Customers & Region

Our ports strengthen the economic performance along the coast and contribute to the conservation of jobs within the region and to the creation of new ones. An important benchmark of the quality of our work is our customers’ satisfaction, for whom sustainability plays an ever-increasing role. To us, being competitive is only one part of the equation. We make our best effort to contribute to the strengthening of our region.

Ports are on the cutting edge between land- and sea-bound transport and therefore form an important link between industry and commerce. That makes us and our ports an important contributor for social well-being and the health of our country's economy. Our core respon- sibility is to ensure that our customers can use our port facilities and areas 24/7.

Together with our customers, we contribute to the continued development of the coastal region. In unison with the services of the port economy, we - and our port infrastructure and our expertise - are turning our ports into high-quality logistics sites. We adjust to various needs and follow new trends that are in need of Attractive business solutions. Our activities create transparent added values for our business partners, and thus also for the region.

Business Performance

We are a 100% affiliate of the State of Niedersachsen and it is our task to operate and expand the port infrastructure with public funds. In contrast to private companies, our business performance must be categorized differently. Because we also fulfill public tasks and functions, for which we also receive subsidies from the State of Niedersachsen. Thus, our measures cannot merely be viewed from business point of view; they are much farther reaching. Through their direct and indirect effects, they strengthen the macro-economic developments and contribute to an economically strong region. The state of the economy, political developments, and even the weather, for instance, directly impact our results. But at the same time, our income from port usage fees flows back into the economy in the shape of salaries and wages, tax revenues, and as investments in the infrastructure, and often times it even flows directly back into the regions.

Generally, merchandise finds the way of the best price to performance ratio. In the global competition and in view of increasing regulation (e.g., lower emission values for ships in the North Sea), and in view of the great societal challenges, customer satisfaction is key for our competitive success. Other factors that play a role here are the vicinity to the sales markets and the costs and the possibilities for the hinterland and regional transport. And even the sustainability topic is gaining more and more traction.

We have various customers. This includes, among other things, German and international ship owners, cargo handling, logistics and industrial companies, as well as service companies in the port areas. On the one hand, our customers are locally or regionally established companies. On the other hand, they are comprised of regional branches or factories of globally operating companies, such as Volkswagen in Emden, or Siemens in Cuxhaven.

To us, the satisfaction of our customers takes on a central role. In order to improve it, we have developed a corporate-wide Quality Management System (QMS). With it, we are striving to continually improve the internal processes and performances for our customers. Conformity of our QMS with DIN EN ISO 9001:2015 has continuously been certified since 2019. We also passed our external monitoring audits in 2020 and 2021 with flying colors, which highlights the successful alignment of the quality management to the leading international standard.

This way, we have identified and digitally captured 65 significant corporate processes and made them available to all employees. In addition, we continuously (re)view the processes on a branch-transcending level and adapt them as needed. 2021's significant risks are based on global Market developments due to the Covid-19 pandemic and due to massive increases in raw material and other prices.

In order for us to take into account the needs of our stakeholders, we have identified & compiled their requirements. Since that time, we have uncovered a lot of improvement potential through our internal quality audits and have integrated it into the planning of measures. Examples for this are the optimization of individual processes, documents, IT systems, or responsibilities. In this task, we are supported by trained internal auditors at every site.

We were not able to repeat the customer survey we conducted in 2018 and 2020/2021 due to the special effects of Covid-19. In 2018, two thirds of the customers were satisfied or extremely satisfied with our service. Even back then, the topics of “Sustainability” (15%) and “Innovations” (14%) were mentioned by our customers as important topics. We are convinced that this appreciation has further increased during the reporting period. We took this opportunity to tackle these topics even harder together with the customers in conjunction with various projects.

Therefore, we, together with the port handling company J. Müller, are trying to leverage technical know-how, in order to improve the energy efficiency at this cargo handling company and for the port infrastructure at large, so that we can reduce costs on both sides.

During the project “WAShEmden”, we investigated the potential for utilization of excess amounts of electricity from the wind turbines for the port economy.

The performance assessment from our customers, combined with the internal assessment of processes and improvements helps us develop goals and measures for our consistent improvement of quality. Therefore, the customer satisfaction is an investment in advancing our company together with our partners on a broad front.

Regional Business Effects

The German port economy has always played a central role in international supply chains. Therefore, it has a significant impact on the job market and the macro-eco- nomic value creation. That has become clearer than ever, since the energy crisis broke out in early 2022. Apart from the purely economic and ecological aspects as hubs for the energy transition, ports, like NPorts’, also have an obvious responsibility for the regional economy and thus a sociopolitical responsibility. Often, the socioeconomic impact is separated into direct (employment effects, taxes, and created value) and indirect (intermediate consumption and consumer spending) impacts.

