Background and challenge

Precious Shipping required an Environmental and Social Due Diligence (ESDD) assessment to evaluate alignment with International Finance Corporation (IFC) Performance Standards.

Existing policies and operational practices showed limited alignment with these standards, making it difficult to demonstrate compliance in a structured, lender-ready format. Environmental and social risks also needed to be assessed across fleet operations, crew management and onshore functions.

Alongside this, there was a need to identify and prioritise gaps in a way that remained practical within day-to-day shipping operations, rather than introducing requirements that could not be realistically implemented.

Solution

LR Advisory carried out a comprehensive ESDD aligned with IFC Performance Standards, covering key environmental and social aspects across Precious Shipping’s operations. The scope combined a structured gap assessment against IFC requirements with a risk-based evaluation of existing practices, resulting in the development of a prioritised ESAP. This provided a clear basis for demonstrating alignment with lender expectations, while ensuring that required improvements remained practical and grounded in operational reality.

Approach taken

The work began with a structured review of environmental and social performance across the organisation, considering both policy-level alignment and how those policies translated into operational practice, including examining environmental and social factors across operations.

These findings were then benchmarked against IFC Performance Standards to determine how existing practices compared and to identify areas where they were not fully met. Throughout the process, engagement with internal stakeholders was used to validate findings and ensure that any recommended actions could be implemented within existing operational constraints.

The outcome of this process was consolidated into a prioritised ESAP, setting out clearly defined actions, responsibilities and timelines to support implementation.

Key activities & outputs

  • Reviewed environmental and social policies, procedures and systems
  • Assessed emissions, waste handling and ship recycling practices
  • Evaluated labour practices, crew welfare, occupational health and safety and grievance mechanisms
  • Benchmarked practices against IFC Performance Standards
  • Identified compliance gaps and associated risks
  • Developed a prioritised ESAP with timelines and responsibilities
  • Engaged internal stakeholders to validate findings and support implementation.

Key client benefits

  • Clear pathway to meet IFC Performance Standards and lender expectations
  • Transparent identification of environmental and social risks and non-compliances
  • Practical and prioritised actions enabling gap closure
  • Improved management of environmental, social and operational risks
  • Recommendations aligned with vessel operations and maritime requirements
  • More efficient due diligence process supporting financing timelines
  • Foundation for ongoing compliance with international lender 
    requirements and ESG frameworks.

Project outcome

The engagement established a structured assessment of environmental and social performance against IFC Performance Standards, supported by a prioritised ESAP that defines the actions required to address identified gaps within an operational context.

Impact on client's business and operations

Alignment with IFC was strengthened, enabling a more consistent approach to managing environmental and social risks across operations. Internal processes were also improved, with a more structured approach to monitoring and compliance established across the organisation. In parallel, the work enhanced credibility with international lenders and supported positioning for future sustainable financing opportunities.

Conclusion

LR Advisory enabled Andriaki to move from no ESG structure to a published sustainability report. LR Advisory’s ability to combine technical expertise with a practical understanding of Greek shipping operations made the process workable for teams without prior experience in this area.

Pairing report delivery with a gap analysis and roadmap ensured ESG became an ongoing capability rather than a one-off exercise.

Conclusion

ESDD aligned with IFC Performance Standards can be applied in a maritime context through a structured assessment process, with the resulting ESAP setting out the actions required to address identified gaps in a way that can be implemented within maritime operations.

Other applications

This approach can be applied to other green- and sustainabilitylinked finance instruments wherever organisations require independent standards alignment and verification.