DP World has cut direct carbon emissions from its global operations by 5 per cent in 2022, according to its latest Environmental Social and Governance (ESG) report, reflecting progress towards its 2040 carbon neutral target.

The ESG report, published on 26 May, has been developed in accordance with the latest Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Standards.

Over the course of 2022, DP World said it has tightened its ESG Governance and Risk Management framework, and it has launched an Executive Sustainability Council to provide strategic guidance on the Group’s sustainability strategy and ESG metrics.

The company has also integrated ESG as a risk into its corporate enterprise risk register in 2022, and it has published its first stand-alone ESG Report c 2021.

Maha AlQattan, Group Chief People and Sustainability Officer, DP World, said: “At DP World, we believe in enabling resilience, and building a smart and sustainable future that generates long-term societal impact.

“In 2022 we saw continued global headwinds but that challenged us to push new frontiers of collaboration. I’m proud that we have cut our direct carbon emissions by 5 per cent, and significantly increased our community contributions.

“We recognise our impact and are continuing to look at how we use our resources responsibly, on issues from education to WASH infrastructure, in line with our clear roadmap for the future,” AlQattan added.

DP World stated that decarbonisation is a core focus for the company and the business has continued to work towards its targets of becoming carbon neutral by 2040 and net zero carbon by 2050.

In November at COP 27, Group Chairman and CEO, Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, announced that DP World had joined the Green Shipping Challenge and committed to investing up to $500 million to cut carbon dioxide emissions by nearly 700,000 tonnes over the next five years.

The Group has also entered a strategic partnership with the Maersk McKinney Moller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping and joined the UN Global Compact’s Think Lab on Just Transition.

This report comes less than three weeks after DP World announced the installation of sunlight-converting photovoltaic panels at its UK London Gateway hub.

More recently, the company announced it will distribute up to £15 million ($18.6 million) to community projects in the Thames Estuary region.