Policies
Wightlink is committed to building ESG into all aspects of our business. Wightlink will work with customers to understand their ESG requirements and to integrate them into our business where appropriate.
This ESG policy statement reflects Wightlink commitment to improving business decisions and implementing opportunities to make us a more sustainable business.
Environmental Commitments
1. Climate Change and Carbon Reduction
Wightlink is committed to significantly reducing its carbon footprint and achieving net-zero carbon emissions in 2050, in line with Government targets.
This will be supported through a combination of fleet upgrades, renewable energy deployment, and infrastructure improvements including adopting the use of shore power once national grid capacity becomes available.
Wightlink has already achieved a 35% reduction in CO₂ emissions since 2007.
2. Low Emission Fleet and Infrastructure
Wightlink will continue investing in technology, including:
3. Waste, Materials and Resources
Wightlink will maintain a rigorous waste management regime, ensuring that 99% of waste is recycled or repurposed for energy generation.
Other commitments include:
4. Local Procurement
Wightlink will continue to prioritise sourcing products for onboard cafés and port kiosks from local suppliers. We track the distance of our suppliers and aim to source products from within approximately ten miles supporting reduced transport emissions and strengthening the local economy.
5. Biodiversity and Habitat Protection
Through the Green Solent Project, Wightlink commits to protecting and enhancing the natural land, sea and air environments surrounding its operations.
To deliver this, Wightlink partners with trusted conservation organisations including the Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust, the Blue Marine Foundation, the University of Portsmouth, Forestry England and the Solent Seascape Project to support:
6. Customer and Stakeholder Engagement
Wightlink will:
Social Responsibility
As part of its broader ESG commitment, Wightlink will:
Governance
Wightlink will embed ESG considerations into corporate governance, strategic decision making and risk management processes.
To ensure transparency, Wightlink will:
Implementation and Continuous Improvement
Wightlink requires all employees, contractors and suppliers to comply with this ESG Policy, including waste standards, sustainable procurement requirements, environmental protection obligations, and reporting mechanisms.
To support implementation, Wightlink will:
Conclusion
Through this ESG Policy, Wightlink confirms its commitment to responsible operations that balance commercial performance with environmental stewardship, social responsibility, and strong governance. This policy supports existing initiatives, including the Green Solent Project, and upholds Wightlink’s public commitment to reduce carbon emissions.
These reports include the results from the work undertaken as part of the operation of Wightlink Limited ferry services between Lymington and Yarmouth.
Monitoring Report 23 & 7th Report for Environmental Management Panel – December 2014 (pdf - 7.26 MB)
This statement outlines Wightlink Limited’s position on modern slavery and human trafficking, setting out the actions we are taking to address and prevent these issues within our business and supply chains. We are committed to ensuring that there is no slavery or human trafficking within our operations and are dedicated to continuously improving our practices to combat these crimes.
We acknowledge our responsibility to act ethically and with integrity in all business dealings and relationships. Wightlink will not tolerate slavery or human trafficking in any part of our business or supply chain.
This policy applies to all employees, contractors, suppliers, and business partners of Wightlink Limited.
Wightlink Limited is a provider of ferry transportation services between the mainland United Kingdom and the Isle of Wight. The company is owned by Basalt Infrastructure Partners and Fiera Infrastructure and employs over 500 people.
We operate exclusively in the south of England and have an annual turnover of £72 million.
The prevention, detection, and reporting of modern slavery and human trafficking are the responsibility of everyone working for Wightlink Limited. Employees must avoid any activity that could lead to, or suggest, a breach of this policy.
We encourage all employees, suppliers, and business partners to report concerns related to modern slavery or human trafficking. Reports should be made to your department head.
If we suspect that modern slavery or human trafficking is taking place within any part of our business or supply chains, we will take immediate action, including conducting thorough investigations. Should we find that any of our suppliers are involved in such activities, we will take corrective measures, including the possibility of terminating the business relationship if necessary.
Our supply chains primarily consist of engineering product and service providers for our fleet of vessels, which are used to provide our ferry transport services. We also work with various suppliers for retail products and services onboard our vessels and at our six terminals.
