Morrisons recently published last April its "Corporate social responsibility report" (CSR report, 2006) for the previous financial year. The report puts high regard on Morrisons' effort to minimise the impact of its business operations on the environment. Moreover, the report stresses the catering of the interests of its "key" stakeholders, namely its customers, suppliers, colleagues and shareholders. Recalling way back before it completely took over the ownership of Safeway in 8 March 2004, Morrisons expressed its endeavour to recognise its social and environmental responsibilities under the operation of a business ethics working group (Telegraph & Argus, 2003). In this paper, I shall assess the company's CSR programme in the most comprehensive and balanced way possible against news accounts dating since the Safeway takeover by highlighting the actual business practices of Morrisons with regards to claims contained in its CSR report.
One of the sustainability issues that Morrisons accentuated in its CSR report is its fish procurement policy. Morrisons ensures that it is "buying from the most sustainable sources and finding the least depleted stocks." Greenpeace UK comments about the sustainability of the company's fish policy, considering Morrisons as the "worst fish retailer" in Britain. The company allegedly has been catching "seafood species in highly destructive ways," a practice that is exemplified by lobbing back to sea fishes and other marine life caught up in nets either as dead, dying or waste. This sparked activists to stretch out a banner on the flagship store's roof outcrying "More reasons not to shop at Morrisons. No. 1: Worst fish retailer," alongside an image of a heap of by-catch. In response to this protest, Morrisons agreed to further co ...