Shippers, shipping companies and scientists are increasingly concerned with calculating the carbon footprint of transport chains.

Owing to the many external factors that those involved in port logistics are unable to influence, comparisons of the energy efficiency of individual terminals do not say very much. For instance, the geographical location of a terminal and the related hours of daylight exercise a direct influence on energy consumed by area lighting. The outdoor temperatures caused by climate and geography also make a direct impact on a terminal’s energy consumption. Comparisons of how a terminal develops over a period of time, while to a large extent taking external factors into account, are more telling.

In analyzing transport chains a distinction is made between CO₂ emissions caused by transport and those caused by handling. The former primarily depend on choice of mode of transport and the distance, while those from cargo handling depend on the volume of goods handled.


The transport chain for a container’s journey can be divided into various segments, with a specific quantity of CO₂ emissions attributed to each. The actual transport of a container on global chains accounts for well over 90% of its indirect greenhouse gas emissions, while the proportion of CO₂ emissions from handling at terminals is correspondingly minimal. Taking a standard container transported from Singapore to Prague as an example, this becomes clear. Transport is via a HHLA container terminal in Hamburg, with a mega-containership with slots for 8,000 TEU taken as the size of ship used.

The trend in CO₂ emissions at the three Hamburg container terminals and the container terminal in Odessa operated by HPC Ukraina over a period of time has been as follows:

* The specific CO2 emission is defined as the total emission divided by the total number of containers handled offshore and onshore.