NYK Line discloses ship recycling policies and practices via the Ship Recycling Transparency Initiative
London/Tokyo, 11 May 2021 – NYK Line has become a signatory of the Ship Recycling Transparency Initiative (SRTI) and becomes the 12th shipowner to publicly disclose its approach to ship recycling through the SRTI online platform.
“The NYK Group places environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors at the centre of its business management. Through the SRTI, NYK can provide transparency in ship recycling, which we believe we can bring about improvements and influence needed. We are committed to promoting and contributing to raising standards of safety and sustainability. Reflecting our basic philosophy of “Bringing value to life,” the NYK Group will continue to fulfil the expectations of society.” says Hitoshi Nagasawa, President and Chief Executive Officer of NYK Line.
Headquartered in Tokyo and operating 777 major ocean vessels, NYK joins industry peers in making its ship recycling policies and practices publicly available and demonstrating its commitment toward transparency and accountability on environmental and social issues.
“We are glad to welcome NYK to the SRTI community and are encouraged to see momentum continue to build behind the importance of transparency and accountability on sustainability challenges such as ship recycling,” says Andrew Stephens, Executive Director of the Ship Recycling Transparency Initiative. “Shipowners like NYK are holding themselves to account before key stakeholders, making ship recycling data available for interested parties to review, scrutinise, and use to make informed decisions.”
NYK’s disclosure brings the total number of signatories to 28. The company’s disclosure can be viewed via the SRTI platform.
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Notes to Editors:
For more information, interviews or comment please contact Elizabeth Petit, Head of Communications, Sustainable Shipping Initiative (e.petit@sustainableshipping.org) or NYK’s Media Relations Team (NYKJP.ML.MEDIA@nykgroup.com).
About the Ship Recycling Transparency Initiative (SRTI)
The Ship Recycling Transparency Initiative (SRTI) is an independent initiative hosted by the Sustainable Shipping Initiative. It reflects a collective effort that brings together the shipping industry, investors, cargo owners and broader stakeholders to improve ship recycling policy, practice and performance. The SRTI adopts a voluntary market-driven approach to sustainable ship recycling practices. As an online platform, it promotes exchange of information on ship recycling practices and guidelines, and helps ensure greater transparency in the maritime sector.
To learn more, view and download the SRTI Theory of Change infographic; or explore the data.
www.shiprecyclingtransparency.org
Follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter (@SustShipping)
#ShipRecyclingTransparency
#ShipRecycling
About NYK
Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK) was founded in 1885 and is one of the world’s leading transportation companies. At the end of March 2020, the NYK Group was operating 784 major ocean vessels, as well as fleets of planes and trucks. The company’s shipping fleet includes 361 bulk carriers, 111 car carriers, 58 containerships (including semi-containerships), 78 LNG carriers (including those owned by equity method affiliates), 56 tankers, 43 wood-chip carriers, one cruise ship, and 76 other ships (including shuttle tankers and multipurpose and project cargo vessels). The NYK Group is based in Tokyo, employs about 35,000 people worldwide, and has regional headquarters in London, New York / New Jersey, Singapore, and Shanghai.
On February 3, 2021, NYK released the NYK Group ESG Story, which aims to further integrate ESG into the company’s management strategy. In order to continue to be a corporate group that remains essential to society and industry, the NYK Group aims to be a sustainable solution provider that creates new value while maximizing profits and achieving social and environmental sustainability from a long-term perspective.
Swiss Re Corporate Solutions joins the Ship Recycling Transparency Initiative
London/Zurich, 19 April 2021 – Swiss Re Corporate Solutions, the commercial insurance arm of the Swiss Re Group, announced today that it has signed up to the Ship Recycling Transparency Initiative (SRTI). In doing so, Swiss Re Corporate Solutions joins a growing list of organisations across the shipping value chain who are calling for greater transparency and responsible ship recycling.
