GP General Procurement Company Limited (GenPro) is pleased to announce that it has been honoured with the 2021 Young Ship Cyprus Company Award, sponsored by Ancoria Insurance Public Ltd., for its commitment to sustainability, diversity and developing the next generation of maritime professionals.
The Cyprus-headquartered commercial and maritime procurement services provider received the accolade from YoungShip Cyprus representatives on 21 December during an award ceremony at GenPro’s offices in Limassol.
During the past month, young maritime professionals from Cyprus have nominated companies who they believe are clearly dedicated towards sustainability, diversity and enhancing their young employees. YoungShip Cyprus had a difficult choice to make as many companies have gone the extra mile. However, after careful review, we have decided that this year the award will be given to GenPro as we were impressed by the company DNA, roadmap and future vision toward sustainability.
GenPro overcame strong competition from other Cypriot companies for “empowering” today’s youth and making sustainability and diversity cornerstones of its business.
Youngship International President Philippos Ioulianou explained the organisation’s decision to present the award to GenPro, “It is great to see GenPro focus on sustainability, diversity and youth empowerment. GenPro is a company that places a priority on its employees and has a clear strategic vision towards a sustainable future. Clearly a role model company for the industry. We hope other companies in shipping locally and internationally will follow their way toward sustainability, diversity and youth empowerment. Such companies will help to attract future talents in the industry”.
George Vassiliades, Managing Director of GenPro added. “We have invested massively in building a winning team comprising young, diverse, dynamic and extremely professional individuals who are focused on what they do and the quality of services they deliver – which is the reason the Team always goes the extra mile.”
“As a business, we are genuinely committed to sustainability, diversity and inclusion, issues that are not only critical to the success of a company like ours, but also to society in general. We hear much talk on these topics, with sometimes little action to substantiate the ‘big words’; at GenPro this definitely isn’t the case. Our short-term plan, which we have already defined in detail, covers our engagements until 2025,” he continued.
In September 2021, GenPro unveiled its Sustainability Roadmap during the company’s first annual Blue Day Sustainability Seminar, held to raise awareness of and spark discussion on sustainable issues in maritime.
YoungShip Cyprus is part of YoungShip International, a non-profit organisation that represents people up to the age of 40 who work in shipping and maritime industry globally with more than 35 branches around the world.
Established in 2012, the Cyprus branch was set up to promote dialogue, youth empowerment, environmental awareness, diversity and continues dialogue between members and the local stakeholders (maritime community, government bodies, agencies and organisations).
The organisation hosts seminars, lectures and discussions on entrepreneurship, environmental projects and innovation in shipping, youth leadership, scholarships, social work and encourages members to join the shipping industry, develop ideas, build up soft skills and implement initiatives to expand the Cypriot maritime cluster with the future leaders.
Vassiliades continued, “It is a pleasure to have our work recognized and appreciated, but this is really just the first step in a much longer journey to secure a sustainable future.”
Cyprus YoungShip President Antonis Varnava added “Each year, this award is given out to a company that is committed, among other things, to making a difference toward the youth and the environment. GenPro is a company that every young shipping professional would like to have as their place of employment as one of their main missions is shaping the future in a sustainable way.”
GenPro is a maritime and commercial procurement company headquartered in Limassol. It currently represents a pool of over 1000 vessels, with the number of its reputable Members gradually increasing.