HHLA’s sustainability activities make it one of the top six logistics service providers in Germany, with an “excellent sustainability level”. That was the result of an analysis carried out by the Fraunhofer Center for Applied Research on Supply Chain Services (SCS), which was published in May 2011. The analysis focused on the 150 German logistics companies with the highest revenue. The research group specializes in logistics and aims to create transparency with regard to sustainability measures in the German logistics sector. Up until now, these measures have been difficult to assess. Fraunhofer SCS’s in-depth study concentrated on the strategies and ideas of the companies, but above all on the concrete measures taken in the key areas of resource conservation and transport.    

 
High Level of Innovation  

The result speaks for itself: HHLA is “cutting-edge”, with a sustainability concept that is “deeply rooted in its strategic orientation and an important part of its corporate values”. Its activities in this area “are leading to a systematic improvement in the sustainability situation” and are indicative of “a high level of innovation”. Deutsche Post DHL, DB Schenker, Hellmann, TNT and UPS Europe all received similar praise to HHLA.  

 
Ecologically Sustainable Transport Chains

Indeed HHLA has a number of particular strengths in the area of ecology alone. The company has systematically built on these as part of its sustainability initiative “On Course”. Its greatest strength is the successful implementation of its business model: In Hamburg, HHLA provides ecologically sustainable transport chains between ocean-going vessels and feeder ships and between ocean-going vessels and the railway network. Thanks to its forward-looking ideas in the area of hinterland transport, HHLA continues to increase the level of railway usage relative to transportation by truck from one year to the next. This, together with Hamburg’s optimal transport location far inland, ensures that fewer greenhouse gases are produced and any additional impact on the environment due to transportation is significantly reduced.    

 
Protecting the Environment through Efficient Use of Space  

HHLA’s programmes to expand its facilities are also environmentally friendly. The company scores points here too by using space more and more efficiently and integrating new developments into the existing infrastructure. Burchardkai is one such example. There is already a large terminal here and now a second one is practically being built on top of it. CTB’s capacity increase alone to a future level of more than 5 million TEU is the same as the entire capacity of JadeWeserPort in its first stage of construction.      

Using Automation to Protect the Climate  

And it doesn’t stop there. With a wide range of what are often trend-setting measures, HHLA is also showing just how environmentally friendly production can be in large port facilities today. CTA is an example of this. Its high level of automation and the associated large amount of electricity in its overall energy requirements make it a model terminal – in ecological terms too. Innovative technologies are also being tested here. The most recent example is the battery-powered automated guided vehicle (AGV), which is being tested in conjunction with a fully automated battery changing system at CTA.  

 
Battery-powered Vehicle Sets the Standard

Together with the manufacturer Gottwald Port Technology, HHLA is testing the everyday suitability of the green-coloured battery-powered AGVs. The project is part of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment’s incentive scheme “Flottenversuch Elektromobilität im Wirtschaftsverkehr” (Fleet Test of Electromobility in Commercial Transportation). The battery-powered AGVs, which are integrated into normal fleet operations, can transport up to 60 tonnes through CTA. Nowhere else in the world are there battery-operated utility vehicles of the same weight. Using electricity to power the AGVs eliminates exhaust gases and significantly reduces noise levels. And since all of the electricity for CTA comes from renewable energy sources as of 2010, the battery-powered AGVs that travel through the terminal are completely CO2-free.  

 
Intelligent Interlinking

CTA is not the only source of eco highlights, however. Thanks to intelligent interlinking with the neighbouring wastewater treatment plant on Dradenau, the heating system in the office buildings at Tollerort uses exhaust gases to provide CO2-free heating. With this wide range of individual measures, many of which originated as ideas and suggestions from employees, HHLA has undoubtedly earned its excellent standing in the Fraunhofer SCS sustainability index.