Sustainability initiatives go global, Go Green

APM Terminals colleagues from our locations in Ghana to Brazil, Georgia to India, and the Netherlands to the United States, to name but a few, participated in our annual group Go Green activities in June, promoting environmental awareness and action under the theme of ‘Go Green, nothing is wasted'.

The event provides an opportunity to reinforce our industry-leading net zero by 2040 ambition, as well as serving up inspiration and sharing opportunities for colleagues to play a direct role in improving our natural environment.

With the introduction of a Global Waste Management requirement in 2022, the Go Green message has been further enhanced. This year the Global Waste Management initiative will review waste policies to set targets across the entire organisation. With that in mind, our colleagues were even more fired up to cool down global warming this year.

Zero waste, embraced

In the Netherlands, employees embraced zero-waste lifestyle choices by taking a guided bike tour to learn more about sustainable living practices, while in locations such as Suape, Brazil, tree planting and waste reduction campaigns were undertaken.

Suape, a new terminal in development, initiated the planting of 1,000 native tree seedlings – the equivalent of which can capture more than 142 tons of CO2 over the course of 20 years. As well as the more remote reforestation efforts, a symbolic number of trees were planted at the terminal site including mountain snow, mahogany, purple jacaranda, aroeira salsa and felicia varieties.

These activities were mirrored in Lázaro Cárdenas, Mexico, where the team brought the Go Green message to the next generation at the Lázaro Cárdenas del Río Elementary School, highlighting the care of natural resources, the importance of trees, water and the proper management of waste.

APM Terminals Poti, Georgia also hosted local college students, introducing them to our environmental policy and waste management strategies as well as emergency spill response drill practices. On top of delivering trees to schools for greening activities, the terminal donated used computers to support educational re-use.

Conscious colleagues

The learning continued in Limón, Costa Rica where, coinciding with World Environment Day, APM Terminals Moín colleagues joined Tourism students and staff from the National Learning Institute (INA) for a reforestation campaign for the second consecutive year.

At APM Terminals Port Elizabeth, New York, our environmentally conscious colleagues took matters into their own hands with a coastal cleanup in Newark Bay, demonstrating our "Constant Care" values not only to our customers, but also to our environment.

In Nigeria, the West Africa Container Terminal (WACT) team celebrated the campaign by transforming everyday trash into valuable treasures for a sustainable workplace. Colleagues were empowered to make eco-conscious choices both at work and at home. Old tyres were

repurposed as planters and metal drums were painted to serve an important purpose – the man-machine separation – by increasing hazard visibility for pedestrian safety.

In Monrovia, Liberia, meetings were held with the Port Authority on the topic of sustainability and an information campaign on the environment raised levels of interest and knowledge in the subject. Training sessions, beach cleaning initiatives and meetings with local schools all promoted awareness of the Go Green objective.

While at Spanish Gateways, the team made a major push to end the drinking of bottled water at its facilities in Valencia, Barcelona and Gijón. Terminal colleagues observed World Environment Day and World Oceans Day, both of which were marked during Go Green week, by taking a sailboat trip with environmental experts to more fully understand the coastal ecosystem.

In summary, the Go Green campaign bore fruit and showed that, if you peel back our APM Terminals orange, you'll find we are green at heart.