"Undoubtedly, these results reflect the hard work of our entire team," said Gerardo Balbontín, CEO of Blumar.
Photo: Blumar.
Chile's Blumar obtained 73 points in the Corporate Sustainability Assessment (CSA), the evaluation of companies in the food category conducted by the risk rating agency S&P Global, which annually recognizes industry leaders by measuring them across environmental, social, and governance dimensions. This result represented a significant improvement of 17 points in just one year.
"This assessment has allowed us to test our sustainability strategy, which is integrated into our overall business strategy, and to give meaning to our ESG efforts through measurable goals that impact society and our business. Undoubtedly, these results reflect the hard work of our entire team," pointed out Blumar's CEO, Gerardo Balbontín.
Since the company began participating in the CSA in 2021, its total score has increased from 42 to 73 points, a 74% improvement in three years. Viewed specifically on a scoreboard-by-scoreboard basis, Blumar's environmental score rose from 42 to 75 points, its social score from 44 to 73 points, and its governance score from 39 to 69 points.
The company's growth in this global indicator represents a continuous improvement in sustainability, which translates into Blumar being the top-performing fishing company in Chile and the second-best performing salmon producer. In fact, thanks to these results the company is among the top 2% of food companies worldwide (98th percentile). A milestone that, it said, reinforces its corporate purpose: 'We nurture people by embracing the ocean'.
This is good news for a company that has had a difficult 2024. In February, the fire devastated its salmon processing plant Entrevientos - owned 50/50 by Blumar and Multi X - in Punta Arenas, Magallanes, in southern Chile. Subsequently, in May, the Chilean Environmental Superintendency (SMA) sanctioned it for overproduction during 2019-2021 in one of its farming sites in the Kawésqar National Reserve, also in Magallanes.
In its release commenting on the CSA results, Blumar said its approach is quite innovative. Led by the company's People and Sustainability department, it has implemented a strategy that is both business-oriented and focused on key stakeholders. Social and environmental objectives have been integrated into economic and financial measures, such as sustainability-linked loans, which offer more favorable financing terms tied to the company's ESG commitments.
Another example of activations to improve its social engagement is its campaign to promote salmon consumption in Chilean schools. Together with DeliBest Chile and the National Board of School Assistance and Scholarships (Junaeb), last November, Blumar began to deliver portions of salmon to students in order to bring the product closer to their communities.
"This is a journey of continuous improvement. We are proud to be one of the companies with the highest sustainability standards, and we are committed to driving further advancements in best practices to support the future growth of our business," Sustainability Manager, Felipe Hormazábal said in conclusion.