ISS Food and Hospitality joins top fish table

Over seventy thousand people will be offered sustainable fish at work after ISS Facility Services Food and Hospitality [1] announced a raft of new commitments to sustainable seafood this week. The caterers have joined some of the country’s most progressive restaurants and caterers - including Wahaca, the National Trust and Leon - and signed the Sustainable Fish City Pledge [2]. The new commitments include getting Marine Stewardship Council certification [3] for all sites to serve certified sustainable fish and following Marine Conservation Society [4] advice where certified fish is not yet available.

Andy Chappell, Managing Director of ISS Facility Services Food and Hospitality, commented: “We continue our journey as a responsible foodservice partner by signing up to the Sustainable Fish City Pledge. Ethical sourcing and sustainability are an important element of who we are, and we will be delighted to demonstrate this every day throughout our client restaurant and dining facilities. We hope our commitment to the Marine Stewardship Council will encourage other caterers to follow our example.”

Rosie Boycott, appointed Chair of the London Food Board [5] in 2008 by the Mayor of London Boris Johnson, backed the launch of the Sustainable Fish City campaign in January 2011. She said: “I welcome ISS Facility Services Food and Hospitality's commitment to serving sustainable fish. This is an excellent example of how businesses can rise to the challenge of supporting more sustainable fishing. Consumers are increasingly demanding that organisations act responsibly to preserve and protect precious fish stocks, so well done ISS Facility Services Food and Hospitality.”

Sustainable Fish City campaign coordinator Jon Walker commented: “We are delighted that ISS Facility Services Food and Hospitality have pledged support to Sustainable Fish City. Their commitment to follow Marine Conservation Society advice and get Marine Stewardship Council chain of custody certification will make a real difference to protecting our precious marine resources.”

Hannah Arcaro, Foodservice Outreach Manager for the Marine Stewardship Council said: “By serving MSC certified sustainable fish in their restaurants, ISS Facility Services Food and Hospitality is helping to promote sustainable fishing practices around the world. Their support of certified sustainable fisheries and their influence with fisheries and suppliers that aren’t yet certified is vital to transforming global fisheries to a sustainable basis. Together with ISS, we can help to ensure that fish supplies are safeguarded for this and future generations.”

Dave Parker from the Marine Conservation Society commented: “ISS Facility Services Food and Hospitality is helping to change the way the catering market operates. By not stocking fish from the Marine Conservation Society 'fish to avoid' list, this company is helping to reduce demand for over-exploited fish from poorly managed fisheries. This is a crucial step towards the recovery of marine fisheries and the future of sustainable fishing.”

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Notes to editors

1. ISS Facility Services Food and Hospitality is a division of ISS UK, which employs over 520,000 people worldwide.
2. The Sustainable Fish City campaign was launched in January 2011, and has already received sustainable fish pledges from fourteen London universities, the National Trust, the SEALIFE London Aquarium, top restaurants and leading caterers. This followed the adoption by the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games of a fully sustainable fish policy, and the adoption by the GLA Group (Metropolitan Police, Transport for London, London Fire Brigade and the Greater London Authority – City Hall) of the London 2012 Food Vision, which includes a commitment to using sustainable fish. For further details of pledge signatories, see: https://www.sustainweb.org/sustainablefishcity/whos_working_on_it/
   The Sustainable Fish City pledge commits ISS Facility Services Food and Hospitality to:
   - Avoid the worst: Removing endangered species from menus and catering – those rated as ‘fish to avoid’ by the Marine Conservation Society: www.fishonline.org/advice/avoid
   - Promote the best: Serving sustainably managed fish – Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certified fish, and those rated as ‘fish to eat’ by the Marine Conservation Society: www.fishonline.org/advice/eat/
   - Improve the rest: Telling suppliers they want to serve only sustainable fish – and that there are organisations that can help them to do this, such as Good Catch: www.sustainweb.org/goodcatch and the MSC: www.msc.org
3. Marine Stewardship Council chain of custody is a traceability certification that allows caterers and retailers to sell fish with the MSC’s ‘Certified Sustainable Seafood’ ecolabel. Fish or menu items bearing the ecolabel can be traced back to independently certified sustainable fisheries. Each MSC certified fishery has been certified as a sustainable and well-managed fishery in a peer-reviewed, transparent independent assessment. To find out more, visit http://www.msc.org
4. The Marine Conservation Society (MCS) is the UK’s leading charity for the protection of our seas, shores and wildlife. The voice for our seas for almost 30 years, MCS champions protection for marine wildlife, sustainable fisheries and clean seas and beaches. See their website at: http://www.mcsuk.org.
5. The London Food Board is an advisory group of independent food policy organisations and experts which oversees the implementation of The Mayor’s Food Strategy: Healthy and Sustainable Food for London, published in 2006 and to co-ordinate work and lead the debate on sustainable food issues in the capital. The London Food Board is chaired by Rosie Boycott, the Mayor of London’s food advisor, and is supported by Greater London Authority’s Food Team. For more information, see: http://www.london.gov.uk/london-food/general/what-london-food-board. The London Food Board supports Sustainable Fish City as an affiliate organisation, and public sector organisations participating in the initiative have benefited from practical support and advice from the Good Food on the Public Plate project, supported by the Mayor of London, see: http://www.gfpp.org.uk

See the ISS Facility Services Food and Hospitality website at: http://www.uk.issworld.com