-
SEARCH
Type your search in the field above
Lerøy Seafood Group has a strict policy to promote and ensure compliance with all applicable laws and regulations. Failure to comply with relevant requierments can result in legal penalties, fines 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 organisation. 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 organisation 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 organisation. 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. The reporting contains information on various compliance-related matters such as compliance with laws and regulations, breaches of laws and regulations (if any), ongoing legal procedures as well as ensurance of decent working conditions and protection of human rights.
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 the outcome of a situation. The significance of an instance is determined by its relevance to the specific situation and its potential to influence future events).
The impact of significant instances can range form minor to major, depending on the context and parties 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 hired staff 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 Group’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 |
| Penalty from the Norwegian Seafood Authority related to termat treatment in 2022 (Lerøy Sjøtroll) | NOK 532 000 | - |
| Penalty from the Norwegian Maritime Authority related to discharge of lubrication oil in 2024 (Lerøt Havfisk) | NOK 250 000 | - |
| Penalty from the Police related to violation of the Working Environment Act (work accident in 2023) | NOK 450 000 | - |
Number of instances for which fines were incurred: 3
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 Group remains compliant with all relevant requirements.
The European Commission (the ”Commission”) initiated, on 19 February 2019, an investigation relating to suspicions of anti-competitive cooperation in the market for farmed Norwegian Atlantic salmon.
On 25 January 2024, the Commission announced that it had sent a Statement of Objections (”SO”) to several exporters of Norwegian salmon. The SO sets out the Commission’s preliminary assessment that the exporters, in some instances, may have exchanged commercially sensitive information in relation to spot market sale of whole Norwegian farmed salmon to the EU in the period 2011–2019. Lerøy Seafood Group is one of the companies that has received the SO.
Lerøy Seafood Group strongly rejects the Commission’s allegations. The SO is not a final decision and has been issued in accordance with the Commission’s ordinary procedures for such an investigation. The SO includes the Commission’s preliminary assessments only. The company has thoroughly refuted the allegations in its comments submitted to the Commission. The company has cooperated with the Commission throughout the Commission’s investigation, and will continue to work constructively with the Commission. It is standard practice that these investigations last several years. It is not possible at this stage to make any statement on whether the case will result in sanctions or other negative consequences for the group, or when the case will end.
In the wake of the Commission's investigation, a group of British supermarket chains in February 2024 issued claims for damages in the UK against several Norwegian-owned aquaculture companies, including companies in the Lerøy Seafood Group. In February 2025, another British supermarket chain issued claims for damages in the UK. A class action lawsuit on behalf of consumers has also been issued in the UK. The Group strongly rejects the claimants’ allegations and considers such claims from customers to be baseless. In Europe, this type of claims are first and foremost relevant if the Commission adopts a decision in its ongoing investigation and the decision is upheld.
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.
The commitments in the Code of Conduct stipulate applying the precautionary principle.
We require both our employees, workers and our business partners to respect, support and comply with the Business Code of Conduct as applicable.
All Lerøy employees and workers (6194 persons, 2024), as well as governance body members (9 persons, 2024), in all operating regions across the globe, 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 (incl. relevant policies and procedures) to raise awareness of various compliance related issues and challanges. The information provided in the training consists of following topics: 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.
All new employees and hired staff have to familiarise 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 hired staff are invited to revisit and review The Group’s Business Code of Conduct al least 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.
All Lerøy's business partners have to read and confirm that they will comply with the Company's Business Code of Conduct
The Business Code of Conduct is reviewed annually in order to evaluate its relevance and appropriateness with regards to organisational 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.
Lerøy's Code of Conduct is available on the company's website.
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.
