for coordinating work involving the environment/ sustainability for all the companies within the Group. Responsibility is delegated to the Managing Director of each subsidiary.
Managers and other employees, at the various levels in the organization, have different goals related to sustainability included in their job descriptions. The company also works with goal management where goals related to sustainability are included. Goals related to job descriptions and goal achievement are included in the basis for the payment of bonuses.
A stakeholder is a group, organisation, member or system who affects or can be affected by an organization's actions (GRI definition).
Lerøy's values are open, honest, responsible and creative, and it is crucial for us to have a continuous and open dialogue with all our stakeholders.
Stakeholder engagement is an important building block for success towards the Group’s goal to becoming the most and effective supplier of sustainable seafood. Engagement with stakeholders helps us identify and manage our positive and negative impacts on the environment, social and governance related issues.
The purpose of stakeholder engagement is to ensure that Lerøy amplifies the positive impacts, mitigates the negative impacts, shares knowledge, best practices as well as ensures meaningful engagement with the stakeholders.
Open and honest communication with the stakeholders is essential for best possible cooperation. Stakeholder identification is a part of Lerøy’s materiality assessment process where relevant stakeholders are mapped out.
Lerøy Seafood Group communicates with its stakeholders via meetings, various reports (such as the annual report, the stock exchange reports, CDP reports etc.), communication in the media, announcements, joint projects, partnerships, websites and social media.
Materiality Assessment
Materiality assessment is the principle of defining the social and environmental topics that matter most to our business and our stakeholders. Lerøy Seafood Group ASA conducted it’s first materiality analysis in 2016 which we updated in 2020. The results are based on feedback from our key internal and external stakeholders through interviews and meetings. The updated materiality assessment is included as part of the annual report for 2021 which has been approved by the group management and the Board of Directors.
We have also received feedback from customers, authorities and NGOs. During the last few years there has been an increasing focus on sustainability issues, which has influenced which indicators are most important to our stakeholders and where we need to focus going forward.
The updated assessment identified 6 key indicators, and the end result is shown in the matrix graph below that plots how each indicator ranks in significance. The relative importance to these six indicators will vary between the different stakeholders.
Customers drive economic growth by creating demand for goods and services, which in turn leads to job creation and increased economic activity. Customers can have positive environmental impacts by choosing to buy products that are produced sustainably and have a lower carbon footprint. This can lead to increased demand for environmentally friendly products and services, which can drive innovation and investment in low carbon footprint products. Customer drive has positive social impacts by choosing to buy products that are produced in ways that are fair and ethical, such as those that are produced using fair labor practices or that support local communities
Impact
The future development of Lerøy will be determined by our ability to achieve continuous improvements, increased efficiency, innovation and development of sustainable solutions throughout the value chain. To be able to do this we need cooperate with strategic customers who share the same perspective.
To be able to reach our target to reduce climate emissions with 46% and drive innovation and investment in green technologies, we need to make choises (i.e fish feed ingredients with lower emissions). These choices need to be rooted with our strategic customers, if not , we risk developing products and services which are not demanded in the market and risk to loose value creation for our self, our customer and the society.
Lerøy will, in long term cooperation with strategic customers, develop new product categories which will generate value creation, job creation and riple effects for the local communities.
If we understand and fulfil customer and market opportunities, Lerøy succeeds when our customers succeed. We shall meet our customers’ expectations in terms of delivery, sustainability, quality and costs, and we shall create growth in existing and new markets via forward-looking and innovative sustainable solutions. Values are created in value chains, and in businesses in value chains, that form a network and competitive processes for their customers. Lerøy aims to build long term relationships and alliances with both customers and suppliers. Strategic business development will play a decisive role in the future development of Lerøy.
Our vision “ to be the world’s most effective and sustainable value chain for seafood”; requires us to continue to develop in order to achieve a position as a preferred supplier of seafood on a global scale. Our customers aim for growth and new market shares by offering competitive solutions with a view to cost and quality, innovation, security of supply and food safety. We need to understand the wishes of our customers, and our value chain needs to be built upon competitive processes that ensure success for our customers. Feedback from customers is an opportunity for improvement.
Target: Increase the share of sales revenue from strategic customers
Lerøy has focused on achieving growth by means of securing access to raw materials that are fully traceable and governable. Lerøy's value chain comprises a large product range and allows for development of activities and products to increase customer satisfaction and willingness to pay, which in turn helps our customers gain new market shares.
The fundamental principles in the method utilised to achieve our goals are working continuously to achieve optimal flow of goods to the customer and optimal flow of information from the customer, by means of continuous improvement. This requires a decentralised organisation that is able to solve problems where and when they emerge, but also a Group that has the capacity to disseminate information from customers back to the value chain, so that all parties are aware of the challenges to be solved. Problem-solving shall be based on facts.
