OCE-B.07.C - Air Pollutant Reduction Progress
Does the company report progress on reducing its air pollutants?
About the data
The WBA Ocean Benchmark measures and ranks the world's most influential companies on their efforts to halt and reverse nature loss in marine ecosystems, tracking how companies manage their impacts on ocean biodiversity, marine habitats, and the communities and workers dependent on healthy seas. The 2026 edition is WBA's first Ocean Benchmark, assessing 125 companies across key sectors dependent on oceans, including seafood, maritime transport, offshore wind energy, shipbuilding, port operations, apparel, and chemicals. Companies are assessed on 47 indicators across four measurement areas: governance, ecosystems and biodiversity, social responsibility, and core social indicators. The benchmark builds on WBA's Nature Benchmark and the former Seafood Stewardship Index, and its methodology was developed with input from more than 50 stakeholders including ocean communities, companies, scientists and civil society, with human rights and social impacts kept at its core alongside nature-specific concerns. More information can be found here.
Methodology
Air pollutants, such as nitrogen and sulphur oxides, introduced through companies’
operations and business activities, have adverse impacts on air and water quality, climate, habitats,
biodiversity, agriculture and both animal and human health (GRI, 2021). Moreover, certain air
pollutants can disrupt the provision of critical ecosystem services, such as nutrient cycling, carbon
cycling and water supply, which are essential for planetary and human life. Air pollutants can also
cause water quality degradation through atmospheric deposition.
This indicator measures a company's approach to monitoring and reducing harmful air pollutants
throughout its value chain, going beyond national and international regulations. One major
consequence of atmospheric pollution on the ocean is ‘ocean acidification’, which occurs when
airborne carbon dioxide (CO2) is absorbed by seawater, creating chemical processes that reduce
seawater pH and may affect many marine organisms. Air pollutants such as nitrogen, mercury,
combustion emissions, pesticides and heavy metals can decrease water quality by settling into
waterbodies and harming aquatic ecosystems. Given all these threats, companies should comply with
international air pollution regulations and commit to decarbonisation efforts.
Research Guidance:
The company must either:
report reduction progress against its targets in element (b). Progress must be reported using absolute values. Progress against a target is only accepted if the target is timebound and measurable as specified by the requirements in element (b), or
Show year-on-year, absolute reductions for all material pollutants for three consecutive years. If the company reports data on multiple air pollutants, but are only improving in one, the element is only Met if it is NOT regressing in another.
Project or location specific progress is only accepted if the company provides explicit reasoning and evidence that this is more impactful to the specific location
operations and business activities, have adverse impacts on air and water quality, climate, habitats,
biodiversity, agriculture and both animal and human health (GRI, 2021). Moreover, certain air
pollutants can disrupt the provision of critical ecosystem services, such as nutrient cycling, carbon
cycling and water supply, which are essential for planetary and human life. Air pollutants can also
cause water quality degradation through atmospheric deposition.
This indicator measures a company's approach to monitoring and reducing harmful air pollutants
throughout its value chain, going beyond national and international regulations. One major
consequence of atmospheric pollution on the ocean is ‘ocean acidification’, which occurs when
airborne carbon dioxide (CO2) is absorbed by seawater, creating chemical processes that reduce
seawater pH and may affect many marine organisms. Air pollutants such as nitrogen, mercury,
combustion emissions, pesticides and heavy metals can decrease water quality by settling into
waterbodies and harming aquatic ecosystems. Given all these threats, companies should comply with
international air pollution regulations and commit to decarbonisation efforts.
Research Guidance:
The company must either:
report reduction progress against its targets in element (b). Progress must be reported using absolute values. Progress against a target is only accepted if the target is timebound and measurable as specified by the requirements in element (b), or
Show year-on-year, absolute reductions for all material pollutants for three consecutive years. If the company reports data on multiple air pollutants, but are only improving in one, the element is only Met if it is NOT regressing in another.
Project or location specific progress is only accepted if the company provides explicit reasoning and evidence that this is more impactful to the specific location
License
Topics
Framework Mappings
Value Type
Category
Options
Yes
No
Assessment
Steward Assessed
Report Type
Aggregate Data Report