SAGT enhances positioning of Port of Colombo within international supply-chain

South Asia Gateway Terminals (SAGT), in the Port of Colombo, launched its Sustainability Report 2020/21- “Bringing the World Closer. Investing in a greener future”. This is the second consecutive report published by SAGT and details the company’s sustainability performance during the financial year 2020/21. It remains the only formal report published by a terminal operator in the Port of Colombo and in doing so, the report further enhances the positioning of the Port of Colombo within the international supply-chain.

With a strong commitment to driving a sustainable business, the report reflects SAGT’s approach to embed Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) standards to its core business operations towards driving its triple-bottom-line performance. All sustainability information is gathered and published based on the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Standards ‘Core’ option and in full adherence to GRI principles. Thereby, key sustainability themes such as materiality, stakeholder inclusiveness and sustainability context, are derived based on GRI principles. In line with global best practice, the SAGT Sustainability Report 2020/21 and the data presented has been independently assured by DNV GL.

The Port of Colombo showed great resilience and innovation from the onset of the pandemic and continued to offer uninterrupted services to global shipping lines and port users in Sri Lanka by ensuring the unhindered movement of cargo through and to/from the Port. SAGT was quick to respond to minimizing personal contact which was the primary need of the hour – and was at the forefront of revolutionizing the traditionally paper-based import clearance process, by introducing a simple digital process to instantaneously offer importers the convenience of processing import documentation from the safety of their offices or homes. The company also introduced dedicated staff transport, participated fully in the Government’s vaccination drive for essential services, implemented other social distancing and sanitization procedures and a work from home policy for some categories of office staff.

Amidst the uncertainty and challenges brought upon by the pandemic, SAGT continued its efforts to drive and enhance its sustainability initiatives. During the year in review, Team SAGT was successful in reducing its carbon footprint by 3% (excluding electricity consumption of customer owned and operated refrigerated containers) mainly through forging ahead with an investment of over Rs 1.3 billion in the conversion of 24 Rubber Tyred Gantries (RTGs) to cutting edge Japanese hybrid technology. The company furthered its commitment to environmental conservation by pledging to reforest and maintain a further 4 acres of land at the Yagirala Forest Reserve.

Furthering its commitment to operational efficiencies, during the year 2020/21 the company confirmed an order for two new Ship-to-Shore quay cranes with twin lift capabilities to be delivered in April 2022 and commissioned 46 new intra-terminal prime movers during the year – at a combined investment of over Rs 4.0 billion.