Human rights

A.P. Moller - Maersk (Maersk) is committed to respecting human rights, in line with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs). As the role of companies is frequently being put in the spotlight, both in terms of their powerful potential for positive impact and in terms of responsibility to avoid or minimise negative impacts, the UNGPs are a north star in navigating complex dilemmas involving impacts to people. Increasing regulation on companies to implement responsible business conduct due diligence is formalising the requirements. This development is reinforced by increased customer and investor interest in how we conduct business responsibly. Maersk supports increased harmonisation and alignment on responsible business conduct due diligence aligned to existing international principles.

Ambition

Continue aligning 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.

Targets

• Capacity building on human rights, including targeted trainings for human rights issue owners

• Continued integration of human rights into key due diligence processes

Addressing our salient human rights issues

In 2022, we followed up on our 2021 corporate-level human rights assessment by consolidating our overview of salient human rights issues (see box below) and defining action plans. We have prioritised progress on three human rights issues this year: (1) working conditions in the supply chain (read the sections on Employee relations and Labour rights, p. 46, and Sustainable Procurement, p. 50, for more on this topic), (2) violence and harassment at work, in particular offshore working conditions for our seafarers (read more on p. 45), and (3) impacts of climate change and decarbonisation – including the importance of a just transition to more sustainable supply chains (read more on p. 31).

We also focused on strengthening key processes that support our human rights due diligence framework. In 2022, we further embedded ESG risk analysis into our Merger & Acquisitions due diligence processes, and made progress on further integrating ESG risk management in the Sustainable Procurement process (see p. 50).

particular human rights issues lies with the respective functions with support by specific governance forums. Building a strong human rights governance structure is an imperative as we prepare to meet increased regulatory requirements.

Internal capacity building

Responsibility for making decisions with respect for human rights lies with all Maersk leaders, and therefore capacity building is a key enabler of our commitment. Our ambition is to support and equip leaders with the knowledge and tools to handle dilemmas in a manner sensitive to potential human rights impacts. In 2022, we developed tailored, face-toface human rights training and rolled this out to several key functions and human rights issue owners. We will continue this training in 2023 and beyond.

Operating in conflict-affected countries

We are conscious of our responsibility to conduct heightened human rights due diligence when operating in conflict-affected areas. During 2022, this has particularly been relevant in connection with ceasing our activities in Russia (see p. 8), and continuing our operations in Myanmar. Since the coup in Myanmar, working in a cross-functional team, we have closely monitored the situation as well as our activities and business relationships to ensure that our presence is not contributing to human rights abuses. In this dynamic and sometimes challenging environment, we retain strong and open communication with our employees, prioritising supporting their health, safety, wellbeing and decent work conditions.

Human rights governance framework

Human rights updates are provided to the Executive Leadership Team as part of regular ESG strategy progress oversight. In addition, as human rights is an overarching topic, responsibility for managing

Business ethics

Sustainable procurement

Data ethics

Responsible tax Citizenship

Why it matters

Corruption is a key compliance risk and it is illegal. It undermines social and economic development, destabilises the business environment and adds to the cost of doing business and participating in global trade. It is against our values and affects external confidence as well as company morale. Noncompliance with bribery and corruption law may lead to legal and reputational risks, extra costs, inefficiencies in our business, fines, imprisonment and debarment from markets.

UN SDGs