Last year, Holyhead Port installed 768 solar panels and reached zero landfill waste as it continues to make great strides in its commitment to sustainability.
Stena Line’s North Wales port is its first one outside of Scandinavia to receive ISO14001 2004 certification, in recognition of the leading ferry company’s continual efforts to minimalise negative impact on the environment in its operations.
Port Manager, Wyn Parry outlined the steps that have been taken to keep Holyhead at the top of its league in green issues: “We started working more proactively with environmental issues back in 2004 when the then British government launched a number of sustainability initiatives.
“The Carbon Trust was one of them, its aim to cut CO2 emissions. We had a survey done and it identified a number of things we could do in the port to improve our environmental credentials.
“Holyhead Port handles about 55 tons of waste per month. These days none of it goes to landfill whereas 10 years ago virtually 100% went into the ground,” Wyn continued.
“We installed 768 solar panels on the roofs of the terminal buildings, garage and shore shop. The work was carried out over a 4-week period, with no interruptions whatsoever to the port. Some of the panels are placed right in front of our customers, which means we are firmly displaying our green credentials,” Wyn said of the port’s latest environmental initiative.
Holyhead received its ISO14001 2004 certificate in 2011. The port, which has a workforce of 120 people, boasts 100% green energy, 100% recycling of waste and purchases of port vehicles based on environmentally sound principles. Outdated equipment in the port is replaced with sustainable options such as LED lights.
Wyn Parry said that this level of sustainability has been achieved thanks to hard work and a fully committed workforce:
“We are continually looking at ways to improve our working methods. Like everything here at the port, the sustainability initiatives are a team effort, between ourselves, our safety environmental department, port staff and technical service department,” said Wyn.
A common misconception is that green initiatives are costly, however the Port Manager debunked this claim:
“When we switched to green energy I thought the costs were going to be enormous. In fact, it worked out at £1000 extra per year, which is peanuts!” concluded Wyn.
