Aqaba Container Terminal Releases Annual Sustainability Report 2021

Aqaba Container Terminal (ACT), the sustainable gateway to the Levant region and beyond, is proud to announce the release of its 11th annual sustainability report.

The report highlights the company’s continuous commitment to sustainable development and its many achievements throughout 2021, in spite of the obstacles associated with the global pandemic.

In 2021, ACT made great strides toward achieving many of its operational and sustainability-focused goals.

The company upgraded its operational systems and purchased 20 new pieces of equipment, which resulted in measurable improvements in the terminal’s gross crane productivity, truck turnaround time, and dwell times compared to 2020.

In 2021, ACT recorded a throughput of 765,662 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), with exports increasing 7% over the previous year.

In an effort to reduce its environmental footprint and maintain operational efficiency, ACT implemented a number of environmentally conscious solutions that enabled it to reduce its energy intensity to 0.19 GJ/TEU, which was 5% lower than the previous year.

The terminal’s greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) for 2021 remained at 2020 levels despite increased operations.

In 2021, the company also installed more than 200 solar PV panels atop its parking spaces, which are anticipated to generate more than 167,000kw/year, equivalent to the electricity consumption of 16 households.

Commenting on the publication of the latest report, ACT CEO Soren Jensen said, “We are immensely proud to issue our 11th Annual Sustainability Report, which demonstrates our ongoing commitment to sustainability as one of our top priorities.

"At ACT, sustainability has become an integral part of our company culture and corporate governance, and we continue to put great emphasis on increasing our operational efficiency and reducing waste, by upgrading and investing in the terminal’s various operational systems and processes.”

Soren added that ACT will remain committed to promoting the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, as well as Jordan’s National Vision 2025, by aligning its strategic corporate priorities to these frameworks and ensuring that it communicates openly with stakeholders.

The recently announced decarbonisation plan to reduce emissions with 70% by 2030 and be net-zero at 2040 is a case in point, he said.

Building on this commitment to open communication, in 2021, ACT implemented a new, state-of-the-art Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system, through which it managed to resolve 98% of the issues that were brought to its customer service desk last year.

In 2021, ACT also successfully rolled out its Way of Working 10 (WoW10) Program, which focuses on establishing consistent, clear, streamlined standard operating procedures for its employees and partners, in an effort to further elevate ACT’s positioning as a world-class terminal operator.

ACT continued to invest in employee training across all levels, reporting a total of 4,117 training hours last year, with an average of 4.39 hours per employee–a significant increase over 2020.

The terminal also managed to simultaneously reduce its total training costs, thanks to the fact that most of its training sessions were held virtually or in-house.

The terminal also made considerable investments in the surrounding communities. Through its corporate social responsibility strategy, ACT focuses on adding value to local communities across three key focus areas: education, general well-being, and environment preservation.

In 2021 alone, the company’s CSR initiatives and efforts supported over 14,000 beneficiaries throughout Aqaba and the surrounding region.

The Aqaba Container Terminal continues to demonstrate that sustainability isn’t just good for the environment and local communities: it makes good business sense.

In 2021, ACT generated JOD94 million in revenues, as well as a 17% increase in its return on invested capital compared to the previous year—all while reducing its operating costs by 6%..

In recognition of its achievements in the fields of sustainability, operational efficiency, environmental impact, and health and safety, ACT has received numerous awards and accolades.

Most recently, the terminal was named “AME Customer Focus Terminal of the Year 2020,” which it was awarded for its outstanding customer service during the COVID-19 pandemic.