DP World and Hutchison Port Holding (HPH) have joined hands to combat global warming in a ‘Waste Reduction Campaign,’ that seeks to will multiply the effect of their individual efforts to curb global greenhouse emissions.

The campaign, under the theme ‘Recycling Begins & Ends with You,’ will run from September 19 to 21, said a statement.

It will see employees of DP World and HPH ‘reach across the fence’ and engage in joint activities in locations around the world where these companies operate terminals within the same port complex such as Laem Chabang, Thailand; Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam; Busan, South Korea; and Buenos Aires, Argentina.

An estimated 11.2 billion tonnes of solid waste is collected worldwide every year and its degeneration contributes to about five per cent of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, said the statement.

The list of joint activities that are being developed include clean-up days at terminals, beaches or other affected areas specific to each locality, food waste disposal and composting efforts, e-waste and battery recycling, office recycling and green transportation to reduce vehicle emissions.

Mohammed Sharaf, group chief executive officer, DP World, said: “We are committed to minimising the impact we have on the environment and maximising the benefits we can bring to the communities in which we operate, and we are therefore very pleased to be working with HPH on this important initiative.

“We are both businesses with a global footprint and efforts such as the Waste Reduction Campaign leverage the synergy between our two organisations to the benefit of the community. The port business by its very nature has long investment horizons and one of our aims as a company is to build and maintain strong communities for the long term to ensure a sustainable future for all. By initiating and maintaining a culture of recycling at work, and by working with the communities with initiatives such as this, we move closer to achieving this goal.”

Eric Ip, group managing director of HPH, said: “HPH has a long history as a green innovator with environmental programmes, covering everything from the local community to engineering projects that have been rolled out across the group. Environmental sustainability is a concern of the Port and Maritime Industry and I am pleased that we are joining forces with DP World for an initiative in which our business units around the world pool their resources to highlight green issues.

“Through this collaboration, we will see the expanded scope of environmental activities and the impact that the industry can make on global warming issues.” - TradeArabia News Service