Royal Greenland's prawn factory Silver-validated by M&S
Royal Greenland's prawn processing facility in Aalborg, Denmark has been Silver-validated by British retail Marks & Spencer – a recognition that the factory is operating sustainably when it comes to lean processes, ethics and environment.
It is a key requirement to leading retailer M&S that all supplying sites are at least Silver validated by 2020 in order to continue to supply them and Royal Greenland's site is among the first to be validated.
- The fact that Royal Greenland's site in Aalborg gains recognition at Silver level at this early stage means that we are now part of a very select group of approved suppliers to Marks & Spencer. This is a great point of departure for the factory in their future cooperation with M&S, says Corporate Sustainability Manager Lisbeth Due Schönemann-Paul.
Factory Manager at the site Peter Korsbæk is very satisfied with the result.
- I am both proud and happy on the factory's behalf on account of us achieving this great result and not at the least, that we achieved it three years before M&S' deadline, says Peter Korsbæk and continues:
- I see this as an indication that the direction we are moving in and the initiatives we are working on on an everyday basis are in line with what the customers want from their suppliers, especially when it comes to Marks & Spencer, who is a customer with very high demands and expectations to the products we supply to their stores
Lengthy process
Gaining silver validation is a lengthy process in which the factory managers as well as shared service employees at the Royal Greenland office in Svenstrup, Denmark has participated in several audits and telephone interviews. Marks & Spencer's auditors have inquired about the site's processes, employee relations and environment in order to investigate its sustainability.
The framework for M&S's validation is based on input from suppliers and experts in various fields such as packaging of food items, ethical trading, and ethical and environmental improvements within trade, technical industries, service, innovation and production.
- Gaining Silver validation means that Royal Greenland will be more visible at M&S and will gain recognition in the British industry as a whole, of the fact that Royal Greenland is a supplier with high standards, setting goals for our future development, says Lisbeth Due Schönemann-Paul.
