KEY POINTS:
Environmental issues, in particular the threat of global warming and the role man-made pollutants play in heightening that threat, are very much on the minds of citizens, governments, and industries around the world. As Michael Richardson noted in his recent Herald piece, "Clean-up focus turns to shipping industry."
At Maersk, we strongly believe it is our duty to ensure we carry out our business in an environmentally responsible fashion. We also strongly believe in the benefits of free and fair trade between all countries, whether they be established exporters like New Zealand, the newly burgeoning economies of Asia, or the developing nations of the African continent.
As well as promoting economic efficiency, free trade can also optimise the environmental efficiency of total production, as demonstrated in the work done by Lincoln University's Caroline Saunders, comparing the total environmental impact of foodstuffs exported from New Zealand to Britain with their "local" counterparts.
The challenge, then, is to ensure we continue to capture the benefits of free and fair trade, while also continuing to minimise the impact on the environment of transporting goods and services around the world. This is a challenge the shipping industry is well-placed to meet.
Compared with other modes of transport, sea transport is by far the most energy-efficient and environmentally friendly. Transporting goods by sea generates half the carbon dioxide that would be created by transporting the same goods the same distance by rail, around 15 per cent of the amount a heavy truck would produce, and less than 2 per cent of that produced in sending them by air.
At Maersk, we do not see these encouraging facts as an invitation for us to rest on our laurels. We are committed to continuously improving our environmental performance as new technology becomes available, and are playing an active role in the development of that technology. The work begins when our ships are designed, with a focus on energy-efficient construction of the hull, propeller, and engines.
And it continues during the ship's life through initiatives such as voyage planning programmes that identify the most fuel-efficient route, onboard garbage management and waste handling procedures, and emissions standards well in advance of International Maritime Organisation regulations.
This focus on best environmental practice continues even beyond the working life of our ships: Maersk's Ship Recycling initiative was introduced 10 years ago to counter the environmental and worker safety problems endemic in many conventional ship-breaking yards.
Of particular interest to an exporter of primary produce, such as New Zealand, are the improvements we have made and are making to the environmental performance of our refrigerated containers. Maersk stopped using CFC refrigerants 15 years ago, and have continued to work with our suppliers to identify better alternatives.
Currently, we are involved in developing software that will allow us to cut the energy consumption used for cooling by up to 50 per cent, without affecting the quality of our service.
Due to be fully implemented this year, this will see CO2 emissions being reduced by 325,000 tonnes in 2008.
Increasingly, our customers are looking to us to provide them with a fully integrated transport solution, and we are happy to work closely with them, and with other transport providers, government agencies, and other stakeholders to ensure New Zealand businesses have access to a supply chain that meets their needs in an economically and environmentally sustainable fashion.
As a result, we are constantly reviewing the intermodal transport we provide. In that context, we welcome the Government's launch last year of the SeaChange draft strategy, and fully support initiatives to create a truly unified transport network in New Zealand.
In very many cases, economic and environmental best practice are one and the same. A prime example is minimising the amount of fresh air (i.e. empty containers) we transport. This we do by working closely with our customers to ensure supply and demand is matched as exactly as possible, resulting in fuel efficiencies that benefit both our business and the environment.
A natural progression of this is the newly-launched Maersk Carbon Footprint Calculator and the SupplyChainCarbonCheck. The calculator allows us to estimate the carbon footprint of a customer's international supply chain, while the SupplyChainCarbonCheck is a consulting service aimed at identifying ways our customers can reduce supply chain carbon emissions. Typically, lower emissions mean lower logistics costs - a real win-win situation.
One of Michael Richardson's most pertinent comments for us as an industry was where he says that if the International Maritime Organisation fails to come up with credible, and enforceable global standards, sea-based transportation will be saddled with a patchwork quilt of regulations that will slow maritime trade and increase its cost.
Were this to happen, much of that cost would fall on those least able to afford it, the developing nations for which trade represents the best opportunity to improve the lives of their citizens.
We are proud of what we have achieved in environmental terms and determined to continue to find new ways to improve.
* Tony Gibson is managing director of Maersk New Zealand.
