As a leader in our industry, we recognise our role in reducing the impact of our operations on air, sea and land. One of the ways we do this is by renewing or expanding our fleet with next generation, modern ships designed and equipped to enhance efficiency. In 2012 and early 2013, we added seven modern ships to our fleet on the water, bringing the average age of our owned and finance-leased ships to 8.2 years. 16 further ships are contracted to deliver into our fleet in 2013 to 2015. These include a series of 37,000 dwt JNS-built ships of enhanced, fuel-efficient design which are expected to burn 3.5 metric tonnes less fuel oil per day and have the capacity to carry 5,000 metric tonnes more cargo than the previous generation of similar ships.
We also expanded and enhanced the implementation of our Right Speed Programme and other operational measures to reduce fuel consumption and emissions from our fleet on the water.
KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS
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Our carbon emissions reduced 8% year on year to 7.98 grams of CO2 per tonne-mile, marking a 20% reduction in our CO2 Index over the past five years. Our various initiatives to maximise engine and combustion efficiency, improve hydrodynamics and optimise operating practices have delivered a measurable improvement in our emissions performance. However, the major driver of our fuel consumption and emissions performance in 2012 was our home-grown Right Speed programme which determines optimal operating speeds based on prevailing freight rates and fuel prices. Aim: In the absence of an alternative primary fuel for dry bulk shipping, to do what we reasonably can to reduce our consumption of marine fuel oil and our emissions of greenhouse gases â particularly CO2 â through technical and operational measures and by operating a modern, fuel-efficient fleet. Our target in 2013 is to improve on our 2012 performance, though this will partly be driven by the market's adversity towards speed optimisation. Our bulk carrier fleet achieved zero incidence of environmental pollution. This result is indicative of the pro-active culture of safety and quality on our ships, our ISM-compliant Pacific Basin Management System which prescribes strict system controls and procedural safeguards to prevent fuel spillage, and our officers' professional response to navigation incidents that can occasionally occur. Aim: To always achieve zero pollution incidents |
ADDITIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL PERFORMANCE INDICATORS
In this year's CSR report, we have added new environmental metrics to quantify other emissions, discharges and impacts from our operations. We have tracked these for several years and they are standard outputs in our industry.
* Emissions from our headquarter office consumption and activities includes emissions from staff commuting and business air travel, air conditioning, lighting and computer and office equipment, as well as paper and fresh water consumption (audit period: July 2011 to June 2012)
In addition to the consumption of carbon-based fuel, the primary environmental impacts of providing seaborne transportation services are emissions and discharges. At sea and in port, these outputs are substantially all regulated and compliance is enforced across international, regional and local laws and jurisdictions.
Underpinning the structure of our operations is the Pacific Basin Management System (PBMS), an integral system designed to measure and continually improve every aspect of fleet operations.
Progress ashore
In 2011, Pacific Basin began participating in a scheme that measures and tracks outputs and energy consumption from our headquarters in Hong Kong. An independent audit of our environmental performance determined that our office in Hong Kong produced carbon emissions of 2,213 metric tonnes or 14 tonnes CO2e per employee for the 2011/2012 audit year. Our initiatives and performance resulted in Pacific Basin being awarded a Silver Label from the WWF's Low-carbon Office Operation Programme. Across our offices, there are environmental elements that are within our control and others that are not. We seek to improve awareness of environmental issues and how we try to tackle them by distributing data and audit findings.
