Research Finds 29% of Maritime Organizations Prioritize Sustainability

[By: Spinnaker]

LONDON, UK – 23 NOVEMBER 2022: Maritime HR, recruitment and executive search expert, Spinnaker, has revealed the results of its 2022 shore-based salary survey, comprising 41,000 jobs in the industry. The results show 192 jobs have either ‘environment’, ‘environmental’, ‘sustain’, ‘sustainability’, ‘governance’, ‘transition’, ‘carbon’, ‘ESG’, ‘Chief Environmental Officer’ or ‘change’ in the title. 

Whilst this number does not sound high on the face of it, the data reveals that 29% of maritime organisations have at least one role dedicated to transforming business practices towards a more sustainable approach. This is in contrast to just 5 years ago, when ESG issues were mostly dealt with by marketing and PR departments rather than sustainability specialists. The maritime industry is making headway and taking action to prioritise sustainability, even if change is slow.

Teresa Peacock, Managing Director – Executive Search at Spinnaker commented: “Although the numbers of sustainability-focussed jobs don’t look high on the surface, progress is being made. On an almost weekly basis we have clients approaching us looking for candidates with sustainability experience and we’ve seen this kind of new-market dynamic before – think the dot-com era and the rapid growth of the LNG sector. While the current holy grail is sustainability and maritime experience, there are only so many of these people to go round. This may explain the lower amount of dedicated sustainability jobs, as organisations must import people from other sectors, invest in existing people or poach from within the industry.”

The shore-based salary survey was prepared in October 2022, with responses provided by 88 shipping companies, comprising of Maritime HR Association members. To find out how to access the 2022 reports, take part in the 2023 survey or join the membership, please visit our blog.