22nd July 2022
Hutchison Ports has a long history of building sustainability both in the environment and across the communities where it operates.
Last year the Group Sustainability Committee (GSC) was authorised to drive new policies and to lead a strategic goal to reduce emissions across global operations. The Group is committed to building a greener environment in the maritime sector targeting a significant reduction in total CO2 emissions by 2030.
The GSC is adopting United Nations Sustainable Development Goals to align its plan with international efforts to build a more sustainable environment.
Two of the group’s community keynote programmes are Go Green and Dock School. Go Green aims to promote the concept of repurposing industrial waste recovered from terminals and port communities into recycled products to foster environmental protection.
From a community perspective, the Dock School initiative has successfully introduced the ‘Green School Project’ which aims to increase students’ environmental awareness and improve their environmental performance via education and sponsorship programmes.
Both ‘Go Green’ and ‘Dock School’ promote environmental protection in Waste Management (KPI 5) and Education, which are now combined under one campaign to provide greater flexibility for global business units to plan their resources. A refreshed logo for both campaigns has been brought to life this year which reflects a more vibrant, creative, and connected campaign for future activities.
KPI 5 WASTE MANAGEMENT
The group has organised a five-stage waste recycling initiative, KPI 5 which collects and repurposes a range of materials from colleagues, hauliers, tenants and ships calling at terminals. The concept is to reduce the amount of waste generated in the port community, by re-using materials, and diverting waste from landfills through recovery and recycling.
Recyclable non-hazardous materials and hazardous materials including waste oil, scrap metal, waste wood and lead acid batteries are segregated, stored and collected by licensed companies.
Go Green was launched in 2014, as a global initiative undertaken by members of the international ports and maritime community. Now Hutchison Ports is driving ahead with its initiatives to broaden sustainability campaigns beyond the port and nearby communities and into local, regional, and national sustainability programmes.
Over the years, thousands of staff from around the world participate each year in a range of activities that contribute towards a greener way of living and working.
As part of Hutchison Ports’ sustainability community outreach, the Group started its first Dock School project in Hong Kong in 1992. Today the programme has expanded to cover half of the countries where the Group operates and will continue to expand to more locations where educational attention is needed and required.
At the heart of the Hutchison Ports Dock School programme are a number of initiatives including improving school facilities, and providing scholarships, and education funds to focus on knowledge and the importance of environmental protection. These enhanced educational programmes will encourage children to understand the importance of participating in sustainability projects in their local communities.
Staff members of Hutchison Ports also volunteer to organise camps, day trips and tours for children attending Dock Schools, further consolidating the strong relationship with students and schools at a local level.
Around the world, Hutchison Ports staff will be working with educational, civil and charitable organisations to improve sustainability in their local communities.
A range of activities and workshops will be held which include terminal visits for students to learn about how the latest technology, green fuels and waste management development are vital to the Group’s goal to become a more sustainable terminal operator.
Activities such as recycling workshops for staff and visiting students will transform plastic bottles into plant pots and plants are then donated back to the local community.
For university students who are studying for degrees related to the environment, Hutchison Ports is offering internships to research waste management and environmental protection initiatives in operation at its terminals.
A global tree planting campaign with local schools has been very successful for many years and now the programme will be expanded to include talks about the importance of effective waste management. The Group is also recycling oil drums from its terminals and donating them to local schools for waste separation.
Hutchison Ports will continue to assist the next generation to improve their contributions to local communities and to understand the importance of protecting the environment.
To learn more about Go Green and Dock School, download the Hutchison Ports Sustainability Report 2021 or visit our website.