Lerøy Seafood Group (the Group) has a strict policy to promote and ensure compliance with all applicable laws and regulations as well as adherance. Failure to comply with these requierments can result in legal penalties, fineas and reputational damage.
Compliance ensures that the organization is operating in an ethical manner and thus becomes more attractive to customers, investors and business partners.
Consistent compliance ensuring has positive impact on the organization. It reduces risk, builds trust, improves reputation, strenghtens business relationships, promotes evidence-based decision making and provides competative advantage.
Lack of compliance can have several negative impacts on the organization and its business relationships. This includes legal and financial penalties, reputational damage, increased risk, lack of trust as well as negative impact on the economy, environment, people and their human rights such as violation of fundamental rights, discrimination, injustice and overall negative impact on the society.
The Group constantly determines, and monitors compliance requirements related to its business activities and evaluates how these should be applied to the organization. Relevant compliance requirements such as ensuring and enabling anti-corruption, anti-bribary, anti-money laundering, environmental protection, compliance with health and safety requirements etc. are taken into account when planning, implementing and maintaining the Group’s compliance obligations as well as assessing its compliance performance.
The Group is a signatory of UN Global Compact and has committed to both avoiding corruption as well as developing policies and implementing measures to address corruption internally and within our supply chain. Every effort shall be made to safeguard local, regional and global environmental aspects. Aspects regarding animal ethics shall also be given full consideration.
In order to monitor if Lerøy is involved with negative compliance-related impacts through its activities or as a result of its business relationships, all companies within the group complete detailed compliance reporting quarterly. Significant instances of non-compliance are identified through this reporting.
Significant instances of non-compliance are occurrences or events that have an actual or potential impact on an outcome of an instance. The significance of an instance is determined by its relevance to the particular situation and its potential to form the future course of events.
The impact of significant instances can range form minor to major, depending on the context and stakeholders involved. All instances that meet the criteria above shall be reported.
The reporting covers such issues as compliance breaches, business code of conduct, whistleblowing, concerns regarding customers, credit policy, potential corruption cases and other issues of concern. In case of discrepancies an appropriate action is taken. The nature of the action taken is defined by the nature and severity of the discrepancy.
Compliance reporting helps providing knowledge and insights from past compliance failures and successes. Lerøy is constantly working with developing strong compliance culture – through risk assesments and information campaingns which are aimed at explaining compliance requirements and expectations as well as be aware of potential compliance-related risks.
Lerøy provides frequent compliance-related training to its employees and workers to ensure that they are equipt to identify problematic compliance issues and report them. The content/focus areas of the information campaigns/training can be defined by the nature of recent and relevant compliance-related cases.
Lerøy is aiming at strenghtening its compliance reporting by providing clear and transparent information the company’s compliance-related activities to its stakeholders. Transpartent compliance reporting is important to building trust and credibility as well as demonstrate that the company is commited to ethical and responsible behaviour.
|
Instances for which fines were incurred |
Monetary sanctions |
Non-monetary sanctions |
|
Infringement fee – personal injury in 2020 Lerøy Norway Seafoods AS |
NOK 400 000 |
- |
|
Infringement fee – personal injury in 2020 Lerøy Norway Seafoods AS
|
NOK 400 000 |
- |
|
Infringement fee – fatality in 2021 Lerøy Norway Seafoods AS
|
NOK 700 000 |
- |
|
Infringement fee – an employee/ worker did not have a residency permit in the country, Lerøy Smøgen |
SEK 94 600 |
- |
Number of instances for which fines were incurred: 4
Monitary value:
NOK 1 500 000
SEK 94 600
Concerns regarding compliance and business conduct can be reported anonymously via an independent whistleblowing channel (for more information, please, visit chapter on Whistleblowing).
Critical concerns are reported to the Management team and the Board quarterly as a part of the Group's Compliance report.
Compliance is an ongoing process which it requires coninuous monitoring and improvement measures to ensure that the organization remains compliant with all relevant requirements.
Main outcomes of completed legal actions, including any decisions or judgements:
On 20th February 2019, the EU competition authorities (the EU Comission) started an investigation into suspected anitompetative practices in the salamon market. Lerøy Seafood Group ASA is one of the companies named in the case. The invistigation is still ongoing.
On NovemberThe US Department of Justice (DOJ) opened an investigation into the Norwegian salmon industry. Lerøy Seafood USA Inc., a second-tier subsidary of Lerøy Seafood Group ASA was subpoenaed by the DOJ to provide information in the case. The case was settled in 2022.
The Group has developed a Business Code of Conduct which outlines the Group’s fundamental standards and principles for business conduct and ethics, human and labour rights, environment, anti-bribery and anti-corruption, whistleblowing and data privacy protection.
We require both our employees, workers and our business partners to respect, support and comply with the Business Code of Conduct as applicable.
All employees and workers shall be able to apply the principles laid out in the Business Code of Conduct and have received Business Code of Conduct and Ethics training to raise awareness of and ensure compliance.
All new employees and workers have to familiarize themselves with the Business Code of Conduct and the Group’s set of values. Existing employees as well as others who are required to respect and comply with the Business Code of Conduct can suggest changes and updates in the Code. All employees and workers are invited to revisit and review The Group’s Business Code of Conduct annually.
The Code of Conduct is reviewed by the Board annually. It is a permanent agenda item of the first Board meeting of each year.
The Group’s Compliance Officer is responsible for coordinating and ensuring that The Code is implemented in the organization.The Business Code of Conduct is reviewed annually in order to evaluate its relevance and appropriateness with regards to organizational context changes, social developments, particular cases as well as feedback form relevant stakeholders.
If appropriate and necessary, the Business Code of Conduct is amended, updated or explained in greater detail in case there is a necessity for more clarity regarding how an issue should be handled or resolved.
The Business Code of Conduct is complemented by the Group’s set of values which define our behaviours at work. The Group has developed a new Lerøy Supplier Code of Conduct and a Lerøy Supplier Declaration Form that can be found on the Group`s website, see link below.
In order to verify whether and to what extent the Leroy’s Business Code of Conduct is applied by the Group’s suppliers, they are requested to fill out a questionnaire which requires the suppliers to explain in detail how the Business Code of Conduct is applied and complied with.
The questionnaire addresses such issues as governance, certifications, digital infrastructure and cybersecurity, supply chain, sustainability practices, human and labour rights and other subject specific requirements.
All our suppliers are informed of and have to commit to our Business Code of Conduct, and they are expected to conduct their business in an ethical and manner as well as act with integrity complying with international and local laws and standards.
Supplier agreements shall contain requirements stating the principles in the Business Code of Conduct shall be followed. Particular care must be taken when engaging intermediaries and associated payments.
