Corporate and sustainability strategy

HHLA is one of Europe's leading port and logistics group with activities stretching beyond the Port of Hamburg into many parts of Central and Eastern Europe. Together with its customers, HHLA develops logistical and digital hubs for the transport flows of the future. Sustainable business practices are an integral part of HHLA’s business model: the company connects port terminals with hinterland networks to create climate-friendly logistics chains. These links facilitate the environmentally beneficial transportation of significant freight volumes while achieving economic added value for HHLA. By implementing its Balanced Logistics sustainability strategy, HHLA is highlighting its commitment to reconciling ecological, social and economic responsibility. As a result, HHLA is paving the way for sustainable growth in its enterprise value.

Transformation process

HHLA’s market environment is changing at an ever-greater pace. HHLA aims to harness this chan­ge quickly and successfully, with determination and focus. To this end, HHLA is intensifying its

• focus on identifying and interpreting relevant trends in order to derive value-adding initiatives.
• flexibility with the aim and benefit of acting and evolving quickly.
• efficiency and networking in order to remain ahead of the competition and generate added value.
• search for and integration of innovation.

HHLA draws on its creative power to focus on the development of additional values. In this way, it aims to strengthen customer loyalty and its customer base. As it builds its future viability, HHLA is guided by key milestones. Four initiatives have been identified to achieve these objectives:

Fit for the world of tomorrow

Our core business is being strengthened to be able to enter the world of tomorrow sustainably and profitably. A corresponding programme for the future is being implemented. This programme aims to enhance competitiveness, quality and profitability.

Investments and finance

The company will continue to gear its investments and operating results towards sustainable, profitable growth. HHLA applies a value-oriented approach to its strategic investments. The most important investment criteria are the growth prospects and anticipated return on capital of the investment projects.

Exploiting additional growth areas

HHLA is tapping growth potential along the transport streams of the future, along the logistics value chain and in new, digital business models.

Organisation and corporate culture

The company's organisational structure and corporate culture are being aligned with tomorrow’s world. The client is being placed more than ever at the centre of activity.

Market position

In the listed Port Logistics subgroup, activities to cement and expand the current market position are governed by the following guidelines:

In the Container segment, HHLA aims to be an efficient, highly automated and high-performance port service provider with a strong hinterland network and cutting-edge, digital customer solutions. In order to achieve this, the design and operation of HHLA’s container terminals are systematically geared to maximum productivity of space and manpower efficiency. At the same time, innovative technologies and processes are used to achieve continuous improvements in quality standards. In doing so, the terminals are being developed into efficient interfaces within a sustainable and emission-free transport chain.

In the Intermodal segment, HHLA strives to be a quality and efficiency leader and aims to leverage this leading position in order to profit from the transport flows of the future. METRANS will play an important role along the hubs and connecting lines of the logistics network, both in Europe and beyond. Due to efficient networking between the Intermodal segment and the other activities of the HHLA Group, HHLA is able to offer its customers a perfectly coordinated range of services characterised by efficient intermodal transport from its seaport terminals to transshipment in the European hinterland and vice versa. In addition, HHLA offers its customers continental transport between European destinations. By further expanding its European network, gaining market shares in Europe and offering climate-friendly services, HHLA is pursuing the goal of increasing both the scope of its services and reach for its customers. Besides enhancing the scope and range of its services, HHLA focuses on increasing its vertical integration.

In its Logistics segment, HHLA pools a wide range of port-related services such as dry bulk, vehicle logistics and fruit logistics. These business fields form the foundation for the future growth of the segment. HHLA also markets its expertise in infrastructure and project development internationally.

In addition, new and innovative business activities along the material and digital logistics value chain are being pursued and promoted in the Logistics segment. In response to rapid developments in the global transport and logistics sector, HHLA Next GmbH was founded in 2021 to serve as HHLA’s central innovation unit and to pool its innovative and sustainable business activities. Innovation

In addition to purely organic growth, HHLA constantly explores opportunities for further acquisitions with a view to opening up new growth areas along the logistics value chain. HHLA’s interest is based on the economies of scope offered by the existing network and the opportunities it presents to tap additional growth potential along the transport flows of the future.

In its non-listed Real Estate subgroup, HHLA pursues the objective of developing into an integrated, market-viable developer of specialist properties. The corporate unit HHLA Real Estate aims to be Hamburg’s flagship provider of intelligent district management and development on the basis of this clear strategic alignment and reliable prioritisation. As such, HHLA is becoming a much sought-after specialist in its clearly defined areas of expertise.

The HHLA service network

HHLA connects its customers with maritime and continental transport streams

Sustainability as an integral part of the corporate strategy

In addition to the continued development of our core business and the development of new growth fields, sustainability and climate protection are an integral component of HHLA’s business model.

Responsible corporate governance forms the basis for implementing our sustainability strategy. This is divided into nine areas for action with an emphasis on climate-friendly logistics chains as well as land optimisation, climate protection and energy efficiency: HHLA has set itself the target of halving its total CO₂ emissions by 2030 and becoming climate-neutral by 2040. The base year is 2018.

In September 2015, the United Nations adopted the 2030 Agenda, formulating 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for the world in which economic development is shaped with consideration for social justice and the earth's ecological conditions. As part of its sustainability strategy, HHLA supports all the goals, of which in particular high-quality education (SDG 4), affordable and clean energy (SDG 7), decent work and economic growth (SDG 8), industry, innovation and infrastructure (SDG 9) and climate protection measures (SDG 13) correspond to HHLA's social activities.