Maersk, Svitzer to be first user of Ecofloat training course

An agreement to deliver the first version of its training course Ecofloat

Ecodesk, a public, sustainability database of carbon, energy, water and waste, with data on over 17,000 global organisations, has announced the signing of an agreement to deliver the first version of its training course, Ecofloat, to Maersk subsidiary Svitzer Australia.

Ecofloat 1.0 is a new, interactive digital training course specifically designed for the maritime industry.

The course comprises ten specific lessons with exercises focused on tug operation specifics such as speed and acceleration, using tide and current and planning ahead, as well as setting out practical steps to reduce fuel costs and carbon emissions via idling time and generator load.

Ecofloat 1.0 is hoped to effect a behaviour change through a series of cognitive adjustments by doing real exercises which set the stage for “learning by figuring out”. The behaviour change is bedded-in and remains a part of the job and responsibility for the longer term.

Ecodesk aims at delivering a series of benefits with Ecofloat, such as reducing fuel consumption by over 15%, reducing GHG emissions, facilitating compliance with legislation, as well as boosting crew morale.

“If you extrapolate this single measurement/efficiency project across the maritime sector in, the cost savings run into tens of billions of dollars,” says Ecodesk CEO Robert Clarke.

“I’m really impressed with Ecofloat 1.0, the visuals, the content, and specifically the way the lessons build up before the final summary,” says Gary Vink, engineering manager for Maersk.

“We expect this will have a tangible effect with our crews, as part of the nationwide efforts to save fuel and carbon emissions.”

Svitzer Australia, a subsidiary of Maersk, is the first to take delivery of Ecofloat which will be deployed in port facilities across the country as a commercial pilot, before a more complete rollout is planned.

“Maritime companies like Maersk, BP, Mitsui and Hanjin are making huge savings by undertaking sustainability strategy. It starts with measuring energy and carbon emissions – which gives a whole new set of metrics to run cost efficiencies into modelling programs. We have discovered literally thousands of companies worldwide making savings through efficiency programs like Ecofloat,” says Mr Clarke.

“Ecodesk.com is about helping businesses realise these savings by providing a platform for measurement guidance and publishing. We support all the most prominent standards of excellence and actively promote BSI, GRI, WRI in their efforts to provide strong measurement criteria,” he adds.

“This is not about throw away words such as ‘green’ and ‘environmentally friendly’ – the sustainability industry has grown up and moved into hard economics. This is about having a strong business case to use sustainability to cut costs. Good environmental stewardship is a natural product of this firm foundation.”

Source: The Digital Ship