Welcome to Samskip's 2023 Sustainability Report! We are excited to share our journey with you, designed to provide insights into our current practices and initiatives and demonstrate our commitment to a sustainable future.
In this report, we will be taking you on a journey of our hard work and lessons learnt throughout 2022. Our goal here is to be transparent about our progress; to share things we are proud to have accomplished as well as to outline areas for future improvement we have identified.
At Samskip, sustainability is at the centre of our strategy. We recognize the importance of addressing the environmental, social, and ethical dimensions of our organization. Our focus on long-term relationships has strengthened our commitment to sustainable practices.
We aim to share our current story and future plans in this report, offering detailed insights into our sustainability efforts and vision. We will highlight our initiatives to minimize our environmental footprint while creating positive impacts in the communities we serve and beyond.
Samskip BV has reported in reference to the GRI Standards for the period of January to December 2022.
Dear reader,
I am thrilled to present the Samskip 2023 Sustainability Report, showcasing our unwavering dedication to sustainability amidst an ever-evolving logistics landscape. Despite market conditions, we have continued to make significant strides towards our vision of more sustainable logistics, easily accessible for our customers.
Pioneering sustainability requires courage and determination, especially when the timing never seems perfect for taking risks and making the necessary investments. Despite these challenges, we have proceeded with the investments in the Samskip SeaShuttles, working towards a world first with our hydrogen-powered container vessels. Next to that, we kept increasing the use of biofuels as well, leading to a significant drop in CO2 emission for the company. These investments underscore our commitment to reducing carbon emissions and leading the shipping industry towards a more sustainable future.
The past year has been tough in logistics, testing the resilience of our operations and business model. I am proud to say that Samskip has stood tall, maintaining our focus on reliability and sustainability. In prosperous times, it’s easy to develop a long-term strategy, but it is in challenging periods that true dedication shines. While some may revert to thinking short-term, we have remained steadfast in our efforts for a better future, and are again continuing to do so in 2024. Our mission remains clear: To deliver reliable logistics solutions to support customers in their ambitions.
Winning Together was another central theme for us in 2023. We organized a remarkable Samskip Sustainability Day, bringing together key stakeholders from across the value chain, including customers, experts, policy makers, suppliers, and media. The event, highlighted by the steel-cutting ceremony for our first SeaShuttle, marked a significant milestone in our sustainable shipping journey. The positive press coverage and high social media attention this has brought along amplified the value of Samskip taking this leading role, connecting all to make a positive impact together.
Sustainability at Samskip extends far beyond carbon emissions. Digitalization is a major driver of our sustainability efforts, enhancing efficiency and reducing our environmental footprint. Our Human Resources focus on improving social sustainability, ensuring a supportive, safe, and equitable workplace. Our finance department is enhancing non-financial reporting to provide transparency and accountability, and the procurement department is reviewing policies to align with our sustainability goals, while continuously refining our approach. Data teams are working diligently to gain deeper insights into our sustainability performance, the operational departments are driving the Modal Shift towards more efficient transport methods, and our sales force is actively promoting sustainable transport options to our customers, while customer service teams support the customers after making that decision. Everyone at Samskip plays a crucial role in this shared vision, contributing to our collective progress towards a more sustainable future.
As we look ahead, I am excited about the ongoing improvements across our business. Every member of our company is tirelessly working to enhance Samskip each day. While some may not immediately notice, the true transformation of Samskip into the sustainable logistics provider we aspire to be is happening across the entire company, with every part contributing in one way or another. It's the collective efforts of everyone, directly or indirectly impacting our sustainability initiatives, that drive our progress. This dedication is clear throughout the company and is propelling us towards a more sustainable future.
Together, we win. Together, we build a better, more sustainable Samskip.
The freight transportation sector significantly contributes to global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, accounting for approximately 8% of worldwide emissions (11% including warehouses and ports)[1]. In Europe, the demand for freight transport has increased by 22% between 2000 and 2019, placing more pressure on the environment and on transporters to take action. It's been said repeatedly, but it's still always good to repeat: the urgency of the situation calls for immediate action.
