This was highlighted by the panel that debated the future of inland navigation in Sweden as part of the 7th Strategy Forum for the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region (EUSBSR). The Strategy Forum was organized in Stockholm and gathered together over 1200 participants to discuss future challenges and opportunities in the Baltic Sea Region.

The panel was organized by Interreg Baltic Sea Region project EMMA that aims to enhance inland navigation in the Baltic Sea Region. The panellists stressed that inland water transport is cost-efficient, safe and environmentally friendly compared to truck and train transport.

“Less than one third of energy is needed when carrying goods by vessel. It is a public task to support inland navigation”, emphasized Birgitta Schäfer from the German Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure.
While road and rail infrastructure is in some parts of the Baltic Sea Region overloaded, moving cargo from road to waterways reduces traffic jams and accidents.
“There is definitely potential for inland navigation in Sweden”, confirmed Johan Lantz, CEO of Avatar Logistics.

The panellists agreed that innovative solutions and right political framework are needed to make inland navigation an integral part of multi-modal transport chains. Germany is the forerunner here, and River Rhine is even called the motorway of inland navigation. In Sweden the main challenges include icing and pilot regulations as well as costs of pilotage.

“Development takes time and therefore each step should be taken into the right direction. Organizing transhipment is one of the issues that should be paid attention to. There are huge volumes that might be transported by inland barges and with all available information, means and technology such as river information systems we should overcome the problems”, advised Hans van der Werf, former General Secretary of the Central Commission for the Navigation of the Rhine.
Panellists admitted that there are lessons to be learned from other Baltic Sea Region countries in how to improve the administrative layout and framework.

“In Sweden there is a growing interest in inland navigation as well as good political engagement. Inland water transport should be competitive, and it can make a difference if we handle obstacles and recognize the Swedish prerequisites. We can learn from EMMA pilot projects that are going on”, said Stefan Engdahl, Head of Planning at the Swedish Transport Administration.
21 EMMA partners from Sweden, Germany, Finland, Lithuania and Poland develop efficient transport solutions together in order to assure cross-region applicability and benefits.

“There is clearly a need for cooperation and harmonization that EMMA project can support”, concluded Gunnar Platz, CEO of PLANCO Consulting and Project Manager of EMMA.

In 2010, DP World was the first international marine and inland trade services provider to join the renowned CDP, which holds the most comprehensive set of global corporate environmental data. Through its climate change programme, thousands of the world’s largest companies disclose information on their greenhouse-gas emissions, energy use and climate change risks.

DP World’s Global Safety & Environment team has since been reporting action plans across its portfolio, monitoring energy use, making terminal operations more efficient, embracing renewable energy projects and investing in low-carbon technologies.

A recent example is the company’s ‘Go Green Week’, a collaboration in its third year with the world’s leading port operators to address three main ecological areas – Reuse and Recycle, Climate Change and Community. Different activities take place each year, often with neighbouring ports, across DP World’s global portfolio of 77 operating marine and inland terminals in 40 countries. Each business unit choses one or more of several activities, including reusing waste materials from the port, food waste composting, clean-up of terminal and surrounding areas, energy saving drives, tree planting, volunteering at local wildlife parks and supporting environmental education for local communities.

Another example is the DP World-commissioned installation of 88,000 rooftop solar panels on its Dubai facilities making it the largest distributed solar rooftop project in the Middle East. The panels will produce enough clean power for 3,000 homes a year and supports the UAE Vision 2021 for a sustainable environment.

Such programmes help the company achieve significant energy savings, evident in CDP results that show substantial year on year improvement. In 2013, DP World achieved a C score, meaning that the company has knowledge or “awareness” of climate change issues. It improved in 2014 scoring a B demonstrating coordinated action through their “management”. In 2015 and again this year, DP World has achieved a “leadership” score of A- proving that it is now implementing best practice in the transport industry.

In other CDP scoring categories such as governance and strategy, risk and opportunity management, and emissions management, DP World also excelled, clocking numbers much higher than sector and region averages.

DP World Group Chairman and CEO Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, said: “I am delighted with the tremendous improvements in our environmental performance, which is key in helping us build a legacy for future generations. We strive to ensure everything we do leaves long-term benefits for the world we live in and reducing our carbon emissions is a top priority.

“We are making progress on other fronts too. Our collaboration with United for Wildlife to prevent trade in endangered species is just one example of a range of sustainability programmes on the environment, in education and support for communities across the world where we operate.”

DP World Global Safety and Environment Director Nabil Battal said: “Being able to measure and monitor our progress in reducing greenhouse-gas emissions is necessary to benchmark our efforts against those of other stakeholders with common goals. It ensures we all work together to improving our environmental performance and a combined effort is essential to make a meaningful difference.

“So while reporting on our efforts transparently and clearly through CDP will spur further improvements in our own performance, it can also help improve decision-making on climate change for investors, business and policy-makers.”