We take control of what happens in our waters
We take control of what happens in our waters
A picture is worth a thousand words. If we have two spill detection cameras that take an average of 3,000 images monthly each, that indicates that our new Port Water Control® system is worth more than 6 million words each month. Wordplay aside, these cameras whose alpha version we helped train are a great asset for protecting our waters. They are equipped with AI that analyses each of the photos and indicates whether there are signs of floating objects or spills. Then, allow me to continue playing with words, an HI, that is, Human Intelligence, reviews those signs and marks them as real alerts or false positives. Real alerts arrive directly to the mobile phones of our environmental operational control team that reacts by removing plastic from the water, or cleaning a diesel spill that reaches us from somewhere in the port.
Thanks to this project we have two substantial improvements: We have early warning of any element that may be in the waters and we have a numerical indicator of monthly alerts, that is a reliable sustainability KPI. Over time the indications that are false positives will become smaller, as the cameras learn more about our facilities. They will know how the sun reflects in the mornings and afternoons, that sailboat flags almost touch the water, as some fenders do or that the wind generates beautiful ripples, or that in spring pine pollen colors the waters.
Environmental care is demonstrated with something more than words, and therefore we are interested in this type of project that gives us clear indicators. Objective data that makes us feel proud when our evolution is good, and that pushes us to improve when the progress is not as positive. Indicators that we commit to publishing on our website. Let me comment on two of our key areas: Climate change and waste generation. In our commitment to reduce our CO2 footprint we have good news. Our certified emissions are 61% of what we had in 2019, the year we started our reduction plan. That is a very relevant achievement. Two projects have largely contributed to that reduction: the installation of photovoltaic panels and the replacement of a propane boiler with a heat pump that has greater efficiency. We are also improving in waste management. Only 0.4% of what we generate goes to landfill, the rest is either recovered (46.9%) or recycled (52.7%) and we continue our campaign to separate in origin. Those who will be visiting our wharves this season will find that we are collecting organic waste separately to fabricate compost.