52 JDURLYIN 2K01te7ch NEW ZEALAND JULY 2017 The Port, which won the prize at the 2017 Green Ribbon Awards ahead of New Zealand Post and Sustainability Trust, has cut truck hours on the road by 10,000 hours and provided supply chain improvements for customers involved in wine. Working with trucking company Central Express, glass bottle manufacturer O-I New Zealand and wine bottler WineWorks Marlborough, Port Nelson set up QuayConnect last year as a smarter way of distributing goods. The model optimises import and export loads, with four dedicated truck and trailer units working 24-hours a day moving dry goods (palletised glass wine bottles) from Port Nelson to Marlborough, and bottled wine back to Port Nelson from Marlborough. This compares with the traditional transport model, where trucks travel empty on one leg of the journey from ship to producer and back. Over its first year of operation, QuayConnect has reduced truck journeys by more than half between Nelson and Marlborough, saving 348,436 litres of fuel and 1602 tonnes of CO2 equivalent in its first year, Environment Minister Nick Smith says. “This transformative logistics model has made such a positive environmental impact in just its first year of operation,” Smith says. “It will be reassuring for wine producers using this award-winning distribution and storage service to know it aligns with their company’s own sustainable values. It sends a clear message to opponents of climate change initiatives, like President Trump, that such projects can make both business and environmental sense. Not only has QuayConnect reduced carbon emission levels, I also commend the team for its critical role supporting New Zealand’s valuable wine sector following the aftermath of the Kaikoura earthquake.” Port Nelson chief executive Martin Byrne says winning the award ahead of two other organisations working equally hard to reduce the impact of climate change is an incredible endorsement of the Port’s work. “The significant difference Quay- Connect has made to the wine transport sector’s energy output is hugely rewarding and we are enormously honoured to have won this award on behalf of the project’s collaborators,” he says. “CEL, WineWorks Marlborough and O-I NZ also deserve the win, as QuayConnect is very much a collaborative service with all involved investing and changing their processes to create a more efficient and sustainable model for the long-term.” Following the November 2016 Kaikoura earthquake, QuayConnect enabled Marlborough winemakers (who produce 75% of the country’s wine) with damaged infrastructure to quickly move their valuable wine to secure storage and onto their New Zealand and international customers through Port Nelson. CEL director Jason Millar says the reduction of trucks on the road – despite the increase in freight on the Marlborough to Nelson route post-earthquake – is remarkable. “To be involved in a logistics service that has reduced truck hours by 10,000 on a busy tourist and freight road in just its first year is fantastic,” Millar says. “It is an innovative approach to transport logistics and we know now that, as the number of customers using QuayConnect increases, we will actually be reducing ON THE ROAD AGAIN? A revolutionary freight logistics model for the Marlborough wine industry has won Port Nelson a coveted prize for its resilience to climate change plans and substantial savings in its fuel and energy consumption. NEWS
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