SWIRE BULK PUBLISHES SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT REPORT FOR THE YEAR 2021

This report is the first published by Swire Bulk as an independent company.

17 August 2022, Singapore – Swire Bulk is proud to share that we have published our Sustainable Development Report for the year 2021, the first released by the Company as an independent entity. Previous reports on our website are combined reports published by The China Navigation Company (which rebranded in October 2021 as Swire Shipping Pte. Ltd.).

 

Swire Bulk marked the first year as an independent company in 2021. We are proud to present our first Sustainable Development Report, which covers our Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) initiatives in accordance with the SASB Marine Transportation Standard. This is the result of efforts over the year engaging with colleagues, customers, and other stakeholders to understand the key issues impacting our business.

 

Here we share some of the highlights across all three areas of ESG. If you are interested to learn more, please read the full report published on our website.

ENVIRONMENT

Our focus covers both protecting marine biodiversity and addressing decarbonisation.

Our intensity target, EEOI, is 3% more aggressive than IMO’s.

 

At the end of 2021 we achieved a 1.39% y-o-y reduction in the weighted average score, and our score across our fleet was 8.17 grammes of CO2 per tonne of cargo carried over one nautical mile.

Swire Bulk is a member of, inter alia, the Getting to Zero 2030 Coalition and the Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping. We are also planning to work with the Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation (GCMD) in Singapore on a third-generation biofuel project in 2022.

We reported zero spills in 2021, took part in a number of initiatives such as the Enhancing Cetacean Habitat and Observation (ECHO) Programme in Vancouver, and the Port of Long Beach Green Flag Programme.

 

We also developed our own portable technology to reduce contaminants in the water used in hold cleaning.

We continued to improve our fleet fuel efficiency through various Technical and Operational measures. These efforts have translated into 2,822 metric tonnes of fuel savings and the reduction of 8,788 tCO2 emissions to the environment during the reporting period.

Between 2018 and end-2021, we reduced the number of SUP water bottles consumed across our fleet water bottles used by 79%.

SOCIAL

The experience of the pandemic continues to highlight the importance of our people. Safety will always be our first priority, through our Zero Harm initiative.

In 2021, our retention rate for shore-based employees was 93.3%, which compares well with public benchmarks in the countries in which we have offices.

We have 150 employees across our offices around the world, who come from 25 countries and regions.

 

At the end of 2021 we had 23.5% female senior managers, with one on our Executive Leadership Team. We are working to have a more diverse Board.

 

Swire Bulk joined WISTA in Singapore in 2022.

Safety will always be our first priority.

 

 

For our seafarers, we are prioritising crew changes wherever possible.

 

 

Onshore, we have encouraged employees to return to the office to enable collaboration but kept flexible work arrangements in place. 

We subscribe to Befrienders Worldwide (BW), an international network of crisis helplines to offer emotional support for employees (at sea or onshore) facing depression.

GOVERNANCE

Appropriate Governance is essential and ensures our license to operate.

Member of Maritime Anti-Corruption Network

First shipping company to be accredited under the VIVE Sustainable Supply Programme which covers the entire agricultural ingredient supply chain, from farm to fork

We have strong governance in place which covers our Corporate Code of Conduct and other areas such as anti-bribery, anti-trust and human rights. All employees must complete the governance compliance training programme annually and when they join the Company. All suppliers with a contractual agreement are required to follow our Supplier Code of Conduct.

We are very proud of our achievements in 2021. We have retained the strong ethos and focus on sustainability from CNCo and strive to tailor our projects and commitments to the priorities of our customers, employees, and shareholder, John Swire & Sons Ltd. This aligns with our mission to be a leader in our industry for safety and sustainability.


If you have any feedback, please contact:

Our Sustainable Development team at SD.dept@swirebulk.com