DP World cut direct carbon emissions from its global operations by 5% last year, according to its latest Environmental Social and Governance (ESG) report, reflecting progress towards its 2040 carbon neutral target.

The ESG report, published today, demonstrates the company’s commitment to sustainable business practices, has been developed in accordance with the latest Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Standards.

Over the course of 2022, DP World has tightened its ESG Governance and Risk Management framework, launched an Executive Sustainability Council to provide strategic guidance on the Group’s sustainability strategy and ESG metrics, integrated ESG as a risk into our corporate enterprise risk register, and published its first stand-alone ESG Report c 2021 – a significant milestone for the business.

Maha AlQattan, Group Chief People and Sustainability Officer, DP World, said: “At DP World, we believe in enabling resilience, and building a smart and sustainable future that generates long-term societal impact. In 2022 we saw continued global headwinds but that challenged us to push new frontiers of collaboration. I’m proud that we have cut our direct carbon emissions by 5%, and significantly increased our community contributions. We recognise our impact and are continuing to look at how we use our resources responsibly, on issues from education to WASH infrastructure, in line with our clear roadmap for the future.”

DP World has deepened its ties with partners to advance  two of its key legacy pillars of Women and Water. Group Chairman and CEO, Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem was announced as the Middle East’s first HeForShe champion by UN Women on International Women’s Day last year and the company entered a 3-year global partnership with WaterAid to deliver water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) infrastructure, starting in Mozambique.

DP World also participated in the World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting in Davos and the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) signalling its commitment to ESG progress and expanding its network of partners and advocates.

Decarbonisation is a core focus for DP World and the business has already committed to becoming carbon neutral by 2040 and net zero carbon by 2050 in line with the UAE’s 2050 net zero.

In November at COP 27, the chairman announced that DP World had joined the Green Shipping Challenge and committed to investing up to $500 million to cut CO2 emissions by nearly 700,000 tonnes over the next five years. DP World has also entered a strategic partnership with the Maersk McKinney Moller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping and joined the UN Global Compact’s Think Lab on Just Transition.

The report also highlighted DP World’s total community contributions with a 34% increase from 2021, including several new strategic projects including UN Women, the Earth Shot Prize and in response to emergencies in 2022.

These have helped support more than 255,000 women and girls through community projects such as our partnership with Barefoot College International (BCI) to graduate solar engineers from rural Senegal. We also invested $8.7 million in global education projects.

These efforts have not gone unnoticed in the supply chain industry. DP World has been recognised as the top ESG risk performer by Sustainalytics – a global leader in ESG and Corporate Governance research and ratings – winning the Sustainalytics 2022 Industry and Regional Top-Rated Badge, and achieved an A – (Leadership) rating in the CDP Climate Change submission.