Why governance is important
We believe that every James Fisher employee, from the board of directors to the engineer at the work site, must live and breathe our valued behaviours – pioneering spirit, integrity, energy and resilience.
By extension, we expect our suppliers to align with and demonstrate these valued behaviours. A solid governance framework is required to underpin our strategy implementation and ensure that we continue to deliver value for all our stakeholders while managing and minimising our risk exposure.
Business ethics
Our business ethics commitments are established in the Group’s Code of Ethics, Anti-Bribery and Corruption Policy and Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking Policy. Clear expectations and obligations are set with our employees, partners, suppliers and customers in alignment with these policies and processes are put in place to monitor compliance.
These policies are continually reviewed to ensure alignment with evolving challenges in the world, whilst staying true to our core values and principles, and eeveral training programmes and assurance processes support our policies.
Corporate governance
During 2023 we have continued to enhance the Governance protocols of the Group. This work will continue during 2024 following the appointment of our Head of Ethics and Compliance who is leading a review of all current policies, procedures and guidance documents.
With a renewed Working Group to support and as we work towards embedding environmental and social considerations into business as usual, we will be screening all governance documents to ensure ESG considerations have been made.
Our document control platform was upgraded during 2023 providing enhanced support to our Group functions in the publication, revision and withdrawal of controlled documents through quick links and resource documents.
Supply chain management
We expect our suppliers and sub-contractors to adhere to our principles and to commit to sustainable business principles and practices generally. It is important to have accountability and transparency on issues such as human rights, health and safety, product and service quality, and environmental impacts.
Our supplier onboarding process requires the completion of a detailed questionnaire capturing each suppliers’ governance processes, policies, and commitments, and examines the credentials of their own supply chains. It is expected that the process will be renewed during 2024 as part of our Group supply chain standardisation to ensure maximum efficiency and alignment with Company policies including the Group's Sustainability Policy.
2024 will see the roll out of our Supplier Code of Conduct ensuring the highest standards of legal and ethical compliance throughout the Group and its suppliers.
How we will deliver against targets
During 2023 we have continued to enhance the Governance protocols of the Group. This work will continue during 2024 following the appointment of our Head of Ethics and Compliance who is leading a review of all current policies, procedures and guidance documents.
With a renewed Working Group to support and as we work towards embedding environmental and social considerations into business as usual, we will be screening all governance documents to ensure ESG considerations have been made.
Our document control platform was upgraded during 2023 providing enhanced support to our Group functions in the publication, revision and withdrawal of controlled documents through quick links and resource documents.
During 2024 we aim to:
- Finalise the design of the wider Group Governance framework and three-year implementation plan
- Complete the development, approval and implementation of new and updated Group policies, standards, procedures and guidelines across all Group functions
- Complete the implementation of our new document framework and processes to ensure a consistent framework for the development, review and approval of Group Governance documents
- Design and implement a new third-party risk mitigation strategy to assess and mitigate legal and reputational risks associated with doing business with and/or the assistance of third parties
- Implement new internal approval and reporting controls for gifts, hospitality, sponsorships and donations
- Draft a new Group Code of Conduct
- Update the training provided to our employees on the new Governance controls implemented in 2024.
Review Code of Ethics
We expect every James Fisher employee to embrace our valued behaviours – pioneering spirit, integrity, energy, and resilience. We also expect the suppliers, sub-contractors, and trusted partners that we work with to be aligned with and able to demonstrate their adherence to our values.
Our business ethics commitments are established in the Group’s Code of Ethics, Anti-Bribery and Corruption Policy and Modern Slavery Policy, which are reviewed on a periodic basis to ensure they are current and align with evolving challenges in the world. Clear expectations and obligations are set out with our employees, partners, suppliers, and customers in alignment with these policies, and processes are in place to monitor compliance.
In recognition of our commitment to corporate governance excellence, a new Head of Ethics and Compliance role was created in 2023. This role will further enhance the governance controls already in place to ensure that we have a robust governance framework that will enable the Group to continue to deliver value for all our stakeholders whilst managing and minimising our risk exposure
Key priorities under the partnership pillar of our sustainability strategy
Along with innovation, these are the key priorities under our partnership pillar.
James Fisher operates in specialised segments of the energy, marine and defence markets where a strong track record of safety, integrity, innovation and responsible operations is a key differentiator. Find our more about our commitments to our partnerships.
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