The SRTI aims to use transparency to accelerate a voluntary market-driven approach to responsible ship recycling practices. Shipowners share information in relation to a set of disclosure criteria developed by industry stakeholders. By publicly disclosing their ship recycling policies, practices and progress through the SRTI, the platform enables cargo owners, financial stakeholders and others to use the data to inform their decision-making and reward good practice through the market.
“It’s our ambition to advance sustainable ship recycling,” said Patrizia Kern, Global Head Marine at Swiss Re Corporate Solutions. “By collaborating with SRTI’s network of forward-thinking businesses, we want to support the industry in understanding how to better track ship owners’ scrapping activities that are not respecting standard environmental guidelines and violating human rights. Working on these ambitions collaboratively with the SRTI and its members, we are confident that we can create a more sustainable future.”
“Awareness of the ship recycling industry is growing rapidly in the world of sustainable finance. Now, more than ever, there is a need for transparency and accountability,” said Andrew Stephens, Executive Director of the SRTI. “Demand for data on what shipowners are doing with their vessels at end of life is a key driver for the Ship Recycling Transparency Initiative. By welcoming Swiss Re Corporate Solutions to the cohort, we hope to continue enabling informed decision-making on the part of lenders, investors, insurance providers and cargo owners, further driving progress on responsible ship recycling.”
Swiss Re Corporate Solutions joins a growing community of stakeholders who share a vision for a world where ships are recycled responsibly – socially, environmentally and economically – and are demonstrating their commitment to this vision by signing up to the SRTI.
Signing up to the SRTI is part of Swiss Re Corporate Solutions’ wider sustainability approach that aims to help protect corporates’ sustainability opportunities, share sustainability risk knowledge and lead by example, for instance by committing to net-zero emissions across its whole business by 2050.
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Notes to Editors:
For more information or requests for comment, please contact Elizabeth Petit, Head of Communications at the Sustainable Shipping Initiative (e.petit@sustainableshipping.org) or Stefanie Perlitz, Senior Marketing & Communications Manager at Swiss Re Corporate Solutions (Stefanie_Perlitz@swissre.com).
About the Ship Recycling Transparency Initiative (SRTI)
The Ship Recycling Transparency Initiative (SRTI) is an independent initiative hosted by the Sustainable Shipping Initiative. It reflects a collective effort that brings together the shipping industry, investors, cargo owners and broader stakeholders to improve ship recycling policy, practice and performance. The SRTI adopts a voluntary market-driven approach to sustainable ship recycling practices. As an online platform, it promotes the exchange of information on ship recycling practices and guidelines, and helps ensure greater transparency in the maritime sector.
To learn more, view and download the SRTI Theory of Change infographic
www.shiprecyclingtransparency.org
Follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter (@SustShipping)
#ShipRecyclingTransparency
#ShipRecycling
About Swiss Re Corporate Solutions
Swiss Re Corporate Solutions provides risk transfer solutions to large and mid-sized corporations around the world. Its innovative, highly customised products and standard insurance covers help to make businesses more resilient, while its industry-leading claims service provides additional peace of mind. Swiss Re Corporate Solutions serves clients from offices worldwide and is backed by the financial strength of the Swiss Re Group. Visit corporatesolutions.swissre.com or follow us on linkedin.com/company/swiss-re-corporate-solutions and Twitter @SwissRe_CS.
SRTI Theory of Change
Developed in 2020, the infographic provides an overview of the SRTI Theory of Change, divided into four distinct sections:
- Disclosure and accountability: Shipowners collect data on their ship recycling policies, practices and progress, and disclose this via the SRTI
- Demand for data & transparency: At the same time, stakeholders such as investors, lenders, and shippers demand disclosure on material issues including ship recycling
- Informed decision-making: Data available through the SRTI platform can thus be used to incentivise transparency and inform procurement, investment and lending decisions
- Knowledge as a driver of change: Increased transparency raises the bar for the industry and leads to a level playing field
Video: SRTI Roundtable 2020
The SRTI online roundtable took place on Wednesday 9 September 2020, bringing the ship recycling community together to present the draft expanded shipowner disclosure, and reflect on learnings from the webinar series.
