The Sustainable Shipping Initiative (SSI) was founded in 2010 by Forum for the Future in collaboration with WWF and industry leaders ABN Amro, BP Shipping, Gearbulk, Lloyd’s Register, and Maersk Line.
In the decade since, SSI has worked to accelerate progress and collectively address industry gaps in areas ranging from closed loop materials management, to sustainable finance, and shipping’s decarbonisation. Our members span the entire shipping ecosystem, from charterers, shipowners and shipyards, to ports, banks, classification societies and NGOs.
- 2022 saw the return of in-person meetings with SSI, with meetings hosted by Lloyd's Register (London) and Swire Shipping (Singapore).
- The Institute for Human Rights and Business becomes SSI member, following our work together on the Delivering on seafarers' rights working group.
- Kick-off of phase II for the ship lifecycle working group, which aims to tackle the topic of sustainable steel for shipping.
- SSI became Knowledge Partner of the Mærsk McKinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping, strengthening sector partnerships to align on common goals and prevent duplication of work.
- First SEAFAIRER roundtable and publication of first Delivering on seafarers' rights progress report took place in October, reflecting on a year of progress since the launch of the Code of Conduct and self-assessment questionnaire.
- Vancouver Fraser Port Authority becomes first port to join SSI, expanding SSI's member base to North America.
- Wilhelmsen Ship Management becomes 15th member of the Sustainable Shipping Initiative
- SSI defines a set of fifteen sustainability criteria for marine fuels under consideration for shipping's decarbonisation, including social, environmental as well as socio-economic factors that should be taken into account alongside price, availability and technical feasibility when reviewing fuel options for a sustainable shipping industry. Earlier in the year, SSI also concluded its deep dive into biofuels with a review of the current landscape for biofuels in shipping and challenges around availability as well as shipping's role in the broader bioeconomy.
- Launch of Ship lifecycle: Exploring shipping's transition to a circular industry report which outlines some of the barriers and opportunities of the circular economy for shipping and raises awareness of untapped potential for shipping's sustainability transition.
- Delivering on seafarers' rights Code of Conduct and self-assessment tool launch, in partnership with IHRB and in collaboration with the Rafto Foundation and RightShip. The project focuses on the full spectrum of seafarers' rights and welfare, from fair terms of employment and minimum crewing levels to the management of grievance mechanisms.
- SRTI grows to 30 signatories and 13 shipowners with NYK and Crowley Maritime Corporation disclosing their ship recycling policies in 2021. Growing engagement from the insurance sector saw Swiss Re Corporate Solutions and American Hellenic Hull Insurance Company become signatories.
- SRTI signatories reach 26, including shipowners CMA CGM, Altera Infrastructure and Evergreen, as well as the first P&I Club to become a signatory, Gard. In total, 9 major shipowners disclosing as of March 2020 operating a total of 2,433 vessels (covering ~4-5% of global merchant fleet over 1,000 gross tonnes and 36% of the global container fleet’s tonnage).
- Following SSI's 2019 inquiry into the role of sustainable biofuels in shipping's decarbonisation, SSI began exploring sustainability criteria for all zero and low carbon marine fuels in collaboration with Copenhagen Business School through the Green Shipping Project.
- SSI and the Institute for Human Rights and Business launched a joint project, Delivering on seafarers' rights, to develop a human rights Code of Conduct for charterers, shipowners and operators, helping to tackle some of the systemic issues faced by seafarers today.
- An updated Roadmap to a sustainable shipping initiative was published in December, outlining 60 milestones across six vision areas (Oceans, Communities, People, Transparency, Finance, and Energy), increasing our collective understanding of shipping's sustainability challenges and enabling organisations to use the Roadmap as a tool to track progress.
- Guy Campbell joins SSI as Chair of the Board of Trustees.
- First SRTI Progress Report launched at Tradewinds 2019 Ship Recycling Forum, compiling data on the ship recycling approaches of 7 shipowners. SRTI highly commended at the Responsible Business Awards under category Partnership of the Year; also a finalist in the Responsible Supply Chain and Transparency & Reporting categories
- Multi-stakeholder debate convened by Decarbonisation working group, supported by Forum for the Future, on the potential role of sustainable biofuels in the decarbonisation of shipping, including a series of consultations and a high-level event at Climate Week NYC. The role of sustainable biofuels in shipping’s decarbonisation report launched at the UN Climate Conference (COP25) in Madrid
- South32 becomes an SSI member
- SSI joins the Getting to Zero Coalition as a knowledge partner for the Fuels and Technologies workstream
- SSI awarded Safety4Sea Sustainability Award
- Low Carbon working group publish Zero Emission Vessels: What needs to be done? report based on a study by UMAS and Lloyd’s Register concluding that biofuels may represent the most economically feasible alternative for the shipping industry
- Oldendorff, Priya Blue and Standard Chartered Bank become SSI members
- Launch of Decarbonisation working group to further explore the potential role of biofuels for shipping
- Launch of Ship Recycling Transparency Initiative (SRTI), an independent initiative hosted by the SSI with the goal of raising the bar for responsible ship recycling, with 14 founding signatories
- SSI membership grows to include Louis Dreyfus Company and RightShip
- SSI launches Roadmap for a sustainable shipping industry, laying out the pathways and defining tangible milestones to be collectively achieved over the coming decades.
- Low Carbon working group commissions study informing SSI’s position on GHG emissions and making our collective voice heard at the IMO
- SSI wins The Guardian Sustainable Business Award
- First SSI Ship Recycling Roundtable takes place with the goal of exploring key challenges and barriers to achieving widespread sustainable ship recycling operations on a global basis, and establishing ways to help the industry collectively move forward
- Development of the Seafarer Charter by Social Sustainability working group aimed at making seafaring a more attractive career choice by improving quality of life onboard ships
- ABS, DNV and IMC join the SSI
- “Driving transformation in the value chain: How customers are raising the bar for the entire industry” position paper launches at Capital Link’s Shipping and Offshore CSR Forum
- SSI members sign shared commitments, agreeing to publicly report on sustainability, set clear emission reduction targets, among others, setting a clear benchmark for sustainable practices in the industry
- AkzoNobel, Namura and U-Ming Marine Transport join the SSI
- SSI’s progress report “A Case for More Action” is launched, developed in line with the Case for Action and the Vision for 2040
- A series of member case studies is published, highlighting SSI members’ work in the four working groups: Finance, Material Management, Energy Technology and Credible Benchmarking
- Four SSI working groups announced at Singapore Maritime Week: Finance, Material Management, Energy Technology and Credible Benchmarking, with initial outputs including the Save As You Sail (SAYS) financial model and a web-based benchmarking tool to help charterers identify suitable rating schemes for their use
- Case for Action is published, identifying 7 global trends expected to profoundly affect the maritime sector over the period 2010-2040
- SSI membership grows to include Bunge, Carnival Corporation, The China Navigation Company, Morgan Stanley, and Unilever
- Vision for 2040 signed by SSI members, setting out their aspirations backed up by specific commitments for action to address the sustainability challenges identified in the Case for Action
- SSI founded by Forum for the Future, WWF and an ambitious group of shipping leaders: ABN Amro, BP Shipping, Gearbulk, Lloyd’s Register, and Maersk Line
- SSI membership grows to include Cargill, DSME, Rio Tinto Marine, RSA, Tsakos Energy Navigation, Wärtsilä