Progress in 2023

Prosperity

As prosperity is inherently linked to people and planet, the KPIs used to measure progress in this area also have some overlap with those used for people and planet.

Here we describe activities undertaken in 2023 to recruit both new employees and interns as well as increasing Mercuria’s employer brand. In addition, much of our innovation and research & development is done through our investments, especially those into companies progressing the energy transition and building the supporting technology and infrastructure that the transition will be reliant upon.

Hiring & internships

For over 10 years, we have been a supporter of the Forum EPFL, Europe’s largest recruitment fair that sees more than 200 companies and 100 start-ups gather to meet students and graduates from École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne. Each year we recruit several students onto our internship program. 2023 was no different and the program was so successful that we were able to offer a permanent role with Mercuria to every intern on completion of their degree.

In North America, we attended recruitment fairs at campuses across Texas, including at Harmony Public Schools, a system of 60 Texas public charter schools that provides rigorous, high-quality education focused on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. Through a caring and collaborative environment, Harmony provides students from traditionally underserved communities the opportunity to excel through project-based learning where they learn the skills necessary to become a contributing global citizen.

In 2023, we also continued our annual veteran recruitment at the Recruit Military job fair in Houston, Texas.

Technology & innovation

Mercuria supports revolution and digitalization of the markets in which we trade and we are committed to using technology and innovation to advance our business and to help the energy transition.

We have dedicated teams of technologists who are working to develop new applications and solutions that can help us to achieve our goals. One of our key areas of focus is on the use of remote sensing data. Remote sensing data can be used to track a variety of factors, including weather patterns, deforestation and biodiversity. We are using this data to develop new applications that can help us to reduce risk, increase transparency, and improve our decision-making. For example, we are using remote sensing data to track deforestation in the Amazon rainforest. This data is being used to identify areas that are at risk of deforestation, to help develop strategies to prevent it and mitigate the effects of climate change.

We believe that transparency and standardization are essential for fair and safe markets. We support these objectives by working with a number of industry consortiums and tech companies on the development of new technologies.

Citizen Sea

In continuing our strong partnership with HUB Ocean, our collaborative efforts span various projects. In sync with our mission to empower our seafarers and others to share their oceanic experiences, in 2023 Minerva Bunkering, our bunkering business, has sponsored a HUB Ocean application, Citizen Sea. Available on the Apple Store and Google Play, Citizen Sea allows any seafarer or ocean visitor to capture photos, tag their location and category, and upload them directly on the application. Users can upload any photo from ocean pollution to natural sightings. These valuable photos along with their metadata make their way to researchers and scientists through HUB Ocean. HUB Ocean then connects these photos to scientists and researchers that can use them in various studies, broadening the scope of oceanic research.

Advanced Delivery Platform (ADP)

Advanced Delivery Platform (ADP) is an innovative solution comprised of integrated hardware and software developed by Mercuria Technology Ventures. ADP provides a completely transparent and efficient bunker delivery service that reduces costs and risks. In 2023, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) added ADP to its list of approved bunkering solutions, in recognition of the importance of digital bunkering and its improved efficiency and productivity, increased transparency and enhanced crew safety.

Validere

In 2023, we have progressed in our emissions reporting by partnering with Validere, a third-party emissions management software provider, backed by a team of qualified sustainability and technology experts. This collaboration was aimed at digitizing and validating our emission calculations and streamlining our GHG reporting across multiple assets. We have migrated all emissions reporting for Mercuria and its assets to Validere’s platform and continue to look for ways to improve our reporting process

Mercuria Hackathons

We created the concept of the Mercuria Hackathons by combining our strategies for both technology and innovation with hiring and internships. The hackathons are a series of weekend events around the world where interdisciplinary teams come together to create innovative software development solutions that solve big energy transition challenges.

In 2023, we held a Mercuria Hackathon in Austin, Texas in the USA. We selected 50 students to participate over a weekend from over 200 applications from all across the continental United States. The teams were interdisciplinary, comprising students and post grads from a multitude of disciplines including business, economics, engineering and computer science. They were encouraged to experiment with cutting edge technology and create real solutions which could form the foundation for innovative change in the power generation, transmission and storage sector in Texas.

The specific challenge the teams worked on related to the independent system operator for the electricity grid that serves most of Texas that is responsible for managing the flow of electric power to more than 26 million Texas customers.

However, as Texas continues its transition to cleaner energy sources and its power grid evolves, it faces a number of challenges, including increased demand for electricity, the need to improve reliability and the addition of intermittent renewable energy sources.

The challenge was broken down into 3 independent, yet inter-related, parts;

An economic, environmental and technical evaluation
Supply & demand balancing and forecasting
Mapping & site selection

This allowed teams and participants of different skill and experience levels to take on the parts that they were most capable of, or most interested in, solving. The winning team were successful in working on all 3 parts of the challenge and demonstrating both a grasp of the technicalities of the problem in addition to a comprehensive presentation of their solution and rationale.

Feedback from event was very positive and has helped to build the Mercuria brand as an innovative and progress company for graduates and experienced hires to thrive in their future careers.

