NSW PORTS has released its 2019 Sustainability Plan, detailing performance across environmental, social, economic and governance measures and outlining its strategy for the next three years.

The plan provides an update on the ports performance since the release of its first sustainability plan in 2015. The headline result over that time has been a 20% reduction in greenhouse emission from consumption of fuel and electricity, to 2101 tonnes CO2-equivalent per annum.

The reduction has been achieved through a range of initiatives including rationalisation of office space and vehicle fleet, energy efficiency improvements in air conditioning and lighting, on-site solar electricity generation and monitoring energy usage at Port Kembla and Port Botany.

In 2019 NSW Ports was the first Australian port to introduce an environmental incentive for ships. The incentive is applied to vessels that perform better in reducing their emissions than the levels required by current standards of the International Maritime Organisation. The incentive takes the form of a discount on vessel charges for Port Botany and Port Kembla.

Another initiative the port expects will reduce truck emissions is its ‘on-dock’ rail solution at its three container terminals commencing in 2019.

In the first four years of the program, NSW Ports will invest $120m to double port side rail capacity and increase efficiency. Stage 1 investment will increase capacity to 1.5m TEU, reduce turn-around times by more than 33% at the Patrick terminal, reduce truck kilometres travelled in Sydney by at least 10m per year and result in net reduction of more than 5400 in CO2 emissions tonnes per year.

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“Sustainability is integral not only to our business but to the long-term success of the supply chains in which we operate. 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, our port and Intermodal assets act as the engine room for New South Wales’ economy,” NSW Ports CEO Marika Calfas said.

“We recognise that we have a responsibility to enact sustainable environmental, social and governance measures which minimise the impact we have on the natural environment and the communities in which we operate, and our 2019 plan highlights our achievements and actions for each of these areas.”

The Sustainability Hub and 2019 Sustainability Plan showcases the sustainability outcomes of more than 17 projects in the areas of infrastructure planning and development, transport operations, environmental protection, resource conservation, energy efficiency and stakeholder and community engagement.