GP General Procurement Company Limited has joined IMPA SAVE and a global group of ship-owners and managers pledging to support in the fight to reduce single-use plastic water bottles on board vessels.
The IMPA SAVE council was formed by IMPA, the International Marine Purchasing Association, in July 2020, with an aim to support the call to action for the (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by encouraging and bringing change into the maritime industry.
Their first goal ‘Getting to Zero’ aims to dramatically reduce the use of plastic drinking water bottles onboard ships by 2025.
According to IMPA SAVE, every year, an average vessel of 22 crew members consumes close to 18 tons of drinking water. With an estimated 55,000 vessels on our planet, this equates close to 1 billion litres of water delivered onboard. Considering that a typical one-liter bottle weighs 41 grams and is 10.1 inches tall and almost 3 inches wide, it is possible to use all these bottles to build a bridge to the moon that is 0.5 meters wide.
The ‘Getting to Zero’ pledge has been signed and adopted by 20+ companies reflecting approximately 11% of the worlds fleet.
GenPro became an official pledger on the 2nd of February 2021 and in doing so became the 20th pledger to join and support the program. With its procurement pool of more than 800 vessels GenPro reiterates its promise to continue driving and aiming towards a more sustainable blue economy, for its Members, its Partner-Suppliers and for a better, healthier, and happier future for all.
The pledge follows the company’s own Sustainability Strategy which was launched in 2020 and comes to further strengthen GenPro’s commitment towards exploring sustainable solutions in the procurement and supply chain cycle.
GenPro has over the last 6 months carried out a series of Webinars catered for its Suppliers and Members. The Webinars are designed to educate, inform, and promote sustainable practices while aim to minimize the environmental footprint of all stakeholders involved. The industry specific Webinars address important topics such as International Regulations (Ship Recycling & Haz Mat), Green Supply Chain and, Stores & Provisions Packing, amongst others.
GenPro, an industry leader in Maritime and Commercial Procurement, strongly advocates and ensures that all stakeholders involved are equally responsible towards and, aware of its Sustainability Strategy.
‘We believe in working ethically, transparency and diligently; sustainability is deeply rooted in our company’s core’ said GenPro’s Projects Consultant Mr. Spyros Tsigaridas, who is heading the company’s Sustainability Strategy.
Overall, it is our responsibility, driven by our innate sense of duty, to join forces with like-minded companies to address the environmental challenges we face and jointly work towards eliminating and eradicating them with innovation, available solutions, and immediate action.
GenPro promotes the minimization of Single Use Plastics where possible and ensures Suppliers:
- Abide with the DGS India Order No 5 “Prohibition on Single Use Plastic” on board our vessels calling Indian Ports
- Are measured against environmental friendlier wrapping material and/or solutions which minimize the use of plastic
- Follow GenPro’s Product Quality Identities for Provisions for which explicit packaging material and environmentally friendlier packaging techniques are employed to the maximum possible level
GenPro educates and spreads awareness on Sustainability through the formal communication of its Strategy and the provision of dedicated Webinars which ensure a smooth and consistent information flow related to all possible measures & techniques which improve all stakeholders environmental footprint.
- GenPro redefined its Pre-Tender & Annual Follow up Audit Forms in order to best measure all Suppliers’ alignment with GenPro’s Sustainability Strategy
- GenPro employs a Sustainability Balanced Scorecard able to further capture all its contracted Suppliers’ & Service Providers’ Green Initiatives in an organized manner
For more information on IMPA SAVE Click here.
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