Lerøy has not been involved in any negative impacts through its activities or as a result of our business relationships related to customer perspective.
The Group works actively to build long-term, strategic customer relationships in which values for both parties are created over time . Strategic customers are customers considered important to the long-term sucess of Lerøy, with the same values, goals and with mutual beneficial sustainable outcomes. Strategic customers may have an uniqe requirement or needs that are diffcult for other companies to fulfill.
The Group has and shall have a wide range of customers in order to minimise risk related to individual customers. The share of revenue from strategic customers , is used as an indicator of our performance in this area.
In 2022 50% of our revenue came from strategic customer, close to target. In 2022 we have been in dialogue with several strategic customers and defined strategic long term partnerships. To define partnership models with long term beneficial outcomes takes time, our ambition is that 80 % of our revenue share comes from strategic customers within 2030.
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Target |
2022 |
2021 |
2020 |
2020 |
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Share of revenue from strategic customers (%)
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52 |
50 |
NA |
NA |
NA |
The group has selected specific sustainability goals, where we focus on the environment and climate, economy, and society.
The UN has developed 17 global goals for sustainable development to restructure the world over the next 15 years.
All 198 member nations of the UN have participated in the preparation of the 17 sustainability goals. The group has selected the goals that are most relevant to our businesses, which we will work towards in our daily activities and focus on in the group's strategy work. All the companies in the group have internal sub-goals related to the work with the selected sustainability goals.
With its catch of whitefish and the production of Atlantic salmon and trout, the Group is a globally competitive and sustainable food producer.
This is also confirmed through international surveys where the company's work related to ESG is assessed.
Coller FAIRR is that of the companies that assess how listed companies work in accordance with sustainability. In this survey, 60 different protein-producing companies are measured specifically on the UN's sustainability criteria and the stakeholders' perception of our work. In this survey, Lerøy is considered the 4th best company.
The group's sustainability reporting has been prepared in accordance with the GRI framework, and is part of the group's annual report.
Link: GRI report
The Group has established different revolutionary measures in order to reduce environmental impact; from obtaining power from land, hybrid fleets, floating solar cells, to electric working boats.
Wherever it is possible, the Group seeks to use electricity sourced from land-based powerlines instead of electricity from generators at each production site.
Power from land usually makes good overall economic sense.
The further development of power from land should entail a degree of overcapacity, thus enabling any future electrified boats to be recharged.
More than 65% of our sites now run on power from land – a figure that will increase in the coming years. In 2022, there is a plan to replace fossil-fuelled generators at 19 production sites. We will then have 85% of the Group`s sites on renewable electricity.
The various measures require technological development and a high level of expertise, and in many ways, they represent a breakthrough in the industry.
Where the infrastructure is insufficient for land-based electricity, Lerøy Seafood Group is developing hybrid solutions that allow for up to 30% more efficient use of fossil fuels at each site. The Group has hybrid solutions with batteries at two production sites.
In 2021 Lerøy and other Norwegian seafood producers are banned from Russia. This was initiated in August 2014 when Russia decided to ban the import of Norwegian seafood in response to sanctions imposed by the US, the EU and others for the annexation of Crimea.
Sanctions adopted by the EU are implemented in Norwegian law on the basis of the Sanctions Act. Violation of the Sanctions Act is punishable and can result in a corporate penalty.
With the new sanctions, it will be very demanding for Lerøy to have business activities related to Russia, disputed areas in Ukraine (Crimea, Donetsk and Luhansk) and Belarus. In light of the sanctions Lerøy have stopped all shipments to these areas.
Since the Russian ban origin from 2014, the economical impact is low.
The product development department is located at the Group’s Headquarter in Bergen. The “One Lerøy product development team” works through the entire value chain, from the raw materials to finished products in stores.
Every year, a variety of products are developed in different product groups adapted to different segments. The department cooperates with production and sales to achieve the requested products.
The Group's products are frequently nominated for prizes in various media/ innovation areas, and have won several awards. The Group has sustained its positive trend within product development in previous years, with the launch of a number of innovative products and new product types, mainly within freshly packaged fish.
The Group also continues to develop its “fish-cut” concept in many parts of Europe. These processing units follow a target-driven and efficient strategy, focusing on freshness, a high level of service and proximity to end customer.
The product development department have a strong fucus utilize 100% of the raw material. Products should give the consumer a healthy experience well balanced with natural ingrediencies and low salt content. The goal is to give consumers a better and more healthy way of eating.
