London Gateway wins global environment award

DP World’s London Gateway has been recognised for its outstanding commitment to the environment at a prestigious awards ceremony celebrating the best of the international maritime community.

The team behind the developing deep-sea container terminal and one of Europe's largest logistics parks on the Thames estuary in Essex were awarded the  Environmental Protection prize in the Lloyd’s List Global Awards ceremony at the Dorchester Hotel in London on September 29.

London Gateway’s Chief Executive, Simon Moore, said that the award was recognition of the outstanding hard work that has been put into the environmental management programme at London Gateway. He said: ”We are truly leading the way here at London Gateway and I am very proud that this has been recognised in making us winners of a global industry award.”

Marcus Pearson, Environment Manager for London Gateway, said: “We believe that the Environmental Management System set up at London Gateway is world-class and it is great that this has now been recognised by the industry. It’s a fantastic award for DP World to win.”

The London Gateway development is in an area designated as being of international environmental importance. As a result, DP World’s work is underpinned by its Site Environmental Policy, which focuses on preserving the marine environment and protection against impacts from construction of the new London Gateway port as well as managing and protecting all terrestrial wildlife on the massive site.

Marcus added: “This is the most sophisticated environmental programme of its type in the world. We constantly need to manage and mitigate the potential impacts of dredging 30 million m2 of material from the Thames Estuary and North Sea. Thanks to a network of real-time monitoring buoys along the course of the dredge channel, information is always being supplied to marine experts who have direct links to the dredge masters.

“Should there be an issue, works can be immediately halted or precautionary steps taken to ensure stringent water quality thresholds are not exceeded.”

Other works carried out to protect the environment at London Gateway include the creation of the new Stanford Wharf Nature Reserve, which is 30 times the size of Trafalgar Square. The reserve provides feeding areas for thousands of birds flying south for the winter. New habitats have also been created for snakes, newts, lizards and water voles, with over 200,000 animals having been relocated to enable the construction of London Gateway - the largest trans-location of animals ever in the UK.

ENDS

Photo: London Gateway’s Chief Executive Simon Moore collecting the Environmental Protection award at the ceremony

Notes to Editors:

About DP World:
DP World is one of the largest marine terminal operators in the world, with 50 terminals and 11 new developments across 31 countries (1). Its dedicated, experienced and professional team of nearly 30,000 people serves customers in some of the most dynamic economies in the world. DP World aims to enhance customers’ supply chain efficiency by effectively managing container, bulk and other terminal cargo.

The company constantly invests in terminal infrastructure, facilities and people, working closely with customers and business partners to provide quality services today and tomorrow, when and where customers need them.

In taking this customer-centric approach, DP World is building on the established relationships and superior level of service demonstrated at its flagship Jebel Ali facility in Dubai, which has been voted “Best Seaport in the Middle East” for 16 consecutive years. In 2009, DP World handled more than 43.4 million TEU (twenty-foot equivalent container units) across its portfolio from the Americas to Asia. With a pipeline of expansion and development projects in key growth markets, including India, China and the Middle East, capacity is expected to rise to around 95 million TEU over the next ten years, in line with market demand.

www.dpworld.com

(1) As of 27 July 2010

Press Enquiries:
Xavier Woodward, Communications Manager, DP World London Gateway
xavier.woodward@dpworld.com 01375 648 340 / 07748 623 423

Claire Owen, Account Director, Mosaic Publicity claire@mosaicpublicity.co.uk 01206 548100