Feedback on LinkedIn from Mercuria Hackathon participants

SDG 3 - Good Health and Well-Being

We continue to promote healthy lifestyles within the workplace through seminars, fitness classes and other healthy activities.
We have proudly achieved the silver level in Cigna’s Healthy Workforce Designation for 2023. This award is a testament to our dedicated efforts on enhancing employee well-being throughout the year.
We continue to provide safe work environments that are free from discrimination and promote mental health. For example, our Growing Greatness gardening workshop helped support mental well-being in the workplace.

SDG 7 - Affordable & Clean Energy

We continue to invest and promote cleaner energy products. We are already ahead of our commitment to have over 50% of our capital investments into the lower carbon sector by 2025.
We have invested in Parliamant Solar, aiming to provide new and clean energy sources with a system capacity enough to power the equivalent of 140,000 homes.
We have strategically invested in a clean energy production facility and purchased 100% shareholding of Nottingham-based Roadgas Limited.
We have invested in Natron Energy to accelerate the production of sodium-ion batteries that are distinguished by their higher power density, enhanced lifespan and superior safety features.

SDG 8 - Decent Work and Economic Growth

In 2023, we continue to promote a diverse workforce at Mercuria, reflecting a broad spectrum of ages ranging from 19 to 76 years old. Simultaneously, we are actively working to narrow the gender gap.
Eradicating slavery, human trafficking and child labour forms the foundation of our due diligence checks. Updating Mercuria’s policies and providing comprehensive training to our employees are among the immediate measures we undertake to ensure strict adherence to the eradication of forced labour.
We are passionate about providing various educational opportunities, ranging from Lunch and Learn sessions to comprehensive training programmes. In line with our commitment to excellence, we have implemented a new training platform that offers customized training modules developed in-house, aimed at ensuring that our employees meet the highest business standards.

SDG 9 - Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure

In 2023 we partnered with ÈTA Shipping who have fundamentally changed the way that cargo ships are designed and built. This radically improves both their efficiency and the way they operate. The modular design of certain vessels means that there is no main engine, but instead, an electric motor that powers the propeller system. As a result, this gives Mercuria a platform to accelerate the transition to zero–carbon shipping and is consistent with their energy transition agenda.
The implementation of energy-efficient technologies such as LED lighting, to reduce energy consumption and minimize environmental impact, became a key factor in 2023. This can be seen in our commitment to change all the light bulbs in the warehouses to LED bulbs.

SDG 12 - Responsible Consumption and Production

We again invested in ClearFlame Engine Technologies (link to ClearFrame) through their Series B funding. The investment is towards bringing clean, renewable fuels to power heavy-duty engines by replacing diesel in engines with 100% renewable, plant-based fuels.
We recycle water in some of our mines for product washing, reducing our reliance on fresh water and decreasing environmental impact by minimizing wastewater.
We continue to establish and enforce rigorous policies and systems for managing chemicals and waste across all our operations and those of our invested assets through regular site visits and testing.
We are committed to reporting Scope 1, Scope 2 and selected Scope 3 emissions beyond our direct emissions to include assets in which we hold a 20% or greater equity stake and offset all our Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions.

SDG 13 - Climate Action

Silvania’s global investment strategy focuses solely on natural climate solutions, aligning with the objectives of the Paris Agreement and the UN 30×30 Initiative. Through Mercuria’s investment, Silvania aims to deliver tangible environmental, biodiversity, and social benefits.
We are dedicated to transparent reporting of our emissions, including Scope 1, Scope 2 and selected Scope 3 emissions beyond our direct operations as outlined in our Planet 2023 section. Additionally, we commit to offsetting all our Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions.

SDG 14 - Life Below Water

Minerva Bunkering has sponsored the development of an innovative HUB Ocean app, Citizen Sea (described above), designed to enhance life at sea for seafarers and marine wildlife alike by allowing any seafarer or ocean visitor to capture photos, tag their location and category and upload them directly on the application.
We have invested in ARC Marine that incorporates eco-friendly artificial reefs globally to enhance biodiversity and serve as subsea protection.
We have sponsored the Forel Heritage Foundation in their transformation of a sailing vessel into a mobile, high-tech platform for polar and subpolar research.

SDG 15 - Life On Land

We have announced Silvania, our commitment to invest $500M to support nature restoration and biodiversity. More about Silvania in Goal 13.
We have partnered with Uplink and 1t.org to identify and support high-impact innovators aimed at advancing solutions to the biodiversity and climate crises.

SDG 16 - Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

We have refreshed our Anti-Slavery & Human Trafficking, Supply Chains & Responsible Sourcing and Conflict Mineral policies. These updates were made to reflect on the evolving global standards and best practices in human rights, ensuring that our business rights continue to align with these principles.
We have revised our Business Principles to place a stronger emphasis on sustainability and human rights, aligning it with the standards we expect all our employees to uphold.

SDG 17 - Partnership for the Goals

By continuing to facilitate market access to sustainable products and services, Mercuria supports economic growth, job creation and poverty reduction, contributing to the achievement of Goal 17’s objectives related to trade and investment.
Mercuria promotes knowledge sharing and technology transfer through collaborations with academic institutions, research organizations and industry peers, facilitating the dissemination of best practices and innovative solutions for sustainable development. Mercuria continues to support new ideas in Villars Institute.
In 2023, Mercuria held a Hackathon in the USA (described above) where 50 talented computer science, engineering, and business and finance students participated. The challenge was around Texas’s transition to cleaner energy sources as its power grid evolves, facing a number of challenges.

Prosperity

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Hiring & internships