North measures impact of 2030 Sustainability Strategy

(Posted on 20/12/22)

North Group Impact Report 2022 indicates year of substantive progress as leading P&I Club pushes forward with North 2030 Sustainability Strategy.

North P&I Club has offered an insight into the changing face of P&I, in a North Group Impact Report 2022 which also benchmarks the global marine insurer’s effectiveness in advancing towards the North 2030 Sustainability Strategy, launched last year.

“We have recognised that the need to deliver on our Strategy is more pressing than ever, with rising global temperatures, the war in Ukraine, supply chain issues and Covid 19 all testing the resilience of the shipping industry,” said Paul Jennings, Chief Executive, North.

“In addition to improving our own performance, the P&I sector must respond as a whole to the challenges facing the maritime industry. As a club headquartered in the UK’s North-East, one highlight included in the Impact Report 2022 is the agreement between all 13 members of the International Group to share safety and loss prevention data with the National Innovation Centre for Data at Newcastle University. This heralds a real prospect of finding new and innovative ways to reduce risk at sea.”

In the immediate term, the ongoing disruption to global trade caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has seen North prioritising helping its Members and clients navigate “probably the most complex set of sanctions ever imposed”, added Jennings.

“There is no cover where the trade, or insurance of that trade, is unlawful,” said Mike Salthouse, Global Director (Claims), North. “Where trade is lawful, protecting innocent third parties and minimising impacts on the environment remain critical.”

Other direct responses to events in Ukraine which fell to North have included finding urgent healthcare alternatives when Ukrainian seafarers could not be repatriated.

North’s new Impact Report also assesses progress towards longer standing targets, emphasising that merging North and the Standard Club from February 2023 will empower a new NorthStandard entity to exert greater influence in securing aims on sustainability.

“The impact of climate change will be felt in claims liabilities and types, and in underwriting risks as we as move to a carbon neutral environment and adopt new technologies,” said Mark Church, Director (FD&D) and Head of Sustainability, North. “To monitor and address these developments, we have already incorporated climate related risks within our existing risk management framework.”

This year, North introduced its first set of Sustainability Claims Reporting Guidelines, which have been developed so that the Club can measure and improve the impacts its day to day claims handling activities from the perspective of sustainability. North has intensified its programmes of advisory events covering sustainability issues, while the new report also offers insights into work trialling biofuels on an existing ship by North Member d’Amico.

The Impact Report cites Clarksons Research October 2022 figures which indicate that a record 59% of all newbuilding orders had been classed as alternative-fuel capable - up from 31.5% a year earlier. “As our latest Impact Report makes clear, wherever and whenever we are needed, North will be there to aid and support transition,” said Jennings.