2022 Sustainability report summary

Fred. Olsen Windcarrier has published a report that highlights our efforts across Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) topics in 2022

The report covers our total activities, including our contribution to clean energy installation, and contains information in line with the World Economic Forum’s core set of common sustainability metrics.

The following is a summary divided in to four categories: Environment, Social, Governance, and Prosperity, with related subcategories. You can download the full report here.

Scope 1 is the direct GHG emissions occurrence from sources that are owned and controlled by the company. In FOWIC, this refers to emissions from combustion onboard our vessels.

Scope 2 accounted for GHG emissions from the generation of purchased electricity consumed by the company. Scope 2 emissions physically occur at the facility where electricity is generated.

Scope 3 is indirect emissions that are a consequence of the activities of the company but occur from sources not owned or controlled by the company. It is our intention to expand the reported Scope 3 emission categories as reliable and transparent data becomes available.

At Fred. Olsen Windcarrier, we take our environmental responsibilities very seriously. These include our material topics, including climate risks, waste, and biodiversity.

In 2022, our environmental objectives were as follows:

• Continue to provide shipping services for distributing renewable energy
• Reduce CO2 emission (scope 1 and scope 2) in project with 5% in 2022 compared with
  tender baseline for each project
• Reduce CO2 emissions (scope 1 and scope 2) in idle periods with 4% in 2022 compared
  with average 2015 – 2020
• Zero environmental spills and dropped objects to sea
• Reduce environmental impact to life below water related to microplastic from cloth washing
• Report Scope 3 CO2 emissions
• Reduce vessel non-recyclable plastic, general waste, and food waste per POB with 10%
  compared to 2021
• Enable digitalization actively in reduction of environmental footprint

Climate risks and opportunities are integrated parts of our Sustainability policy. The corporate risk assessment (including climate risks) is presented and discussed at monthly meetings, with ESG status and progress included at quarterly Board meetings.

The climate risk assessment considers the likelihood and consequences for five different scenarios, known as Shared Socio-economic Pathways (SSPs). This follow the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) framework. Physical risks are structured in accordance with the EU Taxonomy framework.

Fred. Olsen Windcarrier had three vessels in operation during 2022, which were utilized for 92% of the year. During this time, they achieved:

• Installation of 54 WTG’s with an installed capacity of 440 MW and contributing indirectly to a material positive contribution to reduce CO2 emissions
• Installation of 25 foundations with an installed capacity of 227 MW and contributing indirectly to a material positive contribution to reduce CO2 emissions

In 2022, we initiated a project to conduct Life Cycle Assessment of our vessels. This allows us to quantify and assess their environmental impact, attributed to their complete lifecycle, including identification of the main drivers of their global warming potential impact, for example CO2e hotspots.

The assessment was initiated with vessels Bold Tern and Brave Tern, as these have the same design.

The taxonomy is a system of classification that establishes clear and consistent criteria for determining if economic activities are sustainable. It utilises science-based technical screening criteria that must be met for an activity to be considered ‘green’. 

For our own purposes, we took activity 4.3 ‘Electricity generation from wind power’ to be the most relevant, as our installation services are integral parts of the construction of the wind farm.

To assess our activities’ eligibility and alignment, we have used Celsia’s taxonomy software solution, which shows we are 99% ‘Aligned’.

‘Eligible’ means that the company substantially contributes to one of the six environmental objectives of the taxonomy. To be ‘Aligned’, the company must meet two additional criteria:

• Do-No-Significant-Harm (DNSH) in relation to the other environmental objectives
• Minimum Social Safeguards as described in the taxonomy regulations

We are well aware that our operations can have a negative impact on marine life, which is why we go to great lengths to not only ensure compliance with international regulations, but with our own standards.

Our environmental contribution to nature loss is managed through the following initiatives:

• Ballast water treatment systems have been installed on all three vessels. Discharge of ballast water is carried out strictly in accordance with the requirements of the compliance with Ballast Water Management Convention
• Discharge of sewage is through an approved sewage treatment unit
• The discharge of bilge water is controlled via an Oily Water Separator (OWS) which is certified to 5 ppm. It is considered that bilge water with <5 ppm has little environmental impact
• The vessels, BRT and BOT, have Voith Schneider thrusters installed which produce lower noise levels than conventional thruster units and hence reduce the impact on marine animals

Fred. Olsen Windcarrier has requirements and barriers against dropped objects to sea and environmental spills. Vessel-specific SOPEP manuals are in place to prevent environmental spills and have prepared mitigating actions in case of an incident. Environmental drills are carried out on a regular basis in accordance with drill plan.

We had one environmental spill in 2022, which was estimated to be less than 10 litres and was caused by erosion of pipework fitting. Our goal is zero spills.

We have also implemented a system of re-useable water bottles and banned all plastic bottles from our vessels. Waste is sorted onboard in accordance with MARPOL Annex V and monitoring and recording. Targets have been established to further reduce waste generation.

This category covers human and labour rights, health and safety, and diversity. Fred. Olsen Windcarrier creates jobs both within our own corporate structure and contributes to facilitate jobs externally. We also contribute to growth within the ocean economy at large.

Our objectives for 2022 within these areas included:

• Zero lost time incidents
• Zero medical treatment case incidents
• Retention rate for marine crew >97%
• Work related sick leave 0%
• Short term sick leave <1%
• Substituted hazardous chemicals in health class 4&5
• Increase satisfaction with leadership development in 2022 compared with 2020 work environment survey
• Increase satisfaction with skills development in 2022 compared with 2020 work environment survey

Human rights and labour standards are a priority. Across our organization, we are committed to complying with national and maritime laws, rules, and regulations, and we require our subcontractors to do the same.

