Case study: Unite reps at Hutchison Ports (UK), the Port of Felixstowe

The Port of Felixstowe employs 2,580 people with two container terminals and a roll-on roll-off freight terminal. The workforce are virtually all Unite members. Working alongside management, the union is active on environmental issues, with senior steward and green rep Kevin Rodgers sitting on a joint union-management environmental committee. Management have been keen to work alongside the union, granting Rodgers time off to attend the three-day TUC Trade Unions and the Environment Course.

The committee is taking real steps towards tackling the site’s environmental impact and identifying and recommending changes to working practices. Since 2008, the port has seen a reduction in its carbon footprint of 10% and the recycling rate has increased from 10% four years ago, to 65% today. Measures to raise awareness of waste issues have included trips to the docks’ recycling partners to witness, first hand, what happens to waste recycled from the port. Furthermore, the workforce receives an annual bonus in their pay packet partly linked to improved environmental performance.

A good deal of work is also taking place around supporting and encouraging green travel, again with union representation on the port’s Travel Steering Group. A car-share scheme is in operation and the union works alongside management to organise events aimed at raising awareness of the joint environmental agenda around travel. Initiatives have included opportunities for the workforce to test drive electric vehicles on site and free breakfasts for car sharers. Future plans also include scoping the potential for a charging point for electric vehicles on-site. The port is also working with local cycle shops and charities to organise cycling events and setting up “walk to work” promotions, such as an annual “Walk a Million Steps Challenge”. This challenge sees teams of employees recording their steps using pedometers to and from work, and during leisure time, for a whole month. The aim for 2012 is to encourage more teams to take part and complete a total number of steps that is equivalent to walking from Hutchison Whampoa Head Office in Hong Kong in a straight line to Felixstowe — a total of 9,650,340 steps and 5,994 miles.

In an exciting new development, the Port of Felixstowe has recently been accepted as a national TUC GreenWorkplaces project with funding made available from the EU as part of a European-wide green workplaces network overseen by the ETUC. The aim will be to increase the number of workers active on environmental issues by running events and training, and to create a network of union environmental reps.