The International Maritime Organisation (IMO) and International Chamber of
Shipping (ICS) have declared sustainability as the focus area for the year 2013.
Essar Shipping (ESL) released its second sustainability report on February 8,
2013; a sequel to the first report - Our propelling force. ESL is the first
Indian shipping company to have published a sustainability report. Both reports
conform to the Global Reporting Initiative's current generation of guidelines,
version 3.1 (GRI G3.1 Guidelines) and have been assured by Det Norske Veritas
(DNV), achieving an application level of A+.
Titled “Measurable, Manageable, Sustainable”, ESL’s Sustainability Report 2012 was launched by Captain LK Panda, Nautical Advisor to the government of India, at a ceremony in Mumbai. The report captures the environment, social and governance performance of the shipping business – which comprises Sea Transportation, Oilfield Services and Logistics - and also outlines the company’s short-, mid- and long-term strategy for addressing material issues regarding the same.
Some sustainability performance highlights of 2012
Governance
- Sustainability has been adopted as a board room agenda. Whilst the board provides direction and guidance, the ownership for sustainability initiatives and execution lie with the managing director and the chief executive officers of the business.
- Sustainability performance is evaluated on a quarterly basis by the board.
Environment
- Ship Energy Efficiency Management Plan (SEEMP) and Energy Efficiency Operational Index (EEOI) developed for the entire fleet
- 4.47 percent increase in modal shift i.e., moving greater volumes of cargo by seas that were once handled by trucks on the road thereby greatly reducing the carbon emissions due to cargo transportation.
Social
- Information consolidated for last three years for additional safety indicators including property damage incident, fire incidents, high potential incidents and restricted work cases. Enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution for incident monitoring extended to cover these indicators.
- Zero lost time injury frequency rate achieved by Oilfield Services for second year in a row
- 61.96 percent increase in employee training days
Click here to read Measureable, Manageable, Sustainable - Essar Shipping’s Sustainability Report 2012.
