Marcura Group adopted the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) principles way back in 2012, by embedding them in the fabric of our group. We have formed a UNGC committee within the group, which is being led by our employees across our global offices.

Our progress

The committee’s job is to find different ways to apply the UNGC. The underlying principles of the UNGC that we have adopted and progressed over the past 9 years are:

• ENVIRONMENT: Based on the ability of companies to develop and adapt to new, environment-friendly technologies. We went on to become a fully remote working group in 2020. We also managed to reduce carbon emissions by saving on regular commutes and travel. We are a pioneer in the digitalisation of the shipping industry, constantly working to provide solutions to our customers to increase their efficiency and reduce waste.
• HUMAN RIGHTS: Based on the ability of companies to support and respect the protection of internationally proclaimed human rights including creating diverse and inclusive workplaces. We have worked hard on improving gender diversity across our global offices. The share of our female employees increased from 19% to 26% in 2021, which we think is good progress bearing in mind our industry. In addition, we’re officially certified under ISO 45001 for our Occupational Health and Safety Management System (OHSMS).
• ANTI-CORRUPTION: Based on the ability of the companies to work against corruption in all its forms, including extortion and bribery. Marcura’s anti-bribery and corruption policy is integral to all the solutions we provide. Our proprietary system called “Marcura Enhanced Governance System” (MEGS) is our dedicated master data and due diligence platform that is designed to help support and enhance our customers’ compliance with regulations related to sanctions, antibribery & corruption, anti-money laundering, tax evasion and fraud prevention. We are also active members of the Baltic and International Maritime Council (BIMCO) and Maritime Anti-Corruption Network (MACN).

To read Marcura’s full UNGC report on 2020/2021 progress please click here or see our page on the UNGC website.

The people making it happen

We chatted with three team members who are deeply involved in Marcura’s UNGC initiatives:

• Tushar Trivedi: Director in group finance and accounting, and who is also the programme secretary of Marcura’s UNGC committee
• Bettina Frimann Larsen: HR Director, who is implementing the remote work excellence project which was a key part of our UNGC initiatives (see below)
• Candida Anthonette Hendricks: Committee member of our UNGC environment team

 

1. What is Marcura’s commitment to UNGC?

Tushar: Marcura has always been committed to embedding UNGC principles and values within the group. We want to do our bit and play our part in being a key member of the maritime community – adopting UNGC is one real way to do that. Also, the UNGC framework provides us with a lot of information, motivation, and direction.

2. Can you shed some light on your current role in Marcura’s UNGC Committee?

Tushar: Marcura has been a signatory to UNGC since 2012, and I have been working on our UNGC efforts for the last 3 years. I recruit a team of Marcura employees from across the business who volunteer and spend a part of their time working on new initiatives, that are linked towards fulfilling the common cause of the UNGC principles.

My role is to ensure that the teams understand the purpose of this initiative and align with the vision of the group.

Candida: I have been associated with UNGC Committee for the past 6 years, mainly working on the environment sub-team. It provides me immense satisfaction that we are contributing to a healthier environment, through these initiatives.

3. Why does Marcura invest so much of its employees’ time in UNGC? How does it benefit our customers?

Tushar: Our relationship with UNGC makes us an attractive business partner for our customers. Many of our customers are as passionate as we are about being compliant with UNGC. Because of our commitment to UNGC, it puts us in a very good light with existing customers and prospects.

4. What were the key achievements of Marcura under the category of Human Rights?

Tushar: Marcura has, over the past years, driven towards becoming a more gender-neutral employer. To achieve this, we have been conducting various surveys over the past 2 to 3 years, to assess and plug the gaps in terms of the work environment. The flexibility of the workplace has emerged as one of the key factors for staff, and especially women.

Bettina: I am heading the Remote Excellence Strategy (RX) for Marcura, which enables all employees to work from home permanently. It sounds simple, but it has required a huge amount of planning and work. Last year, we received an encouraging response of 96% after surveying its employees globally on their willingness to work remotely. It emerged as a win-win situation, offering flexibility to the employees to work from anywhere, and the employers to attract diverse talent irrespective of location.

Candida: Several team-building exercises have been carried out for home-based employees in the past, to foster a strong relationship between different departments when they are not meeting face-to-face.

5. Tell me more about the remote work policy at Marcura.

Tushar: The implementation of the remote work policy across the company has been one of the key highlights for this year. The policy has been envisioned by our CEO Jens Poulsen and spearheaded by our HR Director Bettina. It has helped us in managing the work efficiently during the pandemic and provided a work-life balance for our employees.

Bettina: We believe that the RX (Remote Excellence) strategy is a step ahead in the direction of corporate transformation. We’ve been discussing it for a few years.  But the pandemic accelerated its implementation, serving as an opportunity for us to test its feasibility from all perspectives. It has enabled many employees to relocate to their home countries, enabling them to be in proximity with our customers, and their own families.

6. What has been the key contribution of Marcura towards the environment?

Tushar: Marcura has always been committed to environmental progress. We have invested in the right technologies and managed to reduce the carbon footprint of the group. Our customers also understand this approach, as many are aligned with UNGC principles themselves.

Candida: We have taken several eco-friendly initiatives within the company, to create a healthy environment. Examples include indoor plants, replace plastic utensils with biodegradable material. We conducted garbage clean-up drives in Dubai and Mumbai, and have collected funds to help flood victims. We have also collaborated with the Emirates Environment Group, in their environmentally friendly initiatives.

7. Could you highlight some of the measures taken by Marcura on behalf of anti-corruption?

Tushar: Our company policies are well-defined in compliance with our commitment to UNGC, namely code of conduct, whistle-blowers, anti-sexual harassment, staff safety, etc. We also offer a full-fledged service of compliance solutions to our customers, through our Maritime Compliance as a Service (MCaaS) product.

Candida: Marcura conducts an online exercise that is mandatory for all new joiners, to educate them regarding the importance of anti-corruption policies in the shipping industry. We also circulate regular videos within the company to raise awareness about compliance.

 

 

To read Marcura’s full UNGC report on 2020/2021 progress please click here or see our page on the UNGC website.

 

Written by:

Suchint Miglani

Tushar Trivedi

Bettina Frimann Larsen

Candida Anthonette Hendricks