Moderated by Frances House, Deputy Chief Executive at the Institute for Human Rights and Business (IHRB), the event saw a panel of industry experts discuss the importance of transparency in ship recycling.
Panelists:
- Roger Strevens, VP Global Sustainability, Wallenius Wilhelmsen
- Jennifer Riley-James, Senior Ship Recycling Specialist, Lloyd’s Register
- Andreas Brachel, VP Head of Environmental Claims, Gard
Slide deck
The SRTI slide deck contains information about our vision, mission and objectives.
SRTI awarded funding by Engineering X
We are pleased to announce that the Ship Recycling Transparency Initiative has been awarded funding through the Engineering X Safer End of Engineered Life Mission.
Engineering X, an international collaboration founded by the Royal Academy of Engineering and Lloyd’s Register Foundation, has awarded nearly £1 million in grants across six projects with the aim of achieving safer and more sustainable decommissioning and waste disposal.
This award will advance the SRTI’s work through the expansion of the existing shipowner disclosure criteria, as well as through the development of a set of criteria to be used by ship recycling facilities to voluntarily and transparently disclose information about their policies and practices.
The funding will further contribute to improvements in the online platform, which will see added functionality including data visualisation, filtering and extraction in the coming months with the goal of improving access, transparency and ease of use of SRTI data for all stakeholders.
We are pleased to work with the Royal Academy of Engineering, Lloyd’s Register Foundation, and other Engineering X awardees to work toward safe and sustainable ship recycling. Through this project, we want to improve transparency across the value chain, encourage stakeholders to use SRTI data, and to level the playing field in ship recycling.
Andrew Stephens, Executive Director
Sustainable Shipping Initiative / Ship Recycling Transparency Initiative
You can read more about how the SRTI is funded here.
This year has been the SRTI engage the ship recycling community through a series of webinars, focusing on three key themes of data and transparency, circular economy, and the role of financial stakeholders, for the further development of the platform.
The SRTI family has grown to 26 signatories this year, including shipowners Altera Infrastructure and Evergreen Marine Corporation, and our first P&I club Gard.
Road to the Roundtable: SRTI's journey through 2020
The Ship Recycling Transparency Initiative (SRTI) brought the global ship recycling community together online through a webinar series that took place between April and June, culminating in an online roundtable event on 9 September 2020.
This year the SRTI has continued to grow with the addition of five new signatories, bringing the total to 26, including our first P&I club Gard as well as shipowners Altera Infrastructure and Evergreen Marine Corporation. In July the SRTI was awarded funding for its further development through the Engineering X Safer End of Engineered Life Mission, an international collaboration founded by the Royal Academy of Engineering and Lloyd’s Register Foundation.
The SRTI webinar series brought together a diverse group of stakeholders beyond those able to travel to a face-to-face event, with strong representation from the shipowner and finance communities (see participant breakdown for each webinar).
Webinar participants’ discussions focused on three key themes: data and transparency; circular economy; and the role of financial stakeholders in responsible ship recycling.
We asked webinar participants to identify the single greatest challenge to address in ship recycling today, with most pointing to the still fragmented regulatory landscape.
Facilitated by SRTI Steering Group member Simon Bennett (General Manager – Sustainable Development at The China Navigation Company), the first webinar focused on how data and transparency can drive responsible ship recycling and resulted in a set of inputs for the expansion of the SRTI’s existing disclosure criteria for shipowners (disclosure questionnaire available online following their presentation at the SRTI roundtable).
The circular economy was the topic of the second webinar, seeking to understand how ship recycling fits in a circular approach to the ship lifecycle. Webinar participants agreed on the need for designing and building a vessel with recycling in mind, as well as on the need for accurate data about components and materials aboard in order to ensure that the practical and monetary value of a vessel can be extracted at end of life.
The third webinar focused on the role of financial stakeholders in responsible ship recycling. The SRTI platform shares voluntarily disclosed data to enable banks, investors and insurance companies to make informed decisions and reward good practice through the market. Facilitated by Søren Larsen, Head of ESG at Nykredit, emphasis was placed on the emerging trend of transparency and disclosure. Participants further highlighted the importance of ESG ratings and standard setting agencies incorporating ship recycling, thus highlighting the issue’s materiality.
