Sustainability

At Stolthaven Terminals, our ambition is to become the most respected global storage provider by ensuring we create value for our stakeholders as well as wider society, while also protecting our people, the communities in which we operate, and our planet.

Our sustainability ambitions

We have aligned our overall approach to sustainability and our sustainability policy with five of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. With these goals in mind – underpinned by our four ‘Don’t mess with’ core beliefs – we have set ourselves the following ambitions:

  • operate the world’s safest terminals and eliminate serious incidents
  • achieve zero contamination of the land sea and air
  • make all our primary activities carbon neutral by 2040
  • reduce water consumption and increase re-use
  • achieve zero waste-to-landfill wherever possible
  • offer rewarding careers in an ethical and open culture.

'Don't mess with' core beliefs

Minimum standards are non-negotiable

We protect our clients' products and reputation

Safety and quality, efficiency will follow!

Risk reduction

World-class safety standards

We comply with, and often exceed, regulatory requirements across all our operations.

We understand that it is crucial for our terminals to be well designed, safely operated and properly maintained to prevent accidents or spills. And we are proud that many of our terminals have been recognised with awards for exceptional safety and environmental standards. In 2023, this included:

Our processes ensure we manage our asset integrity and prevent leaks, spills and any other technical failures or breakdowns. Process safety starts at the early design phase of building each of our terminals and continues throughout their lifecycle.

Our ongoing investments mean that we are constantly exploring and implementing the latest equipment and new technology to reduce our operators’ exposure to potentially hazardous situations. One example of this is the introduction of new automated tank-loading processes, which allow our technicians to focus on safely managing the overall product-handling process and reducing their direct exposure to potential risks.

Safety awareness and training

Maintaining our strong safety record relies on the dedication of our people and everyone – employees and contractors – is expected to meet our stringent safety standards and requirements.

Our Global Stolthaven Safety Standards set out the minimum safety requirements for all of our terminals, including regular classroom-based and continuous on-the-job training. In addition, we hold safety days at each of our sites, covering all levels and job functions. These regular events focus on improving safety awareness and personal responsibility, encouraging people to view safety as the most important aspect of their daily duties and highlighting any issues specific to individual terminals.

Reduce, repurpose, reuse

We understand that how we run our business can have a positive effect on the environment and we are focused on reducing the resources needed for our operations, including energy and water consumption. These are just some of our ongoing projects and more recent achievements:

  • In 2023, we maintained our silver rating from EcoVadis for all wholly-owned terminals, ranking in the top 3% for sustainability performance in the warehousing and storage industry and in the top 5% for sustainable procurement.
  • Also in 2023, our terminal in Dagenham, UK received International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC) and CAT-3 certification, confirming it safely and sustainably stores and handles products containing animal by-products, which are a source of biofuel. The same certifications were obtained by our site in Moerdijk, the Netherlands, in 2022.
  • Our carbon emissions are relatively low, but we remain committed to our ongoing reduction initiatives in line with our Climate Action SDG commitment and our decarbonisation strategy. In 2023, we continued our programme to install energy-efficient LED lighting across all sites and six of our terminals now purchase their electricity from renewable sources. 
  • Our terminal in New Orleans, US redesigned a steam trap fitting to heat railcars more efficiently, which has reduced the steam used per railcar by approximately 75%. This in turn reduces the fuel consumption of boilers, lowering emissions.
  • We are always working to reduce the amount of mains water we use and at several of our terminals we are collecting rainwater onsite to use for tank washing and fire hose testing. Our Singapore terminal repurposed a decommissioned ISO tank to collect and store rainwater for use onsite. 

When it comes to our tanks, we are conscious of the environmental impact of building both new facilities and removing those at the end of their lifecycle. To minimise resources needed for new facilities in Newcastle, Australia, we relocated tanks from the former Bell Bay terminal. And a former product tank at our Wynyard terminal has been repurposed as a fire water tank at Mount Maunganui, New Zealand.

Wastewater services

The biological treatment of wastewater is recognised as a responsible choice in the chemical industry. The process uses bacteria and other microorganisms to naturally degrade organic contaminants and reduce the biological oxygen demand (BOD) in the resulting effluent. This results in the release of readily usable water into the receiving stream. Our terminals in Houston and New Orleans, US, offer state-of-the-art wastewater treatment facilities.

Wastewater services in the US


New Orleans

Stolthaven New Orleans’ biological wastewater treatment facility operates under a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination (NPDES) / Louisiana Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (LPDES) permit and is regulated as a Centralized Waste Treatment (CWT) facility, per the Clean Water Act.

As a CWT facility, Stolthaven New Orleans is pleased to offer treatment for third party wastewater from ships, barges, railcars, ISO containers and trucks. Our plant operates 24/7 and provides its services on a first-come, first-served basis.

All Stolthaven New Orleans’ wastewater operators are Licensed by the Louisiana Department of Health & Hospitals, assuring customers that we have the expertise to safely and efficiently manage your wastewater throughout the treatment process.

Houston

Stolthaven Houston’s biological wastewater treatment plant offers customers high quality, responsive services at competitive rates. We specialise in the handling of hazardous and non-hazardous wastewater streams, and are authorised by our Texas Pollution Discharge Elimination System permit, issued by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.

Operating as a centralised waste treatment facility we adhere to all the federal, state and local regulations, to ensure safe, reliable and professional performance.

Treated water is discharged directly into the Houston Ship Channel and, as such, is stringently regulated by Federal, State, and Local agencies to ensure:

  • protection of public health and the environment
  • prevention of water pollution

All wastewater treated at Stolthaven Houston is monitored throughout the handling process to ensure all regulatory and performance requirements are met.

Stolthaven Houston’s wastewater treatment plant operates 24/7 and can receive wastewater from ships, barges, railcars and trucks. Our plant is operated and regulated as a Centralized Waste Treatment (CWT) facility as authorised by the Clean Water Act, and is permitted to receive oily, organic and biologically treatable wastewater.

Please contact our wastewater experts to discuss your specific needs:

Houston

Frank Garza
Stolthaven Wastewater Superintendent

Tel.: +1 281-860-6452
Email: [email protected] 

New Orleans

Louis Michon
SHEQ Manager

Tel.: +1 5046821616
Email: [email protected]