ICTSI outlines net zero plan in Philippines

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Logistics giant International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) has pledged to scale down its carbon footprint by 26 percent by 2030 as part of measures to become net zero.

In a disclosure before the Philippine Stock Exchange, ICTSI outlined the steps it will take to get to net zero by 2050 as mandated by the Paris Agreement.

As a first step, ICTSI executive vice president Christian Gonzalez announced that the company aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 26 percent for every container it moves by 2030, benchmarked against the 2021 baseline.'

ICTSI plans to achieve this target by reducing its carbon emissions in both the logistics business and power supply. The company is also assessing its carbon footprint across operations and aims to create an inventory by 2025.

'Our commitment to decarbonization targets marks an important step on our journey to become a more sustainable company. As part of this, we are actively implementing initiatives to maximize energy and resource efficiency, reduce carbon intensity and lower emissions,' Gonzalez said.

ICTSI likewise committed to review its actions on a regular basis, updating the targets based on discoveries in climate science to ensure that the company stays sustainable.

Gonzalez said ICTSI has attained carbon neutrality - or the balance between emitting and absorbing carbon from the atmosphere - in four terminals in the Americas.

In particular, ICTSI is operating carbon neutral at the Contecon Guayaquil in Ecuador; Contecon Manzanillo in Mexico; and Tecon Suape and Rio Brasil Terminal, both in Brazil.

In the Philippines, ICTSI deployed 40 hybrid RTG cranes at the Manila International Container Terminal and two units at the Mindanao Container Terminal. Similar hybrid equipment were also stationed at the Matadi Gateway Terminal in the Democratic People's Republic of Congo and at the South Pacific International Container Terminal in Papua New Guinea.

Based on data from the International Energy Agency, logistics emits more than a third of carbon emissions globally, making it the largest emitting sector in developed countries. In 2022, the sector increased its carbon footprint by three percent as economies reopened their borders to foreign trade.

Worse, logistics grew its carbon wastes by an average of 1.7 percent annually between 1990 and 2022.

With this, the sector has to cut carbon emissions by over three percent every year to 2030 to keep on track with the objectives set in the Paris Agreement.