Within this sector, marine transport, trains, and trucks play crucial roles in facilitating the movement of goods, but they also have substantial environmental impacts. Transport and logistics companies like ours must prioritise reducing emissions from these modes to mitigate their carbon footprint and contribute to global efforts to combat climate change.
In 2022, marine transportation was responsible for approximately 2% of global greenhouse gas emissions. It accounted for 10% of the total transportation sector emissions worldwide[2]. While relatively efficient for transporting large volumes of cargo, the sheer scale of maritime operations and the use of heavy fuel oils make it a significant source of emissions.
Trains, however, are generally considered a more environmentally friendly mode of transportation, particularly for freight. Rail transport contributes to approximately 1% of the transportation sector’s emissions, worldwide[3]. In Europe, with the electrification of the infrastructure, it is the “environmentally friendly mode of transport [...]. Railways make an important contribution to environmentally friendly mobility”[4].
Trucks and other road freight vehicles are the largest contributors to transport emissions, responsible for around 25% of the transportation sector’s total GHG emissions globally[5] (15% of European CO2 emissions[6]). The widespread use of diesel-powered trucks and the increasing demand for road freight transportation have intensified the carbon emissions.
It is our unique approach to the industry, using a combination of different transportation modes and striving to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to take better care of our planet. We are proud to offer our clients a resilient and cost-efficient transportation solution that does not compromise on reliability or efficiency.
No matter the destination, we leverage the many different transport solutions that our multimodal network offers, always opting for less energy- and carbon-intensive modalities to transport our customers’ goods. As road freight transport has the highest emissions per tonne of goods per kilometre, we make every effort to move cargo off the roads, and on to our vessels, barges, and trains.
As a testament to our efforts, our railway terminal in Duisburg has significantly increased its rail service capacity, enabling us to connect North and South Europe by train.
We also encourage our customers to opt for innovative multimodal transport solutions to further reduce our environmental impact.
These solutions are concretized through our carbon footprint calculator, which provides clients with a way to visualise the benefits of multimodal transport. The tool assesses our multimodal transport options as compared to traditional road transport, accounting for every stage of our service from pick-up to delivery throughout our extensive European network. This way, clients can evaluate the emissions their journey will emit and make choices on their transport needs from there, putting sustainability at the forefront of our operations.
Our approach to more sustainable logistics does not compromise the flexibility, frequency, quality nor resilience of our service offerings. Instead, we aim to maintain these benefits, while improving our social, environmental, and ethical performance. We call it resilient logistics.
No matter the destination, we leverage the many different transport solutions that our multimodal network offers, always opting for less energy- and carbon-intensive modalities to transport our customers’ goods. As road freight transport has the highest emissions per tonne of goods per kilometre, we make every effort to move cargo off the roads, and on to our vessels, barges, and trains.
The KVNR promotes and protects the common interests of Dutch shipping companies on a national, European, and global level. As a member, Samskip actively participates in committees and working groups regarding key regulatory and policy decisions on maritime matters.
UK Chamber of Shipping is the trade association and voice for the shipping industry, with a mission to help create a greener shipping industry and world Samskip is specifically involved in the work towards decarbonisation, supporting the urgent need to commit to net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 in the shipping industry.
The International Union for Road-Rail Combined Transport promotes intermodal transport and facilitates the enhancement of the sector throughout European political authorities and diverse governing bodies of the European Union, with an emphasis on the sustainable mode of long(er) distance freight transport.
Smart Freight Centre (SFC) is an international non-profit organization focused on reducing the emission impacts of global freight transportation.
Together we make things happen! We live by this mantra and strive to create a collaborative and personable environment, while still maintaining a high level of professionalism. To support this approach, we rely on cutting-edge technological solutions that allow us to help our clients achieve their goals quickly, safely, and sustainably. We understand the importance of adaptability and strive to stay ahead of the curve by developing innovative solutions that keep us at the forefront of the industry.
