SUSTAINABILITY
MAKING IMPACT AS A RESPONSIBLE VALUE CREATOR
Embedding sustainability in our company culture goes far beyond guidelines and procedures. It is about creating awareness on topics that range from the environment to human rights and engaging more and more people inside and outside of BV Het Tankschip to participate in sustainability improvement initiatives and take ownership in them. We believe in the big impact of small changes and even the smallest projects can be change drivers. By engaging with our colleagues and by teaming up with external business partners, we will continue to make a positive impact as the connected partner for sustainable storage solutions.
EMPLOYEE SUSTAINABILITY
Our industry is in constant evolution. We encourage everyone who works with us to learn more, stay up to date with new technology and practices, and pursue new abilities and knowledge while building on the insights and experience they have already gained. As such, we offer a diverse range of training courses that ensure our employees have the opportunity to expand their horizons.
GOAL 1 | ENERGY AND CO2
We recognize that the CO2 emissions from our activities have an impact on climate and biodiversity. Our goal is to be CO2-neutral by 2030 for scope 1 and 2 emissions and by 2040 for scope 3 emissions. Our strategy is based on a multi-tiered approach: avoid, reduce, replace, and compensate.
GOAL 2 | VOC EMISSIONS
Some of the products we store are classified as volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which means that they easily evaporate at ambient temperature and can be hazardous for people and the environment. Sources of VOC emissions include storage tank breathing losses from routine operations and venting, and emissions from loading and cleaning tanks. We recognize that the amount of VOC emissions fluctuates as it is strongly dependent on the type of products we store, the number of tank cleaning activities and roof landings, outside temperature, etc. Our goal is to implement best practice engineering standards and improve operational efficiency, reducing VOC emissions to as low as reasonably practicable.
GOAL 3 | BIODIVERSITY
We consider the preservation of biodiversity a crucial element in enabling the world to meet the Sustainable Development Goals, to help mitigate and remove greenhouse gas emissions, to adapt to climate change risks, and to maintain ecosystem services. Our goal is to contribute to preserve biodiversity by reducing CO2 emissions and by supporting nature-based solutions. Nature-based solutions to climate change involve conserving, restoring, or optimally managing ecosystems to remove CO2 from the atmosphere. Ecosystems reduce climate change by capturing CO2 from the air and sequestering it in plants, soils, and sediments. They also help protect communities from the effects of climate change. We expect that for all our terminals, a biodiversity and water stress risk assessment as well as an action plan is in place. This includes our support to a local biodiversity or nature conservation project.
GOAL 4 | RESOURCE EFFICIENCY AND CIRCULARITY
We strive to source materials responsibly, reduce water consumption and minimize waste. We expect that all terminals have energy efficiency assessments and action plans in place in 2023, as well as water efficiency studies and waste studies in 2024. Our goal for 2030 is to not have any LBC-generated waste sent to landfills.
GOAL 5 | ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION
As the custodian of our customers’ products, we have a responsibility to protect the environment and the welfare of our neighbors and the communities in which we operate. To this end, we have controls in place to prevent unintended releases of product, and environmental standards which are founded on the precautionary approach, focusing on prevention rather than remediation. Our goal is to have no unintended releases of product to the environment.
GOAL 6 | SUSTAINABLE PURCHASING
We recognize that our suppliers play a key role in our sustainability strategy. Our expectations are documented in our Supplier Code of Conduct. Our goal is to have all strategic suppliers assessed by 2024, and to have processes in place to monitor their performance and to work with them to further improve sustainability in our supply chain.
GOAL 7 | SUSTAINABLE ADVOCACY
Our vision to be meaningful and relevant for our stakeholders includes supporting the communities in which we operate. We aim to create more awareness around our responsibility as a good corporate citizen to support, among others, local risk groups, non-profit organizations and initiatives, and sustainable philanthropy programs. We actively promote sustainable conduct, both internal and external. We advocate our sustainability vision via participating in the UN Global Compact and industry associations with the aim to share best practices and collaborate on issues that are important for the industries in which we operate. Our goal is to participate in industry associations more actively and to increase participation of our workforce in external community engagement and biodiversity programs.
GOAL 8 | HEALTH AND SAFETY
We believe that all incidents are preventable. We have processes in place to protect ourselves, our colleagues, contractors, neighbors, and visitors against any harm. We also have employee wellbeing programs in place at all terminals. Our goal is to have zero recordable incidents and zero tier 1 and 2 process safety events.
GOAL 9 | HUMAN RIGHTS
Respecting human rights is an integral part of our responsible business practices. We respect human rights and ensure that our employment conditions are consistent with international norms of behavior and the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights. We strive to enhance the lives of all our employees and contribute to their personal growth as well as a sustainable future. We work in accordance with the International Labor Organization’s Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work. Our goal is to extend the human rights agenda in our supply chain by engaging with our key suppliers on this topic.
GOAL 10 | BUSINESS ETHICS AND INTEGRITY
Whether as individuals or as part of our company, we participate and contribute actively to our society’s further development. Along that journey, we do not assume that everyone is on the same page with regards to business ethics and integrity. To ensure we are all aligned when it comes to ethics, no matter what our individual backgrounds may be, we have established our Code of Ethics and Business Conduct and Whistleblower Policy. We see this policy as an enhancement of the framework provided by laws and regulations, by outlining what are the acceptable behaviors we live by, also beyond the law’s control. Our goal is to have all our employees trained in the BV Het Tankschip Code of Conduct.
GOAL 11 | DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION
We consider diversity an asset and believe that all employees have a right to be treated with dignity and respect and to work in a non-threatening environment. We value each other’s unique qualities and diverse backgrounds, as they complement each other and strengthen our decision-making process. We are committed to providing a work environment free from physical or verbal harassment and do not tolerate discrimination based on race, color, age, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, nationality, religion, ethnicity or other. Our goal is to have all our employees trained in this area as part of the BV Het Tankschip Code of Conduct training. We have furthermore set a goal to increase the representation of women within LBC’s senior management from 6% in 2022 to 20% in 2030.
GOAL 12 | DATA SECURITY
The purpose of our information security measures is to protect the confidentiality and integrity of the data that customers, employees, supply chain partners, contractors, and other stakeholders entrust us with. Our goal is to further optimize our Information Security Management System by having it ISO 27001 certified in 2025.
GOAL 13 | CUSTOMER CENTRICITY
Our strategy is being the connected partner for our customers, by offering superior service and sustainable storage solutions. Connected partnership translates into continuously striving to give our customer an improved experience and aligning our priorities with theirs. We value a transparent approach and frequent, open discussion with our customers. Our goal is to have an NPS score of at least 50 by 2027 for all terminals.
UNITED NATIONS SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS
The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) are global baselines in different areas of sustainability. Specifically SDG 8, 9, 12, and 16 are areas that relate to BV Het Tankschip operations. The most prominent of these is SDG 12 (responsible consumption and production). By focusing on sustainable consumption and production principles, we have brought improvement to the fields of process, assets, technological applications and innovation, including cost savings. We see this as an opportunity for us to connect with our business partners and jointly develop improvement solutions in the chemical industry as well as the ports we operate in.
UNITED NATIONS GLOBAL COMPACT
Intertwined with the SDGs are the Ten Principles to responsible business of the United Nations Global Compact. Since 2021, BV Het Tankschip Tank Terminals has been committed to the UN Global Compact corporate responsibility initiative and its principles in the areas of human rights, labor, the environment and anti-corruption.