Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and the Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping launched ‘the ESG Playbook for Shipping’ with the view to enable shipping companies to build robust ESG strategies. The guide covers concrete recommendations on how to identify focus areas that generate value, set targets, implement best practice initiatives, and ensure organizational readiness.
Speaking on the launch of the Playbook, Bo Cerup-Simonsen, Chief Executive Officer at Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping, said:
We have co-developed this playbook with BCG to provide guidance and support to ship owners across segments on creating focused, actionable, and ambitious ESG strategies. ESG compliance can drive commitment and action towards decarbonization and help shipping companies meet the rising request from customers and investors to deliver on environmental, social and governmental practices.
”Acting sustainably is increasingly becoming a license to operate and we hope that by providing this guidance, we can make it easier for more shipping companies to develop and act on solid ESG strategies. Stronger commitment will also provide the transparency across the industry we need to track progress towards a more sustainable maritime sector.” he also said.
Peter Jameson, Partner and BCG’s global lead on maritime sustainability and decarbonization, added:
Those who do not act are leaving value on the table and will face mounting pressure from the entire shipping ecosystem, including customers and regulators, to act. They are at risk of deteriorating their current value by facing unmitigated risks while others unlock new value pools from ESG. We call this the ESG imperative and we want to help companies get it right by applying the ESG Playbook.
The publicly available Playbook was piloted with Navigator Gas, a gas carrier company operating around 60 vessels globally. Speaking on the pilot, Mads Peter Zacho, CEO of Navigator Gas, said this Playbook has been key in developing a clear roadmap across initiatives and targets.
To navigate the changing landscape and capture ESG value pools, the Playbook highlights that a new mindset is needed, focusing on collective action across the value chain. On their ESG journey, shipping companies of all sizes should consider to develop solid ESG strategies with a holistic approach and interdependencies of the different dimensions of ESG. Furthermore, a credible ESG strategy should have the following:
#1 Set time-bound long-term ESG commitment with interim targets
#2 Develop an initiative roadmap for how to achieve targets
#3 Invest in initiatives and governance
#4 Track progress and report using globally recognized standards (ie. SASB, GRI, CDP, TCFD)
YOU MAY VIEW THE ESG PLAYBOOK HERE
