APM Terminals has released its third annual Sustainability Report, which detailed continued progress in safety performance and the reduction of the environmental impact of the APM Terminals Global Terminal Network.
The APM Terminals Sustainability Report introduced a set of Community Investment Guidelines in recognition of the powerful influences that significant new investment and operations can have on local populations.
These changes can be particularly acute in local communities in economically-emerging areas such as Africa, Latin America and Asia where much of APM Terminals’ current investment is taking place.
APM Terminals’ sustainability initiatives and performance have been divided into four core areas: health, safety and security; environment; responsible business; and social responsibility.
Significant gains or new major initiatives have been catalogued in each performance category.
APM Terminals’ overall lost-time injury frequency (LTIF) rate declined by 43 per cent in 2012 to 2.47 lost-time injuries per million man-hours worked from 3.54 in 2011.
The combined port and terminal and inland services operations’ LTIF rate in 2010 was 4.45 per million man-hours worked.
The LTIF rate for ports and terminals alone in 2012 was 2.15, representing a 67 per cent reduction from an LTIF rate of 3.59 in 2011.
There were a total of five fatalities from workplace accidents in operations controlled by APM Terminals in 2012, reflecting a decrease of 50 per cent over the year prior, a figure nonetheless found to be unacceptable by APM Terminals Chief Executive Officer Kim Fejfer.
“We are still experiencing fatalities in our operations and until we are able to achieve our targets of zero incidents and zero fatalities, we will continue to drive improved safety culture and performance within each and every facility,” Mr. Fejfer stated in the report’s introductory summary.
Emission of carbon dioxide (CO2) on a per 20-foot equivalent unit (TEU) basis fell by four per cent in 2012; the company’s goal is a 25 per cent reduction in CO2 emissions by 2020, against a 2010 baseline figure.
Improved efficiency and energy conservation are two priorities by which this will be achieved. APM Terminals’ new 2.7 million TEU annual capacity Maasvlakte II facility scheduled to open next year at the Port of Rotterdam, the Netherlands, for example, by employing advanced automated equipment and technology, will have a net zero CO2 emission profile when it comes on stream.
At present 38 of the 62 operational APM Terminals Global Terminal Network’s facilities are located in economically-emerging markets.
Internal studies have demonstrated how the introduction and operation of such facilities can exert a significant positive influence on local communities.
These benefits include the creation of employment and educational opportunities, implementation of global safety, health and operating standards, increased tax revenue, economic expansion through employment and payments to local suppliers and progress through the introduction of new technologies, and may help to mitigate such issues as increased traffic and emissions associated with port operations.
In recognition of the potential influence upon local communities, both positive and negative, APM Terminals introduced a set of Community Investment Guidelines in 2012.
The goal of these guidelines is to focus efforts on corporate social responsibility (CSR) and direct local investments to conform with three specific strategic areas: supporting safety in local communities; health awareness and promotion; and education and training programmes.
By introducing professional independent environmental and social impact assessments (ESIAs) for new terminal projects, APM Terminals can obtain objective assessments of potential impacts upon the local environment and communities, and establish strategies to mitigate negative and enhance positive impacts throughout the project lifecycle.
Copyright Ships & Ports Ltd. Permission to use quotations from this article is granted subject to appropriate credit given to www.shipsandports.com.ng as the source.
