Peel Ports outlines CSR pledges

Peel Ports has set itself a target of reducing road container freight movements out of Port of Liverpool from 98% to 70% by 2030 as part of a new corporate social responsibility report.

Peel Ports currently handles around 40m tonnes of cargo a year and Peel expects that to grow to 68m tonnes by 2030.

The port operator acquired Mersey Docks & Harbour Company in 2005 and set about linking services to the Manchester Ship Canal that it already owned. Peel Ports carries goods from the Mersey up the canal for Tesco, Kingsland Wines, B&M and Princes, reducing carbon emissions, road congestion and transport costs.

Peel Ports' Corporate Social Responsibility Report 2012/13 also touches on community work and local labour pledges.

The Peel Ports Mersey 500 Fund, in partnership with the Community Foundation for Merseyside, donates up to £500 to local charities applying against a set of criteria. To date over £100,000 has been donated to 222 local groups. Peel Ports supports the local Seafarers Mission, which last year welcomed 11,000 visiting seafarers to the city.

Peel Ports Mersey's growth strategy set out in the draft Mersey Ports Master Plan envisages the creation of up to 7,500 jobs. Almost 90% of the Port of Liverpool's employees live within 20 miles of the Port, and a third within five miles. In addition, 84% of those working at the Port of Heysham live within five miles of that Port.

The most recent intake of the Port of Liverpool's apprenticeship programme of 13 young people included 12 from Liverpool postcodes. In addition the Port has worked with Liverpool's John Moores University in designing the syllabus for a new degree course in Port Management.

Gary Hodgson, Peel Ports Mersey's managing director, said: "We consulted last summer on The Mersey Ports Master Plan, which set out our ambitious plans for the growth of the Port of Liverpool and the Manchester Ship Canal over the next two decades. We received a considerable level of interest and support from our local communities and many key organisations and stakeholders.

"Replies from many respondents expressed an interest in what we are doing and what more we could be doing in respect of the wider CSR agenda. In this report we have attempted to set out in one place our current activities and where we believe Peel Ports Mersey can bring added value" over the next 20 years. We want to engage all our stakeholders – our people, our communities and our partners – to not only shape the future but also to share in our future successes."

Peel Ports supports a nationally important nature reserve comprising some 800 acres adjacent to the Manchester Ship Canal, run by the Woolston Eyes Conservation Group, which has attracted over 250 species of birds, including some of the rarest species. Peel Ports has assisted in creating a new hide for observing the birds in their natural habitat.

• View the report here