Human rights

Maersk is committed to respecting human rights, in line with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, and as a member of the UN Global Compact.

Why human rights matter

Many of our ESG commitments touch on human rights: from our action on climate change and our focus on sustainable supply chains, to the way we use data and build and recycle our vessels.

Because of this, we recognise that our conduct in our own business and in our business relationships has the potential to significantly impact society – both positively and negatively. Increasing regulation and growing stakeholder expectations also confirm that human rights is an area where Maersk can and should take a lead.

Our human rights targets

2022
Develop action plans addressing the salient human rights risks identified in our human rights assessment
2022
Formalise Maersk’s human rights governance framework

Our ambition

We will continue to align our business practices with the UN Guiding Principles and ensure that human rights considerations are integrated into our due diligence processes and ESG governance mechanisms.
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Human rights

Priorities and actions

Our work to respect human rights is managed across many different business areas. Alignment on human rights risks and management is anchored in Commit, our central governance system. Our ESG governance framework ensures that human rights are captured in our strategy. We engage regularly with stakeholders, including rights-holders, on how we manage our human rights responsibilities.

Maersk Human Rights Policy

Maersk's Human Rights Policy Statement outlines our commitment to respect human rights based on international standards, and is complemented by our Employee and Supplier Codes of Conduct.

Determining our key risks

We conduct corporate-level human rights assessments to refresh our understanding of potential and actual human rights risks that may impact our value chain. From our latest human rights assessment, current issues identified include health and safety and working conditions (wages, benefits and hours) in the supply chain, plus access to remedy.

We continue to define action plans and prioritise areas for action based on our risk assessments. We will continue efforts to improve due diligence on high-risk suppliers and strengthening our grievance mechanisms. We are also working to better understand emerging issues linked to our growth strategy, including data ethics and just transition.

Committing to a just transition

We understand that global action on climate change may have unintended impacts on peoples’ rights and livelihoods, and that new supply chains (for example biofuel sourcing) may affect communities.

We are therefore taking a human-centred approach to our decarbonisation strategy. We will adhere to international human rights standards and actively engage with all stakeholder groups and policy debates to ensure that the energy transition is a just transition.

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Human rights in focus

See how human rights are integral to Maersk’s ESG commitments.
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Climate change

The rights to life, the right to work and the right to adequate standard of living.
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Diversity, equity and inclusion

The right to freedom from discrimination and the right to family life.
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Air emissions

The right to the highest attainable standard of health.
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Employee relations

Human rights principles and standards related to labour, for example, freedom of association and collective bargaining, equal treatment, child labour, forced labour, working hours, compensation, privacy, rest and leisure.
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Responsible ship recycling

Human rights principles and standards related to labour, in particular the right to life and the right to the highest attainable standard of health
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Data ethics

The right to privacy, the right to freedom from discrimination and the right to freedom of expression.
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Safety and security

The right to life and the right to the highest attainable standard of health.
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Sustainable procurement

Human rights principles and standards related to labour.

Maersk Sustainability Report 2021

Read more about our progress on environmental, social and governance dimensions in our latest Sustainability Report.
Sustainability Report 2021
Maersk sustainability report

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