For reducing its carbon footprint by 30% between 2019 and 2022, the port of Freetown in Sierra Leone has been awarded the Green Terminal label by Bolloré Ports, the subsidiary of the French Bolloré Group. Freetown Terminal has distinguished itself by “the sustainable management of its activities”.
The eco-responsible initiatives implemented by the port of Freetown concern water management and the protection of biodiversity. “The company has implemented water fountains on its site, which has avoided the use of 14,200 plastic bottles per year. In 2019, it has also launched a reforestation operation along the terminal wall on a total area of 1,200 square meters,” says Bureau Veritas, which audited Freetown Terminal’s facilities.
The operator of the container terminal at the II Elizabeth Wharf in the Sierra Leonean capital has also focused on energy efficiency through the acquisition of tractors as well as the installation of LED lighting, street lamps and solar water heaters. “We will therefore continue our efforts and aim for a better score next year,” promises Bertrand Kerguelen, Bolloré Transport & Logistics’ country manager in Sierra Leone.
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To date, eight other port concessions of the French giant in Africa have been labeled Green Terminal. This is the case of Conakry Terminal in Guinea, Kinshasa Terminal in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Owendo Container Terminal (OCT) in Libreville in Gabon, among others. As a reminder, this distinction rewards efforts to preserve the environment. It is in this context that Ivory Coast Terminal, the subsidiary of Bolloré Ports, recently received 14 electric tractors. Such equipment will allow the decarbonization of Bolloré’s port activities through the reduction of CO2 emissions from its machines as well as noise pollution.
Benoit-Ivan Wansi