Setting an example

At the start of January 2010, there are approximately 5,900 vessels plying the liner trades, with about 4,700 of these dedicated container vessels, making more than 10,000 liner vessel calls per week on over 400 different regular services around the world.

The liner industry carries an estimated one-third of all global trade by value, which in 2007, according to a recent study commissioned by the World Shipping Council, represented US$4.6 trillion worth of goods and merchandise. The global container fleet is comprised of nearly 18 million shipping containers of standardised twenty-foot and forty-foot lengths. Overall global container traffic, including loading, unloading and transshipment of these containers represents just about 500 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) handled by container terminals annually.

While the impact of this trade on the global economy may be far-reaching and impressive, the impact of the movement and handling of these containers upon the global environment is no less significant. Given the scale of the container industry, and its projected growth over the next decade and beyond, it is essential that a shared, comprehensive environmental strategy, including specific objectives for performance and energy and emission reduction be put into place as port and terminal development planners and designers work to meet the challenges of the decades ahead.

Diesel fuel and coal and oil-powered generation of electricity for cranes, vehicles and other container handling equipment are a fact of today’s port and terminal operations. So too is the carbon footprint which up until now is the inevitable and unwelcome by-product of such energy-intensive activity. Measuring this output is the first step in setting an effective environmental strategy, and so using 2007 as a base year, APM Terminals, which is by all measures among the top four global terminal operating companies with around 6 percent of global container handling market share, determined that our company’s total global CO2 emissions were 543,000 tonnes worldwide, or 17.5 kg CO2 per TEU handled. We determined our economic assessment impact parameters to include two catego ries, which we have designated as Scope 1 and Scope 2, representing respectively direct emissions from our own operations, and the indirect emissions generated from electricity that we purchase for terminal usage. (A third category, Scope 3, which will include the emissions produced by our customers and suppliers will be determined at a later stage and is currently not included in our environmental footprint calculations).

This then was our starting point on a long journey into a more “eco-efficient” and environmentally sustainable port and container terminal operating capability and practice. Our goal for this year is to reduce our overall CO2 emissions by 10 percent (“-10 in 2010”). With many energy-saving initiatives now in place and others being explored throughout the APM Terminals Global Terminal Network, we can say with some satisfaction, that the journey has begun; but we still have a very long way to travel.

Within the company the procedures for measurement, benchmarking and reporting environmental performance are now established. We are now sharing “Best Practices” among the terminals, and have even produced an energy efficiency “idea catalogue” for distribution among the Global Terminal Network members. One of our staff also created an easy to use carbon calculator in Excel format which enables terminals to compare energy use and CO2 emissions under a spectrum of variable factors.

 We have also made use of streaming technology and our internal intranet to transmit our first live televised environmental discussion from our head offices in the Netherlands to our offices and terminals around the world. Communications is a key component of our eco-efficiency strategy, and raising awareness of our goals, capabilities and responsibilities are actions we shall continue to emphasise internally to out 19,000 employees.

 Last year was our second collecting environmental performance data. This will be our third year of collecting environmental data from our terminals, and we are constantly improving our data quality. It is our intention to deliver analysis and feedback that can be appropriately employed to discuss the results locally, but also enable benchmarking to determine environmental effectiveness. In February, a “report card” of environmental performance will be distributed to each of our terminals for comparison, and to establish plans for action. In order to establish a benchmark of CO2 per TEU handled, we have included all energy resources as well as all associated energy consumption. If each person in the company can participate with an idea, or an energy-saving solution, our own economies of scale across 50 facilities on five continents can make a difference. From an industry point of view, however, an overall framework for sharing information is still in its early stages. There are opportunities for collaboration on a global scope, and we are committed to full engagement and transparency. In September of 2009, APM Terminals, along with our parent corporate entity, the AP Moller-Maersk Group, based in Copenhagen, Denmark, became signatories to the United Nations Global Compact, originally launched in July 2000, joining approximately 4,700 other companies world-wide, in standards of behaviour and ideals pertaining to the environment, as well as other aspects of corporate social responsibility. APM Terminals is reporting to UN Global Compact level C+ standard, which includes economic performance, social measures and environmental data. In 2010, APM Terminals is entering into a relationship with Oslo-based DNV (Det Norske Veritas), an independent foundation dedicated to safeguarding life, property, and the environment which provides international consulting and certification services. We will learn from their expertise and improve our internal methods of data reporting and analysis. Company policy now requires that we produce a comprehensive annual Sustainability Report, to be released to the public every March. In order to help enlarge the platform for container terminal environmental reporting and performance, we have established TOCOFO (Terminal Operators CO2 Forum) together with other terminal operators to discuss and exchange ways to minimise the carbon footprint at container terminals world-wide. This initiative was begun by fellow terminal operating company Eurogate, the Germany-based largest terminal operator in Europe. We have also teamed up with major container shipping companies and other global terminal operators to create a Sustainable Ports forum, with the aim to further explore industry collaboration and drive meaningful discussion and change. Our environmental footprint for 2009 is being calculated right now. The results are not yet publicly available; however, we can confirm a positive trend as compared with the data for 2008. A number of terminals have taken serious steps to reduce emissions generated from diesel-powered equipment by converting to electric power for their RTG’s (Rubber Tyred Gantry) cranes, which are used to move containers in the terminal yard. We have also found that Process Excellence Projects have produced very positive results in reducing diesel consumption per TEU on an individual terminal basis, and that in many cases these improvements could be applicable throughout our terminal network.

Optimising power management systems is similarly an area to benefit from improved efficiencies. APM Terminals benefits from a large global and diversified portfolio of terminals; from our extensive variety of equipment and operational practices we have established a reference benchmark, for example, for the Carbon footprint of Straddle Carrier-operated terminals as compared with RTG-operated terminals and we can verify regional differences and transfer technological knowledge and breakthroughs to newer markets. Most important, however, is motivating the daily behaviour and awareness by all employees. Doing more with less is becoming a new trend, not only due to necessity and experience gained from the economic downturn, but also simply as a new reality of increased environmental responsibility and accountability.

 Initial progress has been made, but there is still much to be accomplished. As vessels become larger, and ports and terminals more busy, our opportunity to have an impact on improving ecological standards and environmental sustainability increases. This is an opportunity we as an industry cannot afford to waste. Ports have already attracted the attention of critics as “carbon magnets” and the demand for mitigation and even remediation of environmental activities is already a factor in many nations where port expansion and development projects can take over a decade from design to operation. There is an environmental agenda, and we need to be helping to set it as willing partners, rather than finding ourselves in adversarial relationships with terms being dictated to the industry. We cannot afford to wait for the politicians to attempt to reach global consensus: business leaders need to set the example by setting targets and starting to reduce environmental impact. This will have a positive impact on the environment, and can provide cost improvements as well for the bottom line. It will be a long journey; let’s get started by leading the way.