What you measure you can improve

We have recently launched our first sustainability report and we are committed to issue an updated version on annual basis. The sustainability topic is and has always been present in our company, be it then short or long term, but nevertheless sitting down and putting it in print was a useful experience for our team. The first question we had to ask ourselves was what we consider to be relevant for such a report? Compliance with laws and regulations is a matter of course why we did not focus on listing these in the report. Our approach is that corporate responsibility can be considered to begin were the legislation ends, ie. we what we do beyond what is required by default.
Knowing the starting point is important in respect of setting up targets and timelines for further improvement. Of course, we are also keeping an eye on our competitors and the industry in general, but our primary goal is to challenge ourselves. Also henceforth our ambition is to be a forerunner rather than a follower and we invest seriously in innovations and practices that promote sustainability.  As from beginning of this year our team also includes a full time Sustainability Specialist who acts as consult and catalyst on our way towards even more ambitious stainability goals. We encourage as well our onboard- and office staff to be innovative and open minded to new ideas and manners. Good practices are transmitted between the departments and/or the vessels, which in many cases generate ideas on further improvements.
We are heavily dependent on good and smooth cooperation with our customers and other counterparts and aware of that our doings must support the common good.  In a value chain with many parties involved, different stakeholders’ targets might sometimes conflict with each other but when it comes to making the entire process more sustainable, objectives are common. This is simply because it is all about getting the same job done smarter, faster and with less use of recourses, which inevitably means improved cost effectiveness.
As we live in an ever-changing world, the work for better sustainability will be a never-ending process. We know from history that today´s state of the art practices and technologies will be the standard of tomorrow.  It might sound frustrating but on the other hand it is comforting to know that step by step we can take this business towards better sustainability. However, this requires commitment and a common will throughout the value chain, as well as long time horizon.  None of us can solve all challenges but everyone can make a difference. The most important thing is to strive for continuous improvement and to keep the bar high enough.