Environment Policy
Please find below an introduction to the ABP environmental management policy and a summary of how we intend to implement and execute that policy in order to deliver real improvements in environmental performance. The tabs at the top of this page provide a more detailed description of the various aspects of our environment policy, but you are encouraged to read the introduction below in order to fully understand the broader context of our policy.
All of our ports are located in or near environmentally-sensitive areas. The management of our obligations to the environment requires careful consideration and our commitment to these obligations is, therefore, central to our activities. Our environmental policy seeks to establish a balance between our need to act commercially to grow our business and our commitment to the environment.
Environment Policy Statement:
It is our policy to manage our obligations to the environment in a responsible manner and to develop our ports and transport business to meet the needs of the country’s trade in a way which has due regard for sustainable development both for our business and for the environment. This will involve campaigns to raise awareness of environmental issues, along with targeted training to ensure competence of staff.
As part of this policy we aim to:- Manage our operations so as to be economically and environmentally sustainable. This involves not only complying with relevant legislation, but also adopting best practice and introducing robust environmental management mechanisms.
- Identify, understand and prioritise the environmental risks inherent in our business, allocating the necessary resources to ensure that these risks are managed effectively and economically.
- Continue to give primary emphasis to our statutory duties to protect the environment
- Operate our ports to meet the growing demand for certain trades while having due regard for the adverse environmental effects arising from handling certain trades. Port development is vital to the economic health of the country and we have an important contribution to make to the debate that surrounds the shaping of future policy and legislation in this area.
- Promote a culture within the organisation whereby responsibility for positive environmental management is embraced by each individual, whatever their role or position.
- Develop further our framework for reporting on our actions so that it is consistent and transparent. This involves the setting and the publication of targets against which our performance can be measured and our continued participation in the Business in the Environment (BiE) index.
- Continue our work with environmental non-government organisations (NGOs) in partnership towards shared objectives which benefit the environment.
- Use science and information to help us to understand the environment and its needs when making decisions which affect the environment.
- Ensure that pollution prevention is a major consideration in all operational activity.
- Build on the environmental management we have achieved through a process of continuous improvement.
Environmental Management Framework
In order to demonstrate our commitment to the environment and the way we will deliver that commitment through corporate governance, we have set up an Environmental Management Framework (EMF) within the Company. This identifies the roles and responsibilities of people dealing with the whole range of environmental issues which affect the work we do both in ports and at our head office. The EMF sets out the process by which our environmental objectives are identified, assessed and managed. The link below shows the EMF diagram; click on the underlined text to see in more detail what the various aspects of the EMF mean for ABP.
Please click here to view the EMF diagram >>