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Our Environment

The Port considers its responsibilities towards protecting the environment it operates in important and is working towards improving this environment by minimising the impacts from its operations.   

The Port’s commitment to improving our environment is lived through our Environmental Strategy, Environmental Policy, and Environmental Management System.  Also the business has KPIs targeted at emissions reductions, minimising the noise generation from operations. 

Port Nelson Environmental Management System

Port Nelson has an Environmental Management System as a framework to manage and minimise the environmental impacts from its operations. The Port Nelson Environmental Management Plan and Port Nelson Environmental Policy set the environmental direction for Port Nelson and are the Port's commitment to minimising the environmental effects from its business activities specific to its present and future activities. Port Nelson’s Environmental Management System is certified to ISO 14001.  H3: Recent Environmental Achievements:  

  • Port Nelson is the first and only Port in New Zealand to have a current ISO 14001 certification for its Environmental Management System. The system is a risk-based framework for managing environmental impacts from Port Nelson’s operations and business undertakings.  
  • Port Nelson recently published its emissions reduction targets to ensure it plays its part in achieving New Zealand’s goal of zero emissions by 2050 and to limit global warming to two degrees or less. Port Nelson is a signatory to the Climate Leaders Coalition and has set its emissions reduction targets using the Science-Based Targets setting initiative. 
  • Port Nelson’s sustainable business model for QuayConnect plays its part in the sustainable New Zealand wine industry story, reducing the carbon footprint of the industry through logistics efficiencies, fewer trucks on the road, and minimising the fuel use from these cargo movements. This results in the removal of 180 tonnes of carbon per annum compared with the previous model. The result was acknowledged through winning the Ministry for the Environment Green Ribbon Award, being a finalist in the Deloitte Energy Excellence Awards, and award winner for the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT) Award for Innovation in the Transport and Logistics sectors.  
  • The Calwell Slipway Remediation Project successfully remediated a site that once had the unenviable position of being one of the most contaminated sites in the country. Port Nelson in partnership with the Ministry for the Environment remediated this site by stabilising approximately 33,000m3 of Tbt contaminated marine sediment. 

SBTi Targets

Port Nelson Limited (PNL) has committed to reducing its carbon footprint. Toitu auditing is underway. 

This reduction is part of the Port’s commitment to reduce its emissions. The Port has partnered with Toitu to derive its targets which align with limiting global warming to 2 degrees and achieving New Zealand’s obligations under the Paris Agreement. The targets have been set using the Science-Based Targets initiative. This is an international standard that provides a clearly defined pathway for companies to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, helping minimise the impacts of climate change and future-proof business growth, as stated on the SBTi website.  

To find out more about our commitment to Science-Based Targets click here to read our recent media release.