Political donations

According to the democracyforsale.net website, this company donated $70,000 to Australia's major political parties between 2012 and 2018, as disclosed to the Australian Electoral Commision (AEC).

Source: Democracy For Sale (2018)

Misleading labelling

in 2020 Simplot agreed to change its country of origin labelling on 31 frozen fish products from 'Made in Australia' to 'Packed in Australia', following concerns raised by the ACCC. Following compliance checks across a range of frozen foods, the ACCC was concerned that the products displayed a 'Made in Australia' mark when the imported frozen fish may not have been substantially transformed in Australia.

Source: ACCC (2020)

Organic products

This company manufactures or distributes products that are certified organic under the Australian Certified Organic label.

Source: ACO (2022)

MSC certified products

This company sells products which are certified by the Marine Stewardship Council.

Source: MSC (2022)

Palm oil free products

Some, but not necessarily all, of this company's frozen food products are palm oil free. For more details, follow the link to see Borneo Orangutan Survival Australia's list of products which manufacturers have told them are palm oil free or contain segregated certified sustainable palm oil.

Source: BOS Australia (2020)

Global Packaging Award winner

The WorldStar Competition is one of the major events of the World Packaging Organisation (WPO) and is the pre-eminent global award in packaging. This company won a WorldStar Global Packaging Award in 2022 for its Edgell Supa Crunch Delivery Carton.

Source: WorldStar (2022)

RCMI signatory

This company is a signatory to the Responsible Children's Marketing Initiative (RCMI), which is managed by the Australian Food & Grocery Council and covers products found in retail outlets. Companies that have signed up to the initiative commit to: only advertising healthier choices to children and encouraging a healthy lifestyle through good diet and physical activity; not paying for or seeking product placement television programs, editorial content or interactive games aimed at children, unless the product is a healthier choice; not advertising and marketing to children in Australian schools unless they are asked to by those schools.

Source: AANA (2023)

Green rating in Canned Tuna Guide

Second highest rating in Greenpeace's Canned Tuna Guide. "John West ranked 2nd this year. It has made big improvements since we started the Guide and is now one of the better choices for responsibly fished tuna. John West is continuing to improve its sustainability practices and has met its commitment to source only FAD-free tuna. John West has a good traceability and sourcing policy and all of its tuna is MSC certified. John West is also engaged in a sustainability project in the Pacific that aims to improve environmental and social outcomes for coastal communities. A positive example of what can be achieved when a company takes sustainability seriously." [Listed under Information due to age of report]

Source: Canned Tuna Guide (2017)

Dolphin safe

This company is listed by the Earth Island Institute as an approved dolphin-safe tuna processing company. This company has pledged to abide by the Earth Island international 'Dolphin Safe' tuna standards of no encirclement of dolphins or other marine mammals during an entire fishing trip, no accidental deaths or serious injuries of any dolphins, and no use of drift gill nets.

Source: Earth Island Institute (2020)

Good Egg Award 2014

The RSPCA Good Egg Awards acknowledge major companies that make the switch to cage-free eggs. This company was awarded a Good Egg Award in 2014 for their commitment to sourcing only cage-free eggs when used as direct ingredients for iconic brands such as Leggo's and Lean Cuisine.

Source: RSPCA Australia (2014)

Cage-free eggs commitment

This company is listed on the RSPCA Australia website as 'cage-free and proud', signifying a commitment to source 100% cage-free eggs. Essentially cage-free means barn laid, which is better than cage eggs, but still much worse than free-range or organic eggs when it comes to animal welfare.

Source: RSPCA Australia (2024)

Sustainable Seafood partnership with WWF

In Feb 2012 John West Australia (part of Simplot Australia) announced a new Sustainable Seafood partnership with WWF Australia. The partnership commits John West Australia to WWF's Global Sustainable Seafood Charter and features key milestones for John West to meet. In 2016 John West launched MSC-certified sustainable skipjack tuna, and they are continuing to migrate other branded products to MSC and ASC certified sustainable sources.

Source: WWF-Australia (2016)

Sustainability claims

This company has sustainability claims on its website including the areas of respect for resources, reducing operational impact and community involvement. For link for more info including Sustainability Report from 2012 and 2014.

Source: company website (2016)

Sedex member

This company is a member of the Supplier Ethical Data Exchange (Sedex), a not-for-profit, membership organisation that leads work with buyers and suppliers to deliver improvements in responsible and ethical business practices in global supply chains. Tens of thousands of companies use Sedex to manage their performance around labour rights, health & safety, the environment and business ethics.

Source: Sedex (2018)

Modern Slavery disclosure quality

Human Rights Law Centre's 2022 report, "Broken Promises: Two years of corporate reporting under Australia's Modern Slavery Act", examines statements submitted to the Government's Modern Slavery Register by 92 companies sourcing from four sectors with known risks of modern slavery: garments from China, rubber gloves from Malaysia, seafood from Thailand and fresh produce from Australia. Modern slavery statements are analysed to see if they comply with the mandatory reporting requirements, identify or disclose obvious modern slavery risks, and demonstrate effective actions to address risks. This company's modern slavery disclosure statement received a rating in the 31-40% range. The average score was 44% and the highest score was 89%.

Source: Human Rights Law Centre (2022)

Water pollution in USA

Named in Conde Nast Portfolio's 'The Toxic Ten': In 2007, USA's EPA determined that a Simplot factory was the main source of a potentially deadly amount of phosphorus dumped into the Portneuf River.

Source: Environmental Leader (2008)

Water pollution in China

In 2015 this company was fined a record US$632,370 by Chinese authorities for water pollution. A local Beijing regulator found that Simplot's China processing unit had been discharging contaminated wastewater that exceeded acceptable levels. [Listed under Information due to age of report]

Source: news article (2015)

Sustainability claims

This company has sustainability claims on its website.

Source: company website (2015)

OpenSecrets.org profile

OpenSecrets.org tracks the influence of money on U.S. politics, and how that money affects policy and citizens' lives. Follow link to see this company's record of political donations, lobbying, outside spending and more.

Source: Open Secrets (2020)