Our Vision, Mission, and Values are carefully crafted to reflect our beliefs, aspirations, and goals for the future. Our values are the cornerstone of our culture and represent the core attributes that make us who we are at Samskip. These attributes are deeply ingrained in our DNA, attitudes, morals, and mentality, and enable us to achieve our Mission and Vision for the future.
We believe that opportunities are created by innovating, by challenging the status quo, thinking critically and creatively.
We are committed to our people, partners, and planet, and take responsibility for our actions and their impact on the world around us.
We are reliable professionals that deliver on our promises to our people, partners and customers.
We collaborate and help each other to succeed; together we create an inspiring place to work; together we win.
Continuously develop our Profit-driven Network
Be Customer Centric in our decision making
Put Sustainability at the centre of our company
Empower Our People to reach their full potential
Achieve and sustain Operational Excellence
The value chain of a multimodal logistics company encompasses various activities that span across upstream, direct operations, and downstream stages.
In the upstream activities, we focus on acquiring businesses and assets, establishing relationships with container, vessel, and truck suppliers, and securing fuel/energy for the transportation fleet. Additionally, we engage in freight forwarding to collaborate with other logistics partners and handle pre/on carriage arrangements.
Moving goods between warehouses, factories, and transportation modes (vessels, barges, trains, and trucks) is Samskip's primary responsibility in direct operations. We efficiently manage transportation routes, which may involve transfers between different modes, and guarantee the distribution of goods to warehouse services at the destination. Our top priority is to ensure a seamless flow of operations.
Moreover, Samskip pays attention to the end-of-life phase for containers, trucks, and vessels by implementing proper disposal or recycling measures to minimise environmental impact and comply with Samskip's sustainability practices. The Samskip Frost, the most recent vessel to be dismantled, in 2021, was managed by a specialised company to ensure appropriate disposal and treatment, thereby minimising end-of-life environmental impacts.
Logistics companies and many other sectors face a significant challenge in obtaining sustainability-related data from the value chain. Gathering data is made more complex by the need for standardisation and interoperability among the various stakeholders, systems, and processes involved in information exchanges. Moreover, different modes of transportation, such as rail, sea, and road, have distinct protocols and requirements for sharing and receiving information.
This is why Samskip is pleased to welcome the new CSRD and is committed to complying completely. With this regulation, we will have greater transparency across value chains, enabling us to understand better our impacts within and outside the scope of our operations.
Samskip's efforts towards transparency are fully reflected in the data shared in this report for 2023.
Samskip takes pride in its governance structure and its commitment to making a positive impact around the world through our logistic and transport solutions.
The company has two boards: the Supervisory Board and the Management Board.
The Supervisory Board, which includes members of both Icelandic and Dutch nationality, supervises the Management Board, and is elected by the company's shareholders.
The Management Board, on the other hand, is responsible for the daily management of the company and holds the highest decision-making power. It is composed of C-level executives, responsible for developing, approving, and updating the corporate strategy, mission and vision statements, policies, and sustainability-related goals. The Management Board oversees organizational due diligence through the financial, legal, operational, quality, and sustainability departments.
They are informed by the company's Sustainability Team and are overseeing the development and implementation of Samskip's sustainability strategy. The Sustainability Team members are responsible for researching and developing strategies to improve the company's impact on the economy, environment, and people, while simultaneously mitigating any adverse impacts that may affect our own operations. Our Sustainability Manager reports to the Director of Business Development, who in turn reports to the CEO who is also Chairman of the Management Board.
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The journey towards Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) compliance is going to be a challenging one for all the companies needing to comply. Fortunately, Samskip has been preparing itself for the past years to establish a structure that will facilitate compliance.
In the next two years before the release of CSRD reports, we will focus on: