"Making the switch to
sustainable transport
is good for the
environment and
good for business"
World of Heineken 43 - winter 2010
Toasting the opening of the new port which will remove around
100,000 Heineken trucks from Dutch roads each year
The products we make, buy and sell, all have
an impact on climate change and the broader
environment. This happens at all stages of
the product lifecycle, from raw material
sourcing to disposal. The resulting
environmental impact is a by-product of the
energy and resources used, the emissions
from areas like production and packaging,
and waste from discarded products and
transport. Heineken is addressing all of
these challenges. In the area of transport,
Heineken's Zoeterwoude brewery has
recently made significant improvements.
In October 2010, Heineken became the first
customer of The Netherlands' largest
in-land cargo terminal, The Alpherium,
in Alphen aan de Rijn. Via the port, the
Zoeterwoude brewery will transport export
products to Rotterdam and Antwerp
using sustainable water transport rather
than by truck. With the capacity to handle
at least 60,000 containers annually, the new
facility will support the waterborne transport
of huge quantities of goods as an alternative
to road transportation.
"The energy efficiency of a boat is roughly
three times better than the truck transport
of similar goods," explained Heineken's CEO,
Jean-Franqois van Boxmeer, at the launch
ceremony. "Approximately six million truck
kilometres - equivalent to roughly 100,000
trucks per annum - will be removed from the
Dutch motorways through this initiative. This
equates to a total C02 emission reduction
of 35%. This represents a considerable
contribution to the sustainability of our
logistics chain."
For the Heineken brewery in Zoeterwoude,
95% of road traffic movements will be
substituted by transport over water from the
Alpherium to the ports of Rotterdam and
Antwerp. As a launching customer of the
new facilities, Heineken will utilise 85% of the
outgoing capacity.
The opening of the Alpherium is the result
of many of years of forward planning and
coordination involving a number of different
organisations and local authorities. Heineken
has been involved in this for 15 years. This is
a clear example of Heineken's commitment to
taking a leading role in helping the brewing
industry build a more sustainable future.
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