SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2015

At the same time we successfully
implemented the Aquaculture
Stewardship Council (ASC) standard
across all our marine farms. This was a
massive achievement and we became
the first Salmon farm company globally
to certify our entire operation. One of
the aspects that makes ASC certification
stand out amongst certification
schemes is its third party stakeholder
engagement and transparency of
audit reports. Both these features
assisted us during a time of heightened
public scrutiny. Having a defined
culture of transparency and respect
for stakeholders helped the company
embrace and respect that scrutiny.
We have implemented further processes
and systems this year, and refined
others that support us in meeting our
environmental and social targets:
Zero Harm for Fish, RSPCA standard
development, business intelligence tools
and real time, environmental monitoring
systems to name a few. Tassal is
embracing the digital age of doing
business and using that technology to
provide the best growing conditions
for our Salmon, minimising our
environmental impacts while a Salmon
RSPCA standard is being developed
in Australia for Australian conditions.
The Farmed Atlantic Salmon Approved
Farming Scheme standard is building on
the excellent work done by the Scottish
Salmon industry in the area of fish
health and welfare. As always, at the
forefront of our thinking is our customer.
In light of this focus we continue to
strive for the highest quality product and
maintain the highest level of food safety.
In June 2015, I participated in a panel
on climate change as part of the EU
Climate Diplomacy Day. The statistics
are sobering and the global climate
changes are confronting to say the
least. I was the only industry person
on a panel of scientists, activists and
climate specialists and I wondered to
myself what I was going to contribute to
the session. I started out by speaking
about the importance of growing food
in changing world conditions, about
managing the risk and finding the
opportunities, about implementing
companywide change to reduce
our impact, and about leadership in
the business community. The most
important thing I shared that night, was
that Tassal was choosing not to be
overwhelmed by the situation but be
purposeful. Sometimes people just want
to believe things can be better and that
we have the capacity to bring about
change. Upon reflection, I realise that is
how Tassal tackles many tough issues,
such as inherent conflicts over the
use of the marine space, the potential
environmental impacts of conducting
our business or the challenge of food
production in the 21st century. Every
little improvement matters and every
setback that we recover from, and every
step backwards that we take is replaced
by two steps forward, which is what
defines us as a company.
I have said it many times in previous
reports - balance is the key, and, like a
tight rope walker we are continuously
seeking the balance between industry
and conservation, food production
and animal rights, employment and
environmental impacts, development
and social amenity. So, just like the EU
climate panel, we do not have all the
answers, and we cannot solve all the
issues ourselves, but we can and do
make a difference.
As we look to the future and enter
into the world of Seafood through our
acquisition of the De Costi business we
will certainly encounter many challenges
and wonderful opportunities in the
upcoming year. Alongside our new team
members at De Costi we are committed
to tackling sustainability issues with
integrity, transparency and purpose.
And finally, I would like to sign off in
remembrance of two Tassal employees
who passed away in the last year.
Pam Burton who was an outstanding
Tasmanian advocate for the care and
conservation of wildlife and our own
Julie Lucas, a valued and much loved
member of our Sustainability and Fish
Health team.
Linda Sams
Tassal Sustainability Report 2015 7