Bunge becomes first agribusiness company to join Ship Recycling Transparency Initiative

Date:06-17-2019

Bunge, a leader in agriculture, food and ingredients, became the first in its industry to join the Ship Recycling Transparency Initiative (SRTI), a coalition aimed at increasing transparency to create a new norm for responsible ship recycling. The SRTI uses an online platform to gather information from shipowners on key disclosures related to social and environmental measures, allowing cargo owners and financial stakeholders to make decisions based on companies' ship recycling reporting and approaches.

"Bunge is focused on building 21st century value chains that are transparent, verified sustainable and create positive impact on the ground," said Marcio Valentim Moura, Director of Global Logistics for Bunge, and who represents Bunge in the SRTI and its parent organization, the Sustainable Shipping Initiative. "As a cargo owner, and as the first agribusiness company to join the SRTI, Bunge can provide valuable insight to shipping companies about our logistics and sustainability needs and expectations."

Recognizing the important role Bunge plays in encouraging a broader transition to a more sustainable ship recycling industry, the company intends to work with partners and stakeholders across sectors in the value chain to advance leading standards and develop practical approaches to realize them at scale.

Engagement in the SRTI offers Bunge an opportunity to interact with major players in the global shipping industry to understand their ship recycling practices and better inform the company's own decision-making.

"As the first agribusiness company to sign up to the SRTI, Bunge demonstrates its leadership and commitment to driving responsible ship recycling, which - in the absence of global regulation - is vital for the transformation to sustainable and responsible ship recycling practices," says Andrew Stephens, Executive Director of the Sustainable Shipping Initiative who host the SRTI.

"The pressure on holding the industry to account for both its practices and performance, as well as its environmental and social impacts, is being driven by like-minded demand side stakeholders such as Bunge," says Stephens.

"The momentum is building: Stakeholders across and beyond the maritime industry - including key cargo owners such as Bunge - are critical to making shipping more sustainable."

The goals of the SRTI include:

- improving transparency in the ship recycling value chain;
- increasing shipowners' disclosure of ship recycling policies and practices;
- helping cargo owners, investors and other stakeholders to make informed decisions when using shipping companies and to support improved performance; and
- creating a level playing field for shipowners on ship recycling, covering the entire vessel lifespan.

By pursuing these goals, the SRTI and its members will help to tackle challenges in parts of the ship recycling industry, including pollution in the environment and occupational health and safety risks for workers. The SRTI is also focused on addressing access to appropriate health care, wages, working hours, collective bargaining and freedom of association for employees in the industry.