Today we went on three site visits. The first two were in Vasilliko by a port. Vasilliko cement works, the first company we heard from, actually built the port themselves. It is mainly an industrial port and 80% of the shipments received at the port are for the cement company, the rest being third party users. Vasilliko Cement produces cement and clinker, which is an intermediate material used to make cement. They told us about how they use less fossil fuels by using renewable energy sources of waste (RDF and SRFs), which I thought was an interesting and sustainable way to conserve nonrenewable resources. We were even informed that this waste—which is imported from the UK and Italy—is free!
VTTV was the second company in Vasilliko. They are a logistics and storage company for oils and fuels. In Vasilliko, they have 28 storage tanks and a jetty that they own and operate. They play a major role in the oil supply chain and export clean petroleum products. I thought it was interesting that their facility has direct pipelines to nearby production facilities like Vasilliko cement. Although the oil industry is not particularly focused on sustainability, they mentioned that they are beginning to think about eco friendly fuel sources. In my own research, their parent company, VTTI has been focusing on renewable natural gas in the Netherlands.
Before our third site visit, we stopped at a fish tavern for lunch! We were given an abundance of fish to try. Although I wasn’t a huge fan of some of them, what I tried was delicious! I loved the condiments we ate and all of the fish were incredibly fresh!
Finally, we went to Cyprus Marine and Maritime Institute, a nonprofit research center that was founded in 2019. We had the privilege of hearing from their various departments about the projects they have worked on. They do a lot of work with technology, specifically automation, to monitor marine activity. CMMI placed a lot of emphasis on sustainability, and their vision is to drive a sustainable blue economy. Funded and supported by the EU, their employees told us about how their institute aligns their values with the EU’s goals to reduce carbon emissions by 55% by 2030. Their projects are geared toward things like protecting biodiversity, monitoring coastal erosion, and pushing for green shipping efforts. My favorite project they told us about were automated jet skis that drive completely on their own!
As an analytics major it was interesting to learn about the analytical side of sustainability, especially from CMMI. Their jobs were very computer based and data driven to monitor and develop new ways to focus on sustainability, which is something I would be interesting in using my major to do!