The increasing awareness regarding extreme weather events and climate change issues that has developed in the last decades has shed light on the importance of the ocean. Scholars and activists agree in saying that the Earth’s climate is highly dependent on the ocean and that so is life; that’s one of the many reasons why, when it comes to sustainability, the ocean is now considered to be a stakeholder in itself, to be preserved and protected.
This growing attention toward the ocean is translating into the need for a shift of perspective in the shipping industry: the current challenges, rather than innovative and disruptive technologies, regard a change of mindset. For this, a complete revolution in the approaches to the oceans is auspicious: to shape a better future, the path to follow is to create a new maritime world that aims at leaving oceans better than they were, rather than just focusing on minimizing its impacts.
Societal demands for sustainability are already shaping the shipping industry. By being a visible symbol of global supply chains, shipping faces detailed scrutiny both from its customers and from environmental regulations agencies. Therefore, companies, to remain competitive, will have to prove that they’re engaging in decarbonisation efforts. This means that without having a clear picture of what the future will be like, shipowners are today called to take important decisions that will shape their financial situation for the decades to come.
The journey from a shipping industry only fueled by fossil fuels to a varied ecosystem where several technologies are emerging has already begun. In such a complex environment, the right temporary tools to fulfill sustainability responsibilities without any undue delay are CO2 emissions compensation and energy-saving device retrofits. PNZ is therefore here to assist shipowners and operators to manage this transitional period, while going through the necessary time for new technologies to mature and become commercially viable. In this way, everyone can be part of the change, despite difficulties and strains: this journey is just starting, but we all need to be a part of it.