The urgency in adopting sustainable practices is clear following the European Parliament’s approval of the new Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive which comes into force in 2024, say ESG specialists – Grow Maritime.

Grow Maritime assists maritime organisations to improve their performance through the development and implementation of impactful ESG strategies ultimately creating added value both for the organisations that employ its services but also the planet and society at large.

All organisations (both public and private) with more than 250 employees and over €40 million turnover will need to comply with the CSRD and start reporting in accordance with the new European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) in 2025. Public entities with more than 500 employees who have been reporting under the NFRD (Non-Financial Reporting Directive) will need to abide by these new requirements a year earlier. These new regulations on corporate sustainability reporting are going to hit the sector hard as five times more businesses in Europe will need to comply, catching most of them unprepared in terms of internal know-how, processes and systems. As a result, Grow Maritime is urging the maritime sector to start preparing well in advance to ensure it doesn’t fall foul of CSRD legislation.

Grow Maritime’s Chairwoman Irene Loucaides said “The new CSRD is very forward looking as it will require companies to disclose their Sustainability goals as well as their progress against those goals every year. If no progress is reported and targets are not met, then that affects the company’s profitability as that would mean the company is not accountable, reliable or trustworthy, and surely investors, clients and other stakeholders won’t respond well to those attributes.”

Sustainability Reporting in accordance with International Standards and in line with the Poseidon Principles is one of the main services Grow Maritime specializes in.

Ms Loucaides warns: “Businesses need to be very careful what they commit to. Setting realistic targets is much more prudent than being too optimistic and having to face the consequences of being unsuccessful in achieving your goals. If your organisation has been collecting this type of non-financial information for several years, it is in a favourable position, as it can track a pattern of its performance and set goals that are more achievable.”