Governance
Governance
Our governance
Friend of the Sea operates within the World Sustainability Organization (WSO). Its governance structure brings together organisational leadership, strategic advice and technical expertise through the Board of Directors, Advisory Board and Technical Committee.
Each body has defined responsibilities. Together with opportunities for stakeholder participation, this structure provides a framework for directing the programme, reviewing its performance and developing its standards.
For businesses, consumers and other interested parties, this page explains who is responsible for different decisions, where to find supporting documents and how to contribute or raise a concern.
The Board of Directors is the programme’s highest governing body. It oversees strategic direction and the management of departments, staff, budgets and operations.
Its responsibilities include appointing Advisory Board members, conducting performance reviews with the Advisory Board and monitoring the standards revision process. It also ratifies the approval and validation of standards.
The Board receives strategic advice from the Advisory Board, informed by technical expertise and stakeholder contributions.
Terms of Reference (ToR) for the Board of Directors
The Advisory Board provides non-binding strategic advice to the Board of Directors.
Its role includes evaluating the programme’s effectiveness, guiding improvements and bringing external perspectives to its development. It also elects Technical Committee members and considers complaints, objections and stakeholder input within its defined responsibilities.
The Advisory Board’s terms of reference explain its selection criteria, responsibilities and decision-making arrangements.
The Technical Committee contributes to the development and revision of Friend of the Sea standards through technical review, comments and voting.
Its role is to assess proposed requirements and decide on their approval through the voting process defined in its terms of reference. Public consultation gives stakeholders an opportunity to contribute alongside this technical review.
The terms of reference explain the Committee’s responsibilities and the rules governing its decisions.
How our seafood standards are developed
Developing a standard involves several responsibilities and stages of review.
The Technical and Scientific Department prepares and revises the content. During public consultation, Technical Committee members, Advisory Board members and other stakeholders are invited to submit comments.
The Technical and Scientific Department reviews those contributions and proposed changes. The Technical Committee assesses and votes on the standard’s content.
The published Technical Committee terms of reference also identify validation by Accredia and ratification by the Board of Directors within the seafood standards process.
Visit our standards development page for consultation documents, revision information and opportunities to contribute.
Impartiality and conflicts of interest
Governance requires clear procedures for identifying interests that could affect a decision.
Our Conflict of Interest Policy sets out requirements for disclosing relevant financial interests, determining whether a conflict exists and managing participation in the related discussion or vote. It also specifies requirements for recording decisions and completing annual declarations.
These procedures provide a framework for addressing potential conflicts when they arise.
Documents and reports
Our published documents explain the programme’s governance arrangements, policies and review processes. Use the sections below to find the information relevant to your enquiry.
Explore the organisational structure, terms of reference, published membership lists and role descriptions.
Read the policies and procedures covering conflicts of interest, impartiality, management control, programme objectives and funding arrangements.
Consult published performance indicators, Board performance reviews and annual reports. Each report relates to the period stated in its title. Historical reports provide a record of that period and should be read alongside the applicable governance documents.
Annual Performance Review Procedure
FOS Performance Indicators Objectives, Results and Outcomes from 2008 to 2018
FOS Performance Indicators Objectives, Results and Outcomes 2019 – 2020
FOS Performance Indicators Objectives, Results and Outcomes 2020 – 2021
FOS Performance Indicators Objectives, Results and Outcomes 2021 – 2022
Have your say
Businesses, consumers, researchers, non-governmental organisations and other interested parties can contribute to the programme or raise concerns.
Choose the route that matches your enquiry so it can be considered through the appropriate procedure.
Suggest an improvement to a standard
You can submit comments on Friend of the Sea standards at any time using the Stakeholder Input Form. The accompanying procedure explains how submissions are considered.
You can also participate in public consultations during standards development and revision. To request notification of future consultations, email info@friendofthesea.org.
Submit an objection before an audit
If you have evidence relevant to a company scheduled for assessment, you can submit an objection using the Objections Form.
Under the published procedure, objections must be supported by evidence and received at least 15 working days before the planned audit. Accepted objections are passed to the auditor for consideration during the assessment.
Raise a complaint or appeal
You can raise concerns about Friend of the Sea’s governance, programme management or standard-setting activities through the Complaints and Appeals Procedure.
Concerns about a certified company, a certification body’s assessment or a certification decision should first be addressed to the relevant certification body through its complaints procedure. If the matter remains unresolved, the Friend of the Sea procedure explains the next steps available.
Submit the completed form in English, with supporting evidence, to info@friendofthesea.org.
