Automated emission calculation to help reduce the environmental impact of traffic
“We have automated emissions calculations for maritime traffic. Collecting maritime traffic data does not require manual work, as the information automatically transfers from the maritime traffic information system to the environmental calculation system.
During the autumn, we expanded the system to also cover emissions calculations for land traffic. The calculations are based on data from the gate operating systems, which collect information on how many vehicles pass through the gates.
“Our goal is to obtain a comprehensive picture of greenhouse gas emissions from various sources within our port area,” says Markku Alahäme, the Technical Director of the Port.
The next step would be to expand emissions calculations to include emissions from machinery within the port area. For these calculations, cooperation would be needed with the port operators working in the area. “We need information about the number and type of machines. Before the calculations, we also need to decide whether they will be based on fuel consumption or operating hours,” Alahäme reflects.
The need for emissions calculations has arisen from environmental legislation concerning the port, but increasingly, the background is the emissions reduction goals pursued by the entire Turku Group. Currently, Turku Port produces an annual report for authorities on the environmental impacts of its operations. “Automated emissions calculations make environmental reporting easier,” says Alahäme.
“Automatically generated and visualized calculation reports are easy to use and can be utilized in various ways. Visualized reports are ready to use for reporting, but also for marketing purposes,” he adds.
Our environmental work is based on a certified environmental management system. The goal of our long-term environmental work is to minimize the environmental impacts of our operations on land, at sea, and in the air. Emissions calculations have been conducted at our port since 2008, and we believe GISGRO Green will help us further develop our work in minimizing environmental impacts.
“Environmental work is an ongoing process for us. With GISGRO Green, we have more visualized information on how we are succeeding in reducing emissions,” says Alahäme.