In a relatively economically challenged area like our coastal region, the employment impacts of the port economy play a crucial role. Not only do they ensure the well-being of the people that live here, but - through the value chain - of the people in all of Germany (see graphic above). According to a 2017 study, the number of directly port-dependent employees was estimated to be 36,100 (1 and 2) Another 140,000 can be attributed to the port-dependent transport chain (3), and 1.35 million to the port-dependent industry (4). If you also take the so-called indirect and induced impacts (5) into account, we are talking about some 5.6 million employees nationwide that are working for the German ports and/or in the port-dependent industry.

We had commissioned an expertise on the forward projection of the employment effects of the nine seaport sites in Niedersachsen calculated a number of 47,374 port-dependent employees in 2020 in these areas. In 2012, this figure was only 43,212. The increase of some 10% resulted in particular from the handling of more work-inten- sive goods and high-value goods within the ports, such as containers, automobiles, and wind energy systems.

An expanded examination that takes all of Niedersachsen intoconsideration, adds additional jobs Taxes within the logistics chain and the export industry that depend on the seaports of Niedersachsen, such as employees at export-dependent companies. Pursuant to this exami- nation, the figure for the entire State of Niedersachsen will increase to 71.428 port-dependent employees for 2020. They generated an added gross value of 4,736 million Euros and created a tax revenue of 594 million Euros for the state. For 2021, we anticipate an increase in the added gross value and tax revenues of 10%. In order to calculate the port-dependent tax revenue, we took into account (assessed) income tax, corporate tax, value added tax, and business tax (trade tax).

The increase in port-dependent employment confirmed the importance of the state’s investments in the port infrastructure and the transport-related connections to these ports. It also showcases the role that Niedersachsen’s ports play for securing Germany’s energy supply and the Importance for society at large for the retention of jobs in the coastal region, but also in all of Niedersachsen.

The following graphic highlights the port-dependent employees of the six regions of our NPorts ports. Compared to 2015, the port-dependent employment rose by one fifth in the region Wilhelmshaven. Even Cuxhaven (19.6%) and Brake (9.3%) enjoyed relatively high growth rates. In the port region of Emden, the indus- tries automobile, the import and export of raw materials, suppliers to the ship and port building industries, as well as the offshore wind energy sector were responsible for the significant decline. Despite a decline of almost 8%, Emden (when measured by the port-dependent employees) is still our largest port site, followed by Wilhelmshaven and Stade.

Overall, there was a moderate growth in jobs for all port regions of 4.5% between 2015 and 2020. NPorts’ growth of 4% is comparable. With it, we took care of about two thirds of the port-dependent employees in Niedersachsen in 2020.

The indirect positive effects of our work relate to infrastructure projects that - in turn - benefit other participants and the community or region at large. To ensure a great expanded port infrastructure, we are investing in various projects and measures.

The restoration of the South Pier and the expansion to make room for a second berth for large ships (GSLP) in Brake will increase the performance potential and the competitiveness of the port and have a positive effect on the region. This way, larger ships with grain and feed stock can be processed. The completion of the port security in Brake, on the other hand, port-expansion areas are made usable for port activities. That means that even in this area we are increasing added value.

As a preservation measure, we are restoring the Niedersachsenbrücke jetty and cargo handling facility Umschlaganlage Voslapper Groden (UVGI in Wilhelmshaven).
We are even planning the restoration and preservation of the Great Sea Lock in Emden. The implementation is slated to start in 2023 and construction will take seven years. In addition, we want to ensure the island supply for the Island of Norderney- To achieve this, we are retrofitting the South Mole (breakwater) in the Ferry Port of Norderney. The Helgoland Quay and the Wangeroog Quay in Willhelmshaven were completely rebuilt. The projects resulted in the following infrastructure investments.

The impact of such measures is clear: In terms of business progress, we are providing the ideal infrastructure that the market demands and that gives our business partners an upper hand when it comes to competitiveness. berths with a greater water depth will make the processing of larger ships possible. That, in turn, lowers the freight charges for each ton of cargo. And the added value for the environment: Less energy consumption and less CO2 for each unit of transport. In addition, we provided the right prerequisites under port law, so that we can also fuel up LNG ships that are generally more eco-friendly, at the berth. With this we are paying it forwards towards our own climate goals and those that were set by politics.

To us, acting in compliance with the policies and legal provisions is both, a commitment and a matter of course. Because, as a public infrastructure company of the State of Niedersachsen, we get a whole lot of attention. And it is our intention to do our self-conception justice and be perceived as a company that acts sustainably and with integrity, and to perpetually ensure a trustworthy collaboration with our stakeholders. Therefore, it is crucial to us to invest in preventative measures. Because our Compliance Management ensures legal conformity and compliance with important standards and standards of behavior.

