APM Terminals has outlined a new “triple bottom line” corporate philosophy and has also introduced a formalised method of measuring a terminal’s socio-economic impact upon the local communities where it operates.
Addressing the recent TOC Europe conference in Valencia, Henrik Kristensen, APM Terminals’ head of corporate social responsibility, said that the new approach would assign equivalence to each of three factors in assessing a terminal as a successful business enterprise, in place of narrowly focused financial reports.
“We operate with a ‘triple bottom line’ principle, under which the facility’s human and environmental impacts are just as important as financial results,” Kristensen explained to delegates.
To achieve success in each of these three determinants of terminal operations, the Netherlands-headquartered port operator is applying traditional management improvement strategies in “new and novel ways” as facilities compete in the “new normal”. Consequently, safety and environmental performance now rank among the top key performance indicators the company.
“During these times where the focus on finding opportunities to do more with less, w are using all available methods and tools – like Process Excellence and Lean Six Sigma – to drive environmental performance,” said Kristensen.
One of APMT’s new tools is a Socio-Economic Impact calculator that 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 Apapa Container Terminal in Nigeria 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. 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.
“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.”
In 2009, the triple bottom line performance for APM Terminals overall included safety, as measured by Lost Time Injury Frequency (LTIF). The company said this improved by 42% as incidents declined to 4.1 per million man-hours worked. Environmental impact reduced by 8% as carbon dioxide emissions per teu handled fell to 17.6kg. Profit increased to US$442m in what APMT claimed is the world’s most extensive and geographically balanced port and terminal portfolio.
Addressing the recent TOC Europe conference in Valencia, Henrik Kristensen, APM Terminals’ head of corporate social responsibility, said that the new approach would assign equivalence to each of three factors in assessing a terminal as a successful business enterprise, in place of narrowly focused financial reports.
“We operate with a ‘triple bottom line’ principle, under which the facility’s human and environmental impacts are just as important as financial results,” Kristensen explained to delegates.
To achieve success in each of these three determinants of terminal operations, the Netherlands-headquartered port operator is applying traditional management improvement strategies in “new and novel ways” as facilities compete in the “new normal”. Consequently, safety and environmental performance now rank among the top key performance indicators the company.
“During these times where the focus on finding opportunities to do more with less, w are using all available methods and tools – like Process Excellence and Lean Six Sigma – to drive environmental performance,” said Kristensen.
One of APMT’s new tools is a Socio-Economic Impact calculator that 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 Apapa Container Terminal in Nigeria 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. 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.
“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.”
In 2009, the triple bottom line performance for APM Terminals overall included safety, as measured by Lost Time Injury Frequency (LTIF). The company said this improved by 42% as incidents declined to 4.1 per million man-hours worked. Environmental impact reduced by 8% as carbon dioxide emissions per teu handled fell to 17.6kg. Profit increased to US$442m in what APMT claimed is the world’s most extensive and geographically balanced port and terminal portfolio.
