Northstar Ship Management Ltd., fully committed to its Social and Environmental Responsibilities, strives to incorporate the best sustainable practices inherently in Company’s Policy and Work Practices. Be it the fuel saving / energy efficient initiatives/safe work practices / endeavours to lessen the environmental impact of all our activities or enhancing the on board sailing environment of our crewmembers – our aim is to comply and continuously improve.
Shipping industry is complex, and every stakeholder, brings not just his or her own advantages but also their unique challenges. The industry has a large carbon footprint. The impact and the duress, which the advancements in shipping and technology brings in efforts to make the industry safer and environmentally stable, has many challenges, which we fully appreciate.
We strive to create a well-balanced approach between all such challenges, be it regulatory requirements, emission standards, or other advancements while being environment friendly at the same time. We strive to ensure diversity and equality at our work place – be it ashore (Management head office) or at Sea (Sailing staff).
We have incorporated Green initiatives in our small setup, as intrinsic corporate value; contributing as “our drop in the Ocean” for the larger good.
Our CSR program is broadly categorised in two streams –
On Shore Initiatives
We have made our office a Green Zone with the following Management Practices –
1. Reduction of Paper usage by the below practices adopted by office personnel-
a. Reduce paper printing
b. Use double sided printing on paper as much as possible
c. Adjust margins and font sizes to optimize the use of paper
d. Printing on used / recycled paper
e. Storing data electronically as much as possible, and reduce hardcopy filing systems.
f. Order recycled paper / stationary as much as possible.
g. Paperless work practices – all staff computer enabled, majority processes including enquiries, order approvals, invoices processing and contracts being electronic (paperless) as far as practical and improving.
Ship inspection reports generated and maintained as soft copy.
2. Reduction of Plastic usage in the office.
Office staff are encouraged to use biodegradable bags and re-use plastic bags.
3. Peruse the HK Government’s WEEE program for the e-waste management.
All the office electronics are deposited at the governments approved collecting points, for recycling.
4. Energy Conservation by the below practices –
a. Switching off all unnecessary lights and electrical appliances
b. Maintaining an ambient indoor temp. of 24°C – 26°C for the Air conditioning in Summer Months.
c. Use energy efficient appliances – Green Procurements
d. Printer and photocopiers to be put on sleep mode when idling.
e. Use the power management modes of the PC’s turning to Sleep mode when idling for more than 2 minutes.
5. Management of dead / old data on the servers.
Old data are regularly reviewed and shifted on HDD’s to minimise the load on servers and act as way for the energy conservation.
At Sea Initiatives
1. Crew Welfare Schemes
a. Bonus Schemes to crew members, including re-joining/performance based and also quarterly bonus programs
b. Internet / WiFi access to seafarers to enable them to be connected with their loved ones.
c. Initiated additional welfare schemes to compensate the shore leave restrictions during the pandemic period.
2. Crew Contracts
Understanding the needs of sailing staff and considering any special requests reg the tenure.
3. Monthly Manila meeting
In this unique initiative our Marine and Technical superintendents have a face to face interaction with the sailing staff. This brings an opportunity for the crew to connect with the management and bring to the attention any issues or practical problems they might experience during their sailing stint. Attendees are also made aware of the recent development / expected regulatory updates in these sessions.
4. Mental health well-being of Crew
Understanding the stress and fatigue caused by social isolation while on sail, compounded by the global restrictions of the pandemic, we have developed CBT and literature for the Master to identify signs of depression among the crew. Master’s are encouraged to keep the crew motivated and their moral boosted by arranging frequent get-togethers.
5. Compliance to all regulatory updates with efficient and time bound planning with the assistance from Shore support.
6. Green procurement initiative – Our Purchase dept ashore strives to procure the stores from the best suppliers based on ethical and eco-friendly strategies.
7. e-waste disposals – We encourage ship staff to land all the generated e-wastes to recycling facilities – where available.
8. Focus on reduced plastic generation onboard.
9. Monitoring and maintaining quality of potable water quality onboard.
