Sustainability report 2019

34

BIODIVERSITY AND ECOSYSTEMS

MANAGING OUR IMPACT ON THE ENVIRONMENT SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2019 – BOSKALIS OUR IMPACT AND MANAGEMENT APPROACH Depending on the locations and type of work, our projects can negatively impact habitats and species. The most common and potentially significant impacts are as a result of water turbidity, habitat loss, underwater noise, the spread of invasive species in ballast water and pollution from waste or spills. We aim to avoid, reduce or mitigate such effects. Every project we work on is unique and requires us to apply project specific solutions. During project implementation we adapt and optimize our working methods as needed, to ensure compliance with relevant environmental requirements. In most cases, our approach towards environmental management is guided by an Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) and, in all cases, is in line with our General Code of Business Conduct (available on our website), and our approach to potential adverse impact (page 72). Examples of the measures we take to help avoid, reduce or mitigate the impact of our activities on the environment are given on the opposite page. Our ISO14001 Certification applies across all business units. We also embed environmental considerations into our Way of Working quality management system, for example, through environmental risk evaluation or analysis of stakeholders early in the project lifecycle. OPTIMIZING WORK METHODS FOR ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT, ADELAIDE, AUSTRALIA In January 2019, Boskalis was appointed by Flinders Ports to widen the Outer Harbor shipping channel. The work, which was completed in October 2019, widened the shipping channel by 40 metres and widened the swing basin by 55 metres. These changes allow the Port to accommodate wider Post Panamax vessels without operational restrictions. Boskalis cooperated with Flinders Ports, and with State Government agencies, including the Environment Protection Authority and the Department of Environment and Water to minimize the effect of the works on the local ecosystem. Dredged material was placed 30km offshore in the Gulf St Vincent – the preferred option determined following thorough investigation. A program was put in place to manage key risk factors, such as seagrass habitats, marine pest and biosecurity risks, pacific oyster mortality syndrome and caulerpa taxifolia, an invasive species of algae. Up to date data from the monitoring program was published on the Flinders Ports website throughout the project.

Our Fleet management system ensures we apply required environmental management measures on board our vessels. This includes processes for ballast water management, vessel waste management and prevention measures against spills and other pollution. This system ensures vessels are in compliance with relevant regulations such as the IMO Ballast Water Convention and IMO MARPOL Convention Annex VI. Depending on the project type and scope of works for the contractor we can also offer our Building with Nature approach, an alternative approach to hydraulic engineering that accounts for natural systems in the design phase to benefit the environment, economy and society. Across all areas we work to increase internal awareness of environmental issues and provide approaches to manage project level environmental impact. An example of this is through our Marine Environmental Awareness Course, a 2 day training program for our fleet personnel implemented in collaboration with the ProSea Marine Education Foundation. The project team regularly monitored the water quality, put in place measures to minimize turbidity and scheduled the work to take place during cooler months when seagrass is less actively growing and turbidity has less impact to seagrass health. Throughout the works, trained marine mammal observers monitored the area. There were 239 sightings, and zero incidents. Flinders Ports will conduct before and after seagrass surveys of the area to monitor impact and recovery. This will continue for two years after completion of dredging to ensure the long-term impact is understood, with the next survey due in April 2020. “THIS PROJECT REQUIRED A DREDGING CONTRACTOR WHO UNDERSTOOD THE SENSITIVE ENVIRONMENT THE WORKS WERE BEING UNDERTAKEN IN, AND WERE ABLE TO STILL EFFICIENTLY DELIVER REQUIRED OUTCOMES WITHIN THE STRICT PARAMETERS OF THE VARIOUS APPROVAL CONDITIONS” Flinders Ports