Global supply chain services company DP World has published a ‘Sustainability Update’ detailing progress including the launch of a new £250m class of P&O hybrid super ferries.
The P&O Pioneer and P&O Liberté ferries will cut fuel use by 40%, while DP World’s Innovative Modal Shift Programme will help customers move goods off the road and prevent 30,000 metric tonnes of carbon dioxide being emitted each year.
At DP World’s Southampton Logistics Hub the ferries will be powered by Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO), helping to cut the hub’s carbon emissions by 90%
In addition, next summer is set to see a £350m all electric fourth berth (allotted place for a ship) at London Gateway port, bolstered by investment in a £12 million fleet of eight new electric straddle carriers to service the new berth.
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It comes after the firm was named ‘Sustainability Company of the year’ at Multimodal 2023, rewarding efforts to help customers with decarbonisation.
The progress in sustainability came after the firm was last year when P&O Ferries sacked almost 800 people, in a move described as ‘cynical’.
“We are a Principal Pathway Partner for COP28 in Dubai next month, part of our company’s commitment to become carbon neutral by 2040 and net zero carbon by 2050. Our ambition is to be the most sustainable logistics business in the UK and we have been doing everything we can to implement green initiatives across our national operations,” said DP World UK chief executive Ernst Schulze.
“In 2024 we hope to accelerate and expand these efforts to create real change in the industry and have some major new initiatives planned. If we’re to make world trade flow better, enabling more sustainable global supply chains and creating more resilient communities must be a key business focus across the logistics and supply chain industry,” he continued.
