DP World, a leading global end-to-end logistics provider, today made a new commitment to safeguard ocean health, with the additional duty to increase access to clean water, sanitation provisions, and protect aquatic biodiversity. This new commitment will be one of DP World’s three legacy focus areas under its ‘Our World, Our Future’ sustainability strategy.

The strategy has guided all DP World’s global business operations since its launch in 2015. Its three legacy focus areas -Women, Education and now Water – help DP World work responsibly, prioritising sustainable and inclusive economic growth to create a positive impact for the communities and environments in which it operates. DP World invested $13.2 million in community projects in 2021 alone.

DP World’s new Water focus area combines all its existing ocean sustainability efforts with a commitment to support equitable access to water and sanitation. It also ensures all the aquatic environments where the company operates are sustainable, resilient and free from pollution. Activities within Water include employee coastal clean-ups, delivering educational training to schoolchildren, delivering critical sanitation supplies to COVID-stressed regions and planting mangrove forests to restore biodiversity.

Maha AlQattan, DP World Group Chief People & Sustainability Officer, said: “DP World increasingly operates in regions where polluted oceans, water security and sanitation hinder sustainable development. Our teams around the world are already taking steps to overcome this challenge in partnership with the communities they serve. That’s why we are extending our Oceans legacy focus area to become Water under the ‘Our World, Our Future’ strategy.

“Working with partners including UNICEF, The Earthshot Prize and UN Global Compact’s Ocean Stewardship Coalition, we’ll focus on conserving oceans, ecosystem restoration, coastal clean-ups, drinking water access, promoting hygiene and educational programmes, among other activities. If we can improve ocean health, provide more equitable water access and connect more families to reliable sanitation, we can provide a critical foundation for improved economic growth, human rights and resilience to the effects of climate change.”

The ‘Our World, Our Future’ sustainability strategy is aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) so that DP World’s actions can contribute to a greater collective impact. The new Water focus aligns with SDG-6: Clean Water and Sanitation and SDG-14: Life Below Water.

Some 771 million people around the world today lack access to safe water. The result is an estimated 1 million people die each year from water, sanitation and hygiene-related diseases, including 1,000 children each day. At the same time, over 2 million different species rely on aquatic ecosystems, including oceans, lakes, rivers and wetlands.

With a major coastal and waterside presence through DP World’s ports, terminals and other assets, ocean health and clean water access is at the forefront of the company’s Environmental, Social and Governance goals.