Commercial shipping companies rely on maintaining the correct public image. Commerce itself means the exchange of goods, which depends on successful social relationships.

Corporate Social Responsibility is now a popular and important corporate function, as internationally people respect companies that act with CSR in mind. This show of respect to your stakeholders including clients, employees and the wider global community will in turn improve respect of your company, which will benefit your core business elements including asset risk management, employee performance and corporate reputation.

Gaining and maintaining Green Passports for your fleet can offer you positive publicity for your company and ensure you are seen to be taking matters of health and safety, the environment and CSR seriously.

This has become increasingly important as ports and shipping yards have increased pressure upon them to regulate the spread of good practice with regards to safety on ships and the correct management of hazardous materials. In an attempt to improve the global image of ship recycling countries, yards are beginning to favour companies that can present a professional, up to date inventory of hazardous materials.

Gaining an inventory of hazardous materials (also known as a green passport) is one way of adding to your company’s CSR activities. Your company will be seen as socially responsible because of the efforts you go to, to protect the health and safety of your workers, and the environment surrounding the recycling yard and elsewhere by providing each of your vessels with a specific list of all known hazards and their locations.

By maintaining a current hazardous material inventory, your company will be able to further add to supply chain transparency that will afford your clients the knowledge that you have taken proactive actions to ensure your Health and Safety compliance exceeds industry expectations.

If you’re serious about committing to more CSR activities then the Global Compact is a great launch pad. This is a UN based initiative for businesses to remain committed to universal goals on human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption. [http://www.unglobalcompact.org/]. It is a voluntary initiative that is one example of your company’s commitment to CSR, by being able to state that your company adheres to the 10 principles of Global Compact.