SUSTAINABILITY

In this period of global effort towards a sustainable future, prudency, corporate responsibility, and performance beyond compliance are essential.

The High-Level visions of humanity are expressed by strategic industry stakeholders. Regulatory bodies like the UN and IMO and strategic players including charterers, oil majors, brokers as well as financial institutions expect and, many times, require shipping operators to align.

Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) is the generic term used for the standards and criteria indicating how companies operate in relation to the environment and society at large. Socially conscious investors use standards to screen potential investments.

The regulatory and industry framework of sustainability in shipping is formed by:

  • UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s) with the ones focused by IMO being at the forefront. The UN Sustainable Development Goals provide a blueprint for the transition to a healthier planet and a more just world for present and future generations. As part of the United Nations, IMO is actively working towards the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the associated SDGs. IMO’s current and future policies and requirements towards the shipping industry are now formally linked to the SDGs.
  • IMO Green House Gases Emissions (GHGs) reduction initial and consecutive Strategies. Initial strategy will be amended in order to be in line with the developments of Climate Change.
  • EU with its Taxonomy Regulation. For the implementation of the 2015 Paris Agreement targets on Climate Change, the EU adopted the Regulation on Taxonomy. This Regulation is a tool for assessment of financing, and it introduces the process of an EU-wide classification of economic activities that could be classified as sustainable (green). Shipping is one of these activities, and as long as it can prove to the EU institutions that it fulfils the Taxonomy Regulation criteria, it will be treated favourably for financing.
  • Emissions Trading Systems (ETSs). Presently the first Continent that considers seriously to include shipping in its ETS is Europe and upon finalization, other Continents may follow.
  • The Poseidon Principles which are a framework for assessing and disclosing the climate alignment of ship finance portfolios. They create common global baselines that are consistent with and supportive of society’s goals to better enable financial institutions to align their portfolios with responsible environmental impacts.
  • The Sea Cargo Charter is aligned with the Poseidon Principles and is consistent with the policies and ambitions of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), including its ambition for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to peak as soon as possible and to reduce shipping’s total annual GHG emissions by at least 50% by 2050 compared to 2008. As such, it sets a standard for reporting emissions, thus enhancing transparency and creating a global baseline to support and work towards the greater goals for our society and the goal to align our maritime activities to be environmentally responsible.

We have accumulated extensive experience and developed the needed expertise to help shipping companies clarify their strategy and incorporate within their management systems the regulatory framework and the high-level goals which characterize prudent and socially responsible operators. This incorporation is achieved following a holistic approach and aiming to efficiency and user friendliness of the applied management practices.

Our approach includes the following basic principles:

Strategy

The overall approach to the alignment of the Company with relevant Sustainable Development goals is mapped, considering the company’s strategic direction.

Clear Objectives

The Company’s, objectives, Key Performance Indicators and targets are determined and the alignment with relevant, sustainable development goals clarified.

Clear actions

The management controls to achieve the objectives and targets are reviewed and updated as necessary. The effort is that the actions (Policies, processes, plans, and controls) for the achievement of SDG objectives to be seamlessly integrated within the overall Management System but also clearly identified for verification purposes.

Accurate Measurements

Mechanisms to collect data indicating performance (KPI’s) against measurable objectives are integrated within the system to achieve continual performance monitoring.