Sea Pact's Exciting New Chapter: Collaboration After Project Funding
This blog was written by Alexandra Golub, Director of Sustainability at Acme Smoked Fish (current Sea Pact Member Board Chair), and Sam Grimley, Executive Director with Sea Pact.
After 11 years of funding pioneering sustainability projects through its Project Funding Program, Sea Pact is embarking on an exciting new chapter for the organization. Effective immediately, we are shifting gears away from providing project/grant funding to focus on an even more impactful approach: fostering collaboration within member companies, across members, and through strong partnerships with other stakeholders in the sustainable seafood landscape in order to tackle the seafood industry’s most pressing sustainability challenges.
A Legacy to Celebrate
Since Sea Pact’s founding in 2013, the Project Funding Program has been recognized throughout the industry for its impact on driving sustainability outcomes. The program was designed to identify innovative projects uplifting seafood harvesters, producers and processors relevant to North American mid-supply chain seafood companies and markets. Some examples of the breadth of solutions funded include: innovations in fishing gear, electronic monitoring pilots, a gender equality program, and many more. By the numbers, Sea Pact has supported a total of 40 unique projects in 13 countries and contributed more than $800,000 directly into impactful initiatives. We are proud to stand behind this legacy.
Why the Shift?
When Sea Pact was founded, the conversations around improving sustainability in the seafood industry were focused on upstream supply chain actors - seafood producers, harvesters and fisheries stakeholders. After more than a decade of progress and funding in this area, the conversations have shifted. It is no longer sufficient for North American mid-supply chain companies to engage distant stakeholders through a broader funding program. Alongside NGOs, regulators, and consumers, we are calling for a more direct and strategic approach - one that starts within member companies and demonstrates leadership in the seafood industry and beyond.
For these reasons, along with our own growth and evolution, Sea Pact is reevaluating our approach to impact. Over the past year, the Sea Pact Member Board has decided to focus our efforts on improving the nodes of our supply chains that are more directly within our control. Examples of these areas include sustainable sourcing, traceability and social welfare, among others. We will engage solution-providers, support implementation, document our efforts and share best practices to lead improvements across the seafood industry at large.
At its core, Sea Pact was founded to drive sustainability improvements through our members’ collective influence and collaboration. By focusing on collaboration and engagement rather than traditional grant-making, Sea Pact can amplify its impact and work directly on solutions that align with members’ sustainability goals and industry-wide needs.
What’s Next for Sea Pact?
We’re excited to unveil our new and collaborative operating model that emphasizes:
Direct Impact: Member companies engage their teams directly in projects that address the most pressing challenges for the North American seafood industry sustainability.
Stronger Partnerships: Building alliances with like-minded organizations including NGOs and industry - across sectors and geographies - to find innovative solutions that can be applied to the seafood industry.
Increased Leadership: Leveraging our collective learnings and best practices to guide the industry toward a more sustainable future.
In the coming months, we will be publishing our five-year strategic plan that includes goals and objectives for our updated priorities. The new direction outlined above allows us to maintain an open door for collaborations while dedicating our capacity and resources to initiatives that help us achieve these goals.
A Bright Future Ahead
Sea Pact is committed to continuing its mission of driving sustainability progress across the seafood industry. We are excited to embrace this new chapter and are motivated to work closely with fellow member companies as well as external stakeholders to lead the way in solving some of the industry's toughest sustainability challenges.
We want to thank everyone who has been part of our journey to date. Your support and partnership have been instrumental in shaping our success.
We also want to invite other North American seafood industry members to join us on this journey as a Sea Pact member. Collaboration is the key to ensuring a healthy and thriving industry for the future.
Sea Pact will continue to share outcomes from recently funded projects and stay tuned for more details on our updated five-year goals and strategies. Please reach out to learn more!