The principles of OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises and UN Global compact Guiding principles on business and human rights is incorporated into Fred. Olsen Windcarrier’s governing policies. We also have zero tolerance policy towards discrimination of any kind.

The personnel policy is defined in our Personnel Handbook and is reflected in our Code of Conduct, which helps to ensure we always maintain the highest ethical standards. All suppliers and employees are given copies and we go to great lengths to ensure every point is anchored within our working culture.

You can read our full Code of Conduct here.

Work on our vessels inevitably includes hazards related to marine activity and the wind industry. All employees are given a copy of the ‘Fred. Olsen HSE Manual’, which is the governing document and specifies the performance standards and requirements for safety.

In addition, a comprehensive Safety Management System (SMS) has been implemented, consisting of procedures, risk assessments, emergency response, and incident reporting system. 

In 2022, we had zero Fatalities, one Lost Time Incident, and one Permanent Disability case. This was a finger injury when using torque tool (subcontractor) and a finger injury operating moving equipment (marine crew), respectively.

Fred. Olsen Windcarrier conducts all activities in accordance with the Norwegian Equality and Anti-Discrimination Act. This guides our activities to identify risks and barriers for equality and maintain the position of women and minorities in our organization.

In general, we are satisfied with gender and age distribution. However, it is acknowledged that a risk of discrimination and barriers for equality still exist. Appropriate measures have been implemented for continuous improvement.

In 2021, we launched our Behaviour Competency Framework for offshore, and included the onshore workforce in 2022. This initiative allows us to define the behavioral competencies expected of our leaders and managers, with a focus on building their skills and creating opportunities for career development. You can read more about this here: Turning good leaders into great leaders (windcarrier.com).

In 2021, we also joined the Maritime Trainee program, one of the leading management trainee programs in Norway. It is designed to give participants three main competencies: general maritime knowledge, deeper insight into to their company, and management training. This gives trainees a broad overview of the maritime industry and the necessary skills to succeed in a management position. 

Competence is an important part of our business, and we will continue to build on the learnings and skills we have gained over the last two years with further initiatives in the future.

Good corporate governance is of great importance as it not only sets the ‘Tone at the Top’ from senior management but also provides direction and guidance towards achieving our goals.

Governance activities are carried out systematically and effectively aiming to ensuring that any prevailing risks are taken into consideration in the decision-making process and dealt with appropriately. Our objectives in 2022 included:

• Ensure a sustainable business through fleet utilisation (incl. time spend in yard)
• Commercial uptime > 99%
• Customer satisfaction score > total score 22 or higher (of 25)
• Comply with all relevant national, local, and maritime laws, rules, and regulations
• Zero corruption incidents

• Code of Conduct – Our ‘Code of Conduct’ states our policies for ethical behavior. It is published in the management system, available for all employees. The Code of Conduct is subject to annual reviews and updates.​

• Anti-corruption and anti-bribery​ – The definition of bribery is offering, promising, giving, accepting, or soliciting of an undue advantage of any value, directly or indirectly, and irrespective of location(s), in violation of applicable law, as an inducement or reward for a person acting or refraining from acting in relation to the performance of that person’s duties. Our anti-corruption policy enables managers to address difficult questions in clear concrete manner.

• Training – As part of communication and implementation of the policies, our employees undertake the following mandatory compliance related e-learning courses (completed percentage in brackets): ​
• Code of Conduct (82%)​
• Corporate Social Responsibilities (83%)​
• Policy & anti-corruption/anti-bribery (78%) ​

Risk management is an integrated part of all our work processes. A risk management system has been established and implemented, covering all parts of our activities, including:

• Corporate risk database for the enterprise risks
• SWOT analysis
• Climate risk assessment
• Risk register for the wind farms, covering all relevant operational risks
• Operational risk assessments
• Task risk assessments (TRA) for task specific risks
• ‘Take2’ last minute point-of-work risk assessment

Prosperity covers wealth creation, continuous improvements, new technologies, tax payments, and community contributions. 

New technologies

In 2022, we completed the upgrade and crane replacement for Bold Tern, which is now installing foundations and next generation wind turbines with a new and unique 1600t LEC 65500 leg encircling crane supplied by Huisman.

This helps to ensure the vessel has a longer working lifespan, especially in regard to the ever-increasing size of wind turbine components. With these upgrades, Bold Tern will deliver value and performance to customers for many more years to come.

Community contributions

In 2016, the Fred. Olsen Social Engagement Group (FOSEG) was established with a view to further strengthen Bonheur ASA’s efforts within social and charitable purposes. The group has continued its work during 2021 and focuses on supporting qualifying sustainable projects, both globally and locally.

FOSEG has followed up on previous years’ support towards the non-profit organization, Health and Human Rights Info (HHRI). HHRI’s object is to strengthen and develop health and psychosocial work towards people that have been exposed to organized violence, war, and serious violation of human rights.

FOSEG also has close relationships with the Development Fund and are actively following their specific water irrigation projects in Ethiopia with a view to improve self-sustainability. Further, FOSEG has supported rescue companies in both Norway and the UK contributing to making traffic at sea safer, as well as the World Wildlife Fund for Nature’s fight against plastic in the sea. 

To download our full ESG report, click here