Moderated by Frances House, Deputy Chief Executive at the Institute for Human Rights and Business (IHRB), the final roundtable brought the SRTI community together once again to present the draft expanded shipowner disclosure, reflecting on learnings from the webinar series alongside a panel of industry leaders:
- Roger Strevens, VP Global Sustainability at Wallenius Wilhelmsen
- Jennifer Riley-James, Senior Ship Recycling Specialist at Lloyd’s Register
- Andreas Brachel, VP Head of Environmental Claims at Gard
Thank you to all in the SRTI family who have participated and engaged with us throughout this webinar series – from our Steering Group, to our signatories, to collaborators and other interested stakeholders across the industry.
Watch the roundtable recording below:
Evergreen Marine joins the Ship Recycling Transparency Initiative
London, 3 August 2020 – Evergreen Marine Corporation (Taiwan) Ltd. becomes the eleventh shipowner to publicly disclose its approach to ship recycling through the Ship Recycling Transparency Initiative (SRTI) online platform.
In a corporate statement Evergreen said, “We are committed to the planning of a completely sustainable life cycle for our vessels from design, construction, operation and ultimately to decommissioning. As such, we are delighted to join SRTI, through which signatories can share their ship recycling information via an online platform, helping the industry to improve its eco-friendly recycling policies and practices, and to work together in sustaining an ‘ever green’ global environment.”
“We believe transparency is a key driver of change in the ship recycling value chain,” said Andrew Stephens, Executive Director of the Sustainable Shipping Initiative that hosts the SRTI. “We welcome Evergreen Marine to the growing SRTI family that includes like-minded shipowners who are holding themselves to account before key stakeholders, including clients, investors, and the wider public.”
The shipowner, headquartered in Taiwan, is the fifth signatory to join the SRTI in 2020, bringing the total number of signatories to 26.
The SRTI continues its growth and development conducting outreach across and beyond the industry. The recent SRTI webinar series has seen an increasingly diverse range of stakeholders engaging on the topics of data and transparency; circularity; and the role of financial stakeholders in sustainable and responsible ship recycling, in the absence of global regulation.
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About the Ship Recycling Transparency Initiative (SRTI)
The Ship Recycling Transparency Initiative (SRTI) is an independent initiative hosted by the Sustainable Shipping Initiative. It reflects a collective effort that brings together the shipping industry, investors, cargo owners and broader stakeholders to improve ship recycling policy, practice and performance. The SRTI adopts a voluntary market-driven approach to sustainable ship recycling practices. As an online platform, it promotes exchange of information on ship recycling practices and guidelines, and helps ensure greater transparency in the maritime sector.
www.shiprecyclingtransparency.org
Follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter (@SustShipping)
#ShipRecyclingTransparency
#ShipRecycling
About Evergreen Marine Corporation (Taiwan) Ltd.
Evergreen operates a modern fleet of around 190 container ships with a combined capacity of more than 1.2 million TEU and maintains services across a broad array of trade lanes around the world. Since its establishment, Evergreen has been a global brand which symbolizes innovative, reliable and sustainable global container transportation service. As a committed guardian of the earth, Evergreen will continue with its fleet renewal program, including the ‘green decommissioning’ of old tonnage and employing ever more eco-friendly containerships.
SRTI Disclosure Questionnaire
The SRTI shipowner disclosure questionnaire covers six key areas:
- Overall ship recycling approach
- Ship recycling policy and standards
- Policy for selling owned vessels for further trading
- Ship recycling contract
- Inventory of Hazardous Materials (IHM) and ship recycling documentation
- Implementation of the ship recycling policy and standard
To become an SRTI signatory, shipowners must submit the disclosure questionnaire.
A blank disclosure form is available for shipowners who may go through an internal review and approval process prior to becoming a signatory, or any stakeholders interested in learning more about the criteria against which shipowners disclose data on their ship recycling policies, practices and progress.