El Corte Inglés joins MSC's 5th Seas Forever Week for sustainable fishing

Posted on 04/01/2025

Sustainability and social compromise

From 31 March to 6 April, El Corte Inglés is joining in the celebration of the 5th "Seas Forever" Week, held by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) in Spain to raise awareness of the importance of sustainable fishing.
In 2023, it was the first retailer in Spain to certify its fishmongers with the MSC seals, ensuring that its fish comes from sustainable sources and promoting responsible fishing.
The company stands by its commitment to sustainability throughout its food offer. It has more than 2,000 organic and fair trade products in its catalogue, demonstrating its commitment to healthy eating, reducing environmental impact and supporting responsible producers.

El Corte Inglés is strengthening its leadership in food sustainability by extending its collaboration with the MSC (Marine Stewardship Council) Blue Seal, the seal that certifies sustainable fishing. The company is again joining the Seas Forever Week, which unites agents from the entire value chain of sustainable fishing, seeking to defend the health of the oceans and the importance of consuming wild fish that comes from sustainable sources. In 2023, El Corte Inglés certified all its fresh fish counters with MSC, furthering its commitment to the sustainability of seas and oceans and making it easier for end consumers to choose wild fish from sustainable sources, supporting them in their responsible purchasing decisions.

This commitment reinforces the company's commitment to responsible food, ensuring that the seafood it offers its customers comes from certified and sustainable fisheries. To this end, it trains suppliers in sustainable fish extraction, production, handling and packaging processes.

The MSC Blue Seal guarantees that fresh, frozen, canned and pre-cooked products meet high sustainability standards. In line with this commitment, more than 1,000 fishmongers have received specific training to advise customers on the origin and characteristics of certified sustainable products.

Currently, more than 180 fresh fish counters in El Corte Inglés, Hipercor, Supercor and Sánchez Romero supermarkets, as well as their logistics platforms, have this certification.

Sustainability in every choice

In addition to leading the certification of fishmongers in Spain, El Corte Inglés is strengthening its commitment to sustainability throughout its food offer. The company promotes responsible consumption through traceability and transparency in the selection of products, encouraging organic production, fair trade and support for local suppliers. It currently has more than 2,000 organic products, as well as a Sustainable Product Guide that includes more than 90 sustainability attributes endorsed by independent certifications for different raw materials. El Corte Inglés offers its customers up to 27 types of fresh, frozen, refrigerated and canned fish with the MSC Blue Seal. Among the items are yellow fin tuna, cod, American lobster and tiger prawns in the fishmonger's, or white tuna and Cantabrian anchovies in the canned food category.

This commitment is in addition to awareness-raising initiatives, such as the "Seas Forever" photo contest organised by El Corte Inglés together with MSC last year to raise awareness among employees about the importance of sustainable fishing and the health of the oceans by putting an end to overfishing. These actions reinforce El Corte Inglés' global strategy in favour of biodiversity and ocean conservation, in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

El Corte Inglés offers its customers the possibility of making more responsible purchasing choices, ensuring that each one contributes to the well-being of the planet and future generations, and reinforcing its leadership in food sustainability.