Boskalis Sustainability Report 2020

72

COMMUNITY CONTRIBUTION IN PRACTICE

SUPPORTING YOUTH EDUCATION During our Makassar New Port project on the island of Sulawesi, where our dredging activities contributed to the expansion of the port’s container terminal, Boskalis was one of three commercial partners to take part in a nationwide initiative to support local students in learning more about the port and maritime sector in Indonesia, in particular its sustainability aspects. The Indonesia Port Academy initiative is a capacity building program for young Indonesian students and supports a ‘green port’ concept and practice in the country, known as the Eco-Smart Port theme. Under the current administration in Indonesia, a more coordinated network of ports is beginning to adopt a more advanced and sustainable port concept for the country. Boskalis’ Maria Kartika, who mentored groups of students during the workshops in March, says, “Not only do participating students have classroom learning, but they also gain practical experience during port visits organized by Boskalis and other maritime experts from the Netherlands and Indonesia. The students are encouraged to develop their own ideas and solutions.” Sustainability aspects of the program include a planning phase that respects the environment and local communities, the use of ‘green’ tech, and compliance with environmental regulations during the construction phase. One water resources engineering student from the Bandung Institute of Technology said that the program, “provided her with a lot of knowledge she couldn’t find at university,” proving the value of the effort.

MANAGING OUR IMPACT ON LOCAL COMMUNITIES SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2020 – BOSKALIS BEACH CLEAN-UPS Boskalis has been organizing beach clean-ups for nearly a decade. Beach clean-ups are not just good for the environment, but often involve subcontractors or other local companies and help strengthen bonds in the community and between our employees. This year due to COVID-19 restrictions many beach clean-ups were unable to take place. However, some were able to go ahead and included our North Manama Causeway project in Bahrain, where the project team filled 73 garbage bags within 1.5 hours. In the Maldives, subcontractors joined Boskalis employees to carry out routine beach clean-ups, and beaches on the island of Minsener Oog in Germany, which is a protected area for birds, were cleared of plastic waste and fishing nets which posed a serious threat. In the Netherlands, a team of colleagues joined the Plastic Whale Fishing initiative in Rotterdam, ‘fishing’ in the city’s waters and retrieving in total 70 kilograms of waste plastic for reuse and residual waste for disposal.