Seafood Ethics Action Alliance announces Georgia Worrall as new Head

The Seafood Ethics Action (SEA) Alliance have selected Georgia Worrall, a seasoned workers’ rights and ethical trade professional, to lead their work in advancing social responsibility in global seafood supply chains. Georgia took up the post as Head of the SEA Alliance on Monday 8th January.

The SEA Alliance is a pre-competitive collaboration comprised of 34 retailers, supply chain companies and trade bodies, including most major British supermarkets which are collectively responsible for 95% of grocery sales in the UK.

In her new role, Georgia will be responsible for leading the delivery of the SEA Alliance’s workplan. The four pillars of this strategy involve establishing the SEA Alliance as an impactful, pre-competitive collaboration; supporting businesses to undertake aligned human rights due diligence (HRDD); carrying out engagement with governments, advocating for worker protections and supporting improvement projects designed to positively impact the labour standards of fishers and aquaculture workers through its Change on the Water Fund.

Laying out her vision for SEA Alliance going into 2024, Georgia said:

“The SEA Alliance is already well-established in its ability to bring market actors together, including direct competitors, to collaborate effectively for the meaningful advancement of human rights and labour standards in the seafood industry. My role as the new Head will involve enhancing the existing pillars of work whilst reinforcing governance structures, ensuring that the alliance remains resilient and adaptable.

“I look forward to working closely with our members, external stakeholders, and businesses throughout seafood supply chains. Collaboratively, I hope to explore ways to enhance human rights due diligence in the sector, aiming for tangible improvements in the rights and conditions of the workers involved.

“I am eager to harness the leverage and influence of our alliance membership to take our advocacy efforts to new heights by engaging with global governments, standards and certification bodies and other influential stakeholders.

“I also look forward to developing and implementing initiatives that not only tackle current challenges but also devise solutions for sustainable and meaningful change. In essence, my focus is on a year marked by organisational growth and impactful collective efforts.”

Explaining why Georgia was the ideal fit for the role, the SEA Alliance’s chair and Group Ethics and Social Sustainability Senior Manager at Hilton Foods, Julia Black said:

“We are delighted at the appointment of Georgia to the role of Head of the SEA Alliance. As Head, she will bring a great awareness and understanding of the actions businesses can take to meaningfully impact worker rights. Georgia has a successful history of implementing human rights due diligence within seafood supply chains and I am confident of the beneficial impact her work will bring to the SEA Alliance.”

Before being selected to take the reins at the SEA Alliance, Georgia’s roles included: Ethical Trading Manager for canned and ambient food importer Caterers Choice and Responsible Sourcing Coordinator for Verisio, a social compliance auditing body.

Most recently Georgia worked for British retailer and SEA Alliance member the Co-op, as the Human Rights and Ethical Trading Manager. She held this role alongside a consultancy position at the SEA Alliance, in which she has been principally responsible since March 2023 for the delivery of its flagship “Commitment to Progress Initiative”. The Initiative, currently in development, seeks to provide a series of pathways for businesses to follow to improve their HRDD processes. It has been widely consulted on by various industry stakeholders and is expected to be published at this year’s Seafood Expo Global in Barcelona.

The two-month-long search for a new Head – responsible for delivering the organisation’s strategic vision – was triggered by the departure of former Head, Andy Hickman, who after two years in the role, took up a new position at British retailer and SEA Alliance member, Sainsbury’s.