Compass Group's Landmark Sustainable Seafood Policy

Compass Group USA, the largest contract food service company in the US, announced a major policy change – it will shift purchases away from threatened fish species and toward sustainably sourced supplies. The new policy will impact about one million pounds of fish a year. The company has $7.5 billion in revenues and more than 152,000 employees throughout the US, Canada and Latin America.

Under the policy, scheduled to begin implementation on March 1, 2006, Compass Group will replace Atlantic cod, a species which leading conservationists recommend people avoid, with the more environmentally-safe Pacific cod, Pollock and other alternatives. The company also plans to decrease its use of shrimp and salmon that are farmed in unsustainably. It will eliminate all other ‘Avoid’ species from the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch list, and increase its use of ‘Best Choices.’ The policy is expected to be fully implemented within three years.

“Compass Group is proud to embrace a sustainable seafood policy that will support the health of our oceans. When we learned about the significant impact that our purchasing shift could make, it was clear that this was the right thing to do,” said Gary Green, CEO of Compass Group – The Americas Division.

“This seafood purchasing policy represents a commitment of unprecedented scale in the food service industry,” said Fedele Bauccio, CEO of Bon Appetit Management Company, which is leading the industry to adopt sustainable food sourcing policies. Bon Appetit’s 2003 policy on antibiotic use in chicken led to Compass’s 2005 announcement about antibiotic reduction in pork.

The implementation of the sustainable seafood program within Compass Group, including the development of purchasing standards, internal compliance mechanisms, and chef training, will be managed by the Packard Foundation-funded Making Waves Project, a non-profit partnership between the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch Program and the Bon Appetit Management Company Foundation.

“We applaud Compass Group North America for its leadership,” said Michael Sutton, director of the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Center for the Future of the Oceans, which oversees the aquarium’s Seafood Watch program. “Its commitment, and a similar decision by major food retailer Wal-Mart, is a significant step toward transformation of the seafood market in ways that support sustainable fisheries and healthy ocean ecosystems.”

UK-based Compass Group PLC, the parent company, was ranked the 12th largest employer by Fortune magazine in 2005, with worldwide revenues of $21 billion and over 400,000 associates working in more than 90 countries. www.cgnad.com

Bon Appetit Management Co.: www.bamco.com

Seafood Watch: www.seafoodwatch.org