ODFJELL
The company monitors recycling processes closely to ensure they meet environmental and social standards.“ That’ s just a fantastic example of a circular economy,” he repeats.
A slow-turning industry with growing momentum Looking ahead, Øistein describes shipping itself as analogous to a large vessel.“ Shipping is like a big ship. It takes time to turn,” he says. Once change gathers speed, however, he believes momentum will be hard to stop. In the near term, he does not foresee“ big, massive changes” in shipping’ s sustainability profile. An important milestone would have been the adoption of a detailed net zero framework by the IMO.
“ We had hoped that the net zero framework would be adopted last year, so it was a big disappointment that it wasn’ t,” he explains. The absence of a clear global framework leaves some uncertainty over future requirements.“ At the moment, everything is quite unclear what’ s going to happen,” Øistein says. He expects this situation to last for some time, even as companies like Odfjell continue making progress.
Meanwhile, geopolitical shocks are adding complexity. Shipping is deeply exposed to global trade flows, including tensions in regions such as the Middle East.“ Everything that affects global markets is highly affecting shipping, so we need to adapt every day,” Øistein says. Despite this, he remains cautiously optimistic about the direction of travel.“ I don’ t think you will see massive changes in 12 months,” he says.“ But we are on a good trajectory.”
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