Not only NPorts is involved in the implementation of the Compliance Management, but also external participants such as customers and authorities. By us, the Compliance Management is an integral part of the Process and Quality Management System. Especially in the environmental arena, we are invested in a comprehensive cadaster of relevant legislature (cf. PERS reference). The additional monitoring measures encompass specialized magazine subscriptions and legal panoramas, they also include newsletters from the chambers of commerce and industry and gazettes from commensurate ministries, and attending expert meetings and training, and the consultation of external legal advice.

Our employees have the opportunity to consult with various contacts about the implementation of our policies and practices. A few good examples are the management, immediate superiors, a specialized department, the workers’ council, the representative(s) for the severely disabled, the contacts for combating corruption, or the equality and quality management commissioners. They can also obtain information from the complaints body pursuant to the General Equal Treatment Act (AGG) and the Whistleblower System.

It took a a whole bunch of measures for us to ensure the currentness of the legal basics.

Expert Presentations Regarding the Prevention of Corruption

Every year since 2014, we have offered expert presentations regarding the prevention of corruption with focus on various topics through our external person of trust. This includes, among other things, topics like Negative Impact of Corruption, Compliance & Consequences, Structures & Manifestations, Policies for the Prevention of Corruption, and the Whistleblower System.

The objective of these events is to give participants an overview of the effect mechanisms and the consequences of incidents of corruption, giving examples of celebrity case instances. In addition, valuable impulses are conveyed for self-critical reflection and thereby a stronger alignment of the preventative measures. With an annual audience of some 30 participants, the internal in-person training courses are well received and rated positively throughout.

Beyond that, we have implemented another annually repeating e-Learning Compliance event. It picks up the contents of the aforementioned expert presentations and, via case studies, provides a knowledge assessment. For the roughly 300 employees in areas with increased corruption potential (cf. hereafter “Corruption Vulnerability Atlas”), participation is mandatory. Voluntary participation is being offered for all others. In 2021, some 50% (ca. 300) of our employees completed the e-Learning offer.

In 2018, we created our Corruption Vulnerability Atlas. This atlas depicts the results of the Corruption Vulnerability Analyses of all departments, areas of business, and locations of NPorts. From an organizational chart, you can see the degree of potential corruption for any of the organizational units at a glance. With it, we want to sensitize especially those employees in an area with an increased potential for corruption and put a focus on the safe design of and compliance with the process workflow. There are five potential criteria for an increased vulnerability for corruption:

• Possibility of granting undue advantages ≥ 10.000 €/year
• Regular invitation for offers
• Possibility of manipulation of evaluations, test results, access to confident information
• Concentration of competences: e.g., decision and execution
• Frequent external contacts to persons that may experi- ence advantages or disadvantages from the decisions of the employees

Whistleblower System

Since July of 2019, we have also introduced a whistleblower system. The system gives everyone the opportunity to give our external person of trust anonymous tips regarding corruption or for a misconduct via the Internet. There is also the option to clarify general questions with the person of trust.

The whistleblower message is relayed to our independent external person of trust via an IT system (ISO 27001) that is certified in a privacy law compliant manner (EuroPriSe Seal). This person will verify the tips and counsel us on the further steps. If requested by the whistleblower(s), the person of trust will stay in touch. This is a low-threshold system and may be used by employees, but also - and without restriction - by external persons. The system can be accessed through our compliance page.

With this large step, we intend to decrease the risks of a criminal act and facilitate the resolution of such cases. With it, we can also uncover actual flaws and loopholes within the system and keep people from being tempted to commit such acts. It is primarily our intent to protect whistleblowers with this system. Even going forward, they should be able to trust in the system and feel, like they can question things, without imperiling or losing their position or their reputation within the company.

We see reported tips as an opportunity: They show us key instances in our company that we can first internally investigate here. This allows us to address and resolve these problems internally, without them getting pointed out to us from external pressure, for instance through the media, which could needlessly damage our reputation.

Through both the existing IT safety standards, and in consideration of the collaboration with the external person of trust, who is obligated to keep confidentiality, our whistleblower system offers a very high protection standard and thus exemplary complies with the protec- tion demands of the EU Whistleblower Directive off 10/23/2019; Directive (EU) 2019/1937 for the provision of internal reporting channels.

Sensitization

In order to inform our employees about this, we have introduced the system via the intranet, in the expert presentations of the external person of trust, and through our e-Learning. We inform any of our business partners about the whistleblower system and our compliance pages as part of our automated e-mail signatures. Since the introduction of the system, we have not registered any tips regarding corruption incidents or legal proceedings due to anti-competitive conduct, the formation of cartels or monopolies or other misconduct. To us, this is a great sign and we are proud of it.

Beyond this specific information, we perform a general sensitization around the topic “Corruption and Bribery”. There is continuous reporting to all members about important developments at the supervisory board meet- ings. In addition, the employees are informed in writing each year about the internal policies.