Environmental and Safety Performance Measures Mean that More than Money Matters at APM Terminals

Valencia, Spain – Addressing the Terminal Operations Conference & Exhibition (TOC) Europe 2010 seminar on Social Responsibility and the Environment, APM Terminals’ veteran Head of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Henrik Kristensen outlined a corporate philosophy which has assigned equivalence to each of three factors in assessing a terminal as a successful business enterprise, in place of narrowly focused financial reports, and introduced a formalized method of measuring a terminal’s socio-economic impact upon the local community.

Participating as a member of a ten-person panel examining business trends affecting port and terminal operators in Europe and elsewhere, Kristensen outlined increasing prominence of such CSR issues as sustainable practices to improve Safety and reduce Environmental impact as key metrics for overall business performance within the APM Terminals Global Terminal Network.

“We operate with a ‘triple bottom line’ principle, under which the facility’s human and environmental impacts are just as important as financial results” explained Kristensen as the panel was convened on the second day of the annual industry event.

To obtain success in each of these three determinants of terminal operations, traditional management improvement strategies are being applied in new and novel ways as facilities compete in this “New Normal” in which safety and environmental performance rank among the top Key Performance Indicators for senior leadership, and the company as a whole.

“During these times where the focus on finding opportunities to do more with less …. We are using all available methods and tools – like Process Excellence - Lean Six Sigma – to drive environmental performance” said Kristensen.

One of the new tools is a Socio-Economic Impact calculator which has been developed to determine specific influences and results that modern terminal and port investment can offer local communities in which the facilities are developed. A pilot study undertaken at the Apapa Container Terminal in Nigeria, the largest in West Africa, revealed that the facility’s economic activity and 700 employees were responsible for the creation and support of 31,000 additional local jobs according to 2009 data. Notably, the study also revealed that 72% of the terminals’ financial turnover remained in Apapa, re-circulating into the local economy.

“I see this way of calculating impact in local communities as an opportunity to learn more and gradually improve awareness of knowing what makes a difference at locations” said Kristensen, adding “We can quantify that modern port development and operations promote economic growth on a macro scale – and also make a very positive contribution to local developments; we can learn valuable lessons about mitigating negative impacts”.
Triple Bottom Line performance for APM Terminals in 2009 overall included Safety, as measured by Lost Time Injury Frequency (LTIF), improving by 42% as incidents declined to 4.1 per million man-hours worked; Environmental impact reduced by 8% as carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions per TEU handled fell to 17.6 kg; and profit increasing to USD $442 million in the world’s most extensive and geographically balanced port and terminal portfolio.




About APM Terminals
APM Terminals operates a Global Terminal Network of 50 terminals with 18,000 employees in 34 countries that provide the port infrastructure essential to international transportation and global economic growth. The company is the independent port operator of the A.P. Moller-Maersk Group. The liner shipping industry, served by APM Terminals and other operators, carries $4.6 trillion worth of international trade - approximately one third of the total value of global commerce. The company works closely with the international shipping community and national governments to reduce costs, deliver operational excellence and improve market access worldwide. Access to modern marine infrastructure drives local, regional and international market competitiveness and economic development. In 2007, the global shipping industry provided 4.2 million jobs worldwide, representing compensation of $27.2 billion, and accounted for $29.4 billion in capital investment, generating $183.3 billion to global GDP, according to a recent study commissioned by the World Shipping Council.

For logistics professionals, the Global Terminal Network plays an important role in supply chain management with location, capacity, flexibility and efficiency clearly linked to supply chain success and port-centric logistics.
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Contact:

Tom Boyd
APM Terminals
Director, External Communications
The Hague, Netherlands
Tel +31-70-304-2181
Thomas.H.Boyd@apmterminals.com