AS Uglands Rederi with Ugland Marine Services AS as its management company joined the UN Global Compact in 2012. The Company’s foundational commitment to respect international human rights and labour standards is anchored in a Letter of Commitment addressed to the UN Secretary-General.
The UN Global Compact has been integrated as part of the company policy and the corporate culture.
In 2012, the Company adopted new Policy Principles to counteract child labour and human rights violations. In these policy principles, the Company states to do its utmost to make sure that the Company is not complicit in human rights abuses.
The Company Principles for Responsible Investment and the Supplier Declaration are important tools in this process. The Supplier Declaration encourages suppliers to focus on high ethical and environmental standards in their respective value chains, enabling the Company to choose suppliers that support a precautionary approach.
The process of choosing UN sustainability goals was concluded early 2024, and five sustainability goals were chosen:
These five sustainability goals, in particular no. 8 and 12, dovetail with the Norwegian Transparency Act and the Company's focus on human rights and decent working conditions as detailed in the company policies. Goals 12, 13 and 14 reflect the Company's responsibility towards the environmental challenges the world is facing. The Company's sustainability performance is and has been reported annually through the Global Reporting Initiative framework and in compliance with relevant IMO and EU regulations.
The Company has revisited and reviewed the due diligence analysis (aktsomhetsvurdering) previously done, and the analysis shows that a continuous focus on human rights and decent working conditions through the whole value chain is important to contribute to prevention and mitigation of any adverse impacts. The main shipping-related risks that were identified remain valid and will prioritise the Company's focus on the five areas listed below:
Ship recycling
Newbuilding
Dry docking
Procurement
Labour
The renewed due diligence exercise executed was anchored in the Company’s organisation and partially in the annual review process. In general, the Company has limited influence in the subject areas, however identified actions have the objective of pushing in the right direction. As this is and will be part of the annual review process, the areas and considerations noted are and will be subject for re-evaluation and updating.
To maintain the Company’s commitments in the areas of human rights and decent working conditions, several operational documents and principles have been developed that explain and anchor responsibilities and corporate governance in this respect. The main documents are:
