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Novotel has become the first hospitality brand to join the Seafood Task Force (STF), expanding its work on seafood sustainability and supply chain transparency.
The move follows the hotel group’s three-year ocean partnership with WWF, launched in 2024.
The initial phase of the collaboration will focus on improving the traceability of tuna and farmed shrimp sourced for Novotel hotels in Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia.
The company said the commodities were identified as priorities due to sourcing volumes and associated sustainability and social-risk factors.
The STF is a global coalition of companies involved in tuna and shrimp supply chains. Members work to ensure seafood is traceable, ethically produced and compliant with international environmental and social standards.
Novotel’s membership builds on its seafood sourcing principles published earlier this year with WWF France.
Those principles include plans to remove more than 350 endangered species from menus by 2027, use MSC-certified wild-caught fish and source ASC- or organic-certified farmed seafood for salmon and shrimp.
The new membership will complement its existing seafood initiatives, including a fishery improvement project in Kerala, a traceability partnership across Middle East hotels, work on shrimp supply chains in Brazil and a procurement project in Europe focused on supplier transparency.
Novotel’s wider ocean programme includes targets on reducing plastics and carbon emissions, promoting sustainable food choices, and supporting WWF marine conservation work.
Since the WWF partnership began, the company has introduced ocean awareness training for its global hotel teams and contributed to projects involving marine habitats, ghost gear removal and conservation research.
Nadege Keryhuel, global vice-president for the Novotel brand, said: “Joining the Seafood Task Force represents a critical next step in Novotel’s journey toward complete seafood traceability and sustainability…
“Through our partnership with the STF, our teams across Southeast Asia will have access to world-class expertise and practical tools to drive meaningful change in how we source tuna and farmed shrimp.”
Martin Thurley, executive director of the Seafood Task Force, added: “We are excited to welcome Novotel as the first hospitality brand to join the Seafood Task Force. The hospitality sector plays a vital role in driving demand for sustainable seafood and Novotel’s commitment to transparency and continuous improvement across their Southeast Asian operations demonstrates true leadership. We look forward to working closely with their teams to implement practices that not only benefit their operations but also contribute to healthier ocean ecosystems and more resilient fishing communities across the region.”
