Navigating the future


The Roadmap to a sustainable shipping industry lays out the pathways and defines tangible milestones to be collectively achieved over the coming decades.

There is a clear need to reshape the way shipping operates in the face of current and future challenges: from a changing climate and the need for rapid decarbonisation by 2050; to increased scrutiny and pressure from investors, lenders and other financial stakeholders to improve sustainability performance and reporting; to the labour and human rights risks faced by seafarers worldwide, and highlighted by the ongoing crew change crisis.

The Roadmap consists of six vision areas – Oceans, Communities, People, Transparency, Finance, and Energy –  each with its own set of objectives, desired outcomes and interrelated milestones to be achieved along the industry’s sustainability journey.

Initially launched in 2016, the Roadmap was updated in 2020 to reflect the continuous changes in the maritime landscape and ensure its ongoing relevance. The updated Roadmap is a call to action, increasing ambition to respond to the global challenges and trends expected to affect the industry in the coming decades.

Aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals, the Roadmap is a call to action, increasing ambition to respond to the global challenges and trends expected to affect the industry in the coming decades and setting out opportunities for positive impact across and beyond the shipping value chain.

Click through the six vision areas below, and explore the individual vision area pages to learn more and help us track progress against the Roadmap milestones. You can also download a printer-friendly PDF version.