We will not knowingly engage with suppliers, contractors, or business partners who do not comply with anti-slavery and human trafficking laws. Our due diligence processes for assessing and managing risks within our supply chains are robust and ongoing.
We are committed to ensuring that modern slavery and human trafficking are not present in any part of our business or supply chains. Our Anti-Slavery Policy reflects our commitment to acting ethically and with integrity in all business relationships. We have implemented effective systems and controls to ensure that slavery and human trafficking are not occurring in our supply chains.
As part of our initiative to identify and mitigate risk, we conduct regular due diligence checks on our supply chain.
Our due diligence processes also include systems to:
We have a zero-tolerance policy towards slavery and human trafficking. To ensure that our suppliers and contractors comply with our values, we have established a comprehensive supply chain compliance programme.
Our dedicated compliance team, which includes representatives from the following departments, ensures this policy is implemented effectively:
To promote awareness of modern slavery and human trafficking risks within our business and supply chains, we provide regular training to our staff. This training helps ensure a high level of understanding and engagement with our anti-slavery initiatives.
As part of our commitment to raising awareness and preventing slavery and human trafficking in our supply chain, Wightlink has conducted an audit of all supplier contracts to ensure that all parties in our supply chain meet the same ethical standards and safeguards that we uphold.
We also seek assurances from our suppliers that all workers are employed under fair terms and conditions, and that policies supporting equitable treatment and human rights are in place.
This policy will be reviewed regularly and updated as necessary to ensure its continued effectiveness in addressing and preventing modern slavery and human trafficking.
In accordance with the requirements of the Modern Slavery Act 2015, the Board of Directors has approved this statement, and it was formally approved on 19 November 2024.
This statement will be signed by Paul Winter, Director of Finance, on behalf of Wightlink Limited.
Our project includes activities which fall within the Solent and Southampton Water Special Protection Area (SPA) and Solent and Southampton Water Ramsar Site, which are designated as protected sites under the EU Habitats Directive. The Habitats Regulations 2010 implement the Habitats Directive into UK Law. Under the Habitats Regulations, both local planning authorities, the Marine Management Organisation and the Environment Agency are “competent authorities” and were required to assess the potential effects of the project on the integrity of the protected sites and complete an “Appropriate Assessment” prior to granting the consents necessary for the project for which they were responsible. Having taken advice from Natural England, all the competent authorities concluded that our project would not have an adverse effect on the protected European Sites.
Wightlink, as Harbour Authority at Fishbourne, is also a competent authority for the purposes of the habitats regulations, and the following confirmation that the local authorities, the Marine Management Organisation and the Environment Agency had granted the consents necessary for the project to proceed, we were required to carry out our own appropriate assessment of the project before deciding to implement it. Our appropriate assessments were carried out at an extraordinary meeting of the Board of Directors of Wightlink Limited held on 21 April 2016. The Board also concluded that the project would not have an adverse effect either alone or in combination with other projects on the European Protected Sites ie the SPA and the Ramsar Site. Further to that finding in relation to the appropriate assessment, the Board of Wightlink have decided to implement the project. We expect the port improvement works to be completed by Summer 2017 and our proposed new ‘G’ Class Ferry will arrive in Spring 2018 and will be operational shortly thereafter.
The Board of Directors of Wightlink agreed that the minutes of the Extraordinary Board Meeting would be published on our website and these can be found by following the link below:
2021
During recent years we have expanded our development focus to encourage all of our colleagues to achieve their potential in line with their skills, qualifications and experience.
On board our Ferries and in our Shore based Teams we continue to support the appointment of our female colleagues into the range of leadership roles across Wightlink.
We will continuously focus on addressing our Gender Pay Gap across our organisation
2019
We support the appointment of our female colleagues both on board our vessels and in shore based occupations into visible leadership roles in line with their skills, qualifications and experience underpinned by strong development opportunities.
Although the seafaring industry has traditionally been male dominated, we are proud to employ a continually increasing number of female Captains, Chief Officers and shore based Managers providing strong work life balance opportunities on the Solent.
Whilst always appointing the best people for our varied roles, regardless of gender, we continuously review how to address our gender pay gap.