Safeway tops Greenpeace list for sustainable seafood

PLEASANTON, Calif. -- Safeway announced that it has been named the most sustainable national U.S. grocer for seafood by Greenpeace. Greenpeace's retailer scorecard ranks the top 20 grocery retailers on the sustainability of their seafood practices.

The "Carting Away the Oceans" report and scorecard, released on April 11, rates retailers' existing seafood policies, initiatives, product labeling/dissemination of information about products, and practices surrounding the sale of certain unsustainable or "red list" species.

"This ranking reflects our commitment and responsibility to be a steward of our natural resources," said Phil Gibson, group director of seafood at Safeway. "We strive to be a leader in the area of seafood sustainability and know that much remains to be done. We hope that the entire industry continues on this important path to ensuring that both the world's oceans and the seafood industry thrive."

Safeway said it earned its top ranking by implementing a number of policies to help it reach the goal of selling more sustainable seafood. By 2015, all Safeway fresh and frozen seafood will come from sustainable and traceable sources, or be in a credible improvement project to meet the goal. To achieve these objectives, Safeway has partnered with FishWise, a Santa Cruz, Calif.-based nonprofit that works with companies throughout the seafood supply chain to support environmentally responsible business practices.

To raise customer awareness, Safeway deployed to all of its stores a comprehensive brochure that outlines its commitment, plans, and actions to date, and is rolling out a staff training program for seafood counter employees that was developed with FishWise.