Stakeholder engagement
Understanding the needs and expectations of our stakeholders is a foundation for our ESG strategy and supporting actions.
Our approach to engagement
Maersk continuously engages with seven key stakeholder groups, including those that may be directly impacted by our activities and those who are users of the information that we publish. Their valued input informs our decisions and the actions we take to live up to our responsibilities and mitigate potential negative impact on society or the environment. They also help us identify emerging issues that may pose a significant risk to our business.
| Stakeholder group | Stakeholder expectations | Engagement channels | Value from engagement |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Stakeholder group
Employees, contingent workers and value chain workers
|
Stakeholder expectations
Meaningful work, fair treatment and wages, safe working conditions, a sense of belonging for all, and good development opportunities.
|
Engagement channels
|
Value from engagement
Provide valuable input to ESG programs and shape actions and improvement plans to address any issues.
|
|
Stakeholder group
Customers
|
Stakeholder expectations
Solutions that can ensure responsible business practices and can lower their supply chain emissions.
|
Engagement channels
|
Value from engagement
Informs product development and shapes solutions. Customer feedback on providing greater value is directly linked to our integrator strategy.
|
|
Stakeholder group
Authorities, regulators & standard setters
|
Stakeholder expectations
Compliance with regulation and industry leadership on the transformation to net zero.
|
Engagement channels
|
Value from engagement
Ensure we adhere to local and national regulations. Help us identify opportunities for collaboration and initiatives across the ESG agenda and to push for regulations towards industry-wide decarbonisation.
|
|
Stakeholder group
Suppliers and business partners
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Stakeholder expectations
Fair and transparent business opportunities and partnerships on strategic issues.
|
Engagement channels
|
Value from engagement
Build understanding of the effectiveness of supplier practices and engagement. Enhance value chain visibility including fair working conditions and supplier ethical business conduct.
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|
Stakeholder group
Investors and analysts
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Stakeholder expectations
Strategies, plans and actions to mitigate short and long-term risk to the business model.
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Engagement channels
|
Value from engagement
Helps us understand how the company is perceived in comparison to other investment opportunities. ESG ratings additionally helps us identify gaps in ESG management and emerging trends.
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|
Stakeholder group
Local communities & nature
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Stakeholder expectations
Responsibility and accountability towards material issues in areas of highest impact.
|
Engagement channels
|
Value from engagement
Local communities help us better understand the needs and restraints of nature where we operate to inform decision to invest and procure resources and to mitigate negative impacts in the value chain.
|
|
Stakeholder group
Civil Society Organisations
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Stakeholder expectations
Responsibility and accountability towards material issues and positive contributions in areas of highest impact and leverage.
|
Engagement channels
|
Value from engagement
Access to valuable insights, expertise and best practices which help us identify potential risks or opportunities and shape ambitions and actions.
|
ESG ratings as a proxy for stakeholder expectations
ESG ratings are a source of insight on stakeholder expectations and valued by customers and investors. We prioritise those that are most material to our stakeholders and align with our priorities, including EcoVadis, CDP, MSCI and Sustainalytics.
Key partnerships and coalitions
We actively engage in cross-industry partnerships and coalitions to set standards, develop solutions and drive common agendas across the ESG agenda.
This active engagement is core to our ESG strategy and in recent years, we have seen significant growth in engagement requests.
We aim to prioritise our efforts where we have the biggest impact and where it adds the greatest value, and therefore consciously assess and prioritise our partnerships to determine the appropriate level of engagement (or disengagement).
ESG risk to business
As part of our double materiality assessment, we assess potential sustainability-related risks that can trigger negative financial or reputational impacts to our business.
For this assessment, we draw on Maersk’s enterprise risk management (ERM) process, which assesses top risks to achieving our business plan within a 5-year horizon.
The topics covered by the financial impact assessment for 2024 are climate change, pollution, ship recycling, retaining and attracting critical talent, working conditions, equal treatment, other work-related rights (forced labour, data privacy), ethical use of data and AI, supplier relationships, corruption and bribery and tax.
For more information, see the sections on risk management and double materiality assessment in our Annual Report.
Assessing our corporate human rights impacts
A corporate-level human rights assessment informs our understanding of Maersk’s potential and actual human rights risks and impacts across our value chain. Learn more about how Maersk works with Human Rights under our Social priorities.
Engaging with customers on sustainability
We engage with our customers on sustainability as part of daily business relationships and in dedicated fora. Understanding their needs and priorities is a vital part of our continuous evaluation of Maersk’s strategic direction, and we are always looking for potential partners, not least for driving us towards net zero as fast as possible.
Gaining deep insights into our customers’ own sustainability challenges and goals also gives us the opportunity to develop innovative and sustainable services that help their businesses go all the way.
Annual Report 2024
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