Rotterdam’s general management team has drawn a line in the sand not only about its own environmental performance – in the broadest sense of the phrase – but, in recognising that it can’t act alone to make a significant difference, about the environmental performance of others too.

The port’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) policy document, part of the business plan that takes it through to 2010, includes sustainability ambitions that reach beyond its own operations to take in those of suppliers, contractors, customers and even governments.

Says the document: “We will work actively (with government authorities) to develop legislation and regulations that contribute to improving the sustainable performance of the European ports.”

And with a pledge to cut its own CO2 emissions to half of the 1990 levels by 2025 in spite of more than two decades of development, and instructions that the first two power stations being built as part of Maasvlakte 2 – coal-fired ones by E-On and Electrabel – will have to store their own carbon dioxide emissions, chief executive Hans Smits has nailed the Port Authority’s colours firmly to the mast of sustainability.

He’s keen for the port to take on a major role in moving the greenhouse gas around northern Europe, believing it could be stored in depleted gas and oil fields. This is not just ‘blue sky thinking’; the Authority has set up a company which could facilitate the necessary pipeline infrastructure.

On the back of such bold steps Mr Smits can afford a little rhetoric. He says: “We want to combine strengthening the economy with improving the environment and quality of life.” His target is to build a sustainable port operation, not just for tomorrow, but for future generations. “Future generations have a right to a world-class port with an attractive living and working environment,” says his policy.

The port’s determination to break new ground on environmental standards is shared by former Dutch Prime Minister Ruud Lubbers, who says: “Everyone needs to start consuming carbon dioxide.” He has told port business leaders Rotterdam must take the lead as an energy port, making room for energy sources such as biomass and liquid natural gas, and having pipelines to transport residual heat and carbon dioxide.

He expects reticence on such developments, but invites sceptics to recall the introduction of natural gas as fuel. “People were wary then too, but today it’s the most normal thing in the world.”

It’s arguable that there could hardly be a better time for Rotterdam to start than ‘now’. Quite apart from tomorrow potentially being too late, the development of Maasvlakte 2 is poised to burst from the starting blocks.

As well as the CO2 requirements for the power plants on the 1,000 hectare increase in Rotterdam’s footprint on the surface of the planet, the CSR policy has implications for everyone who has anything to do with the port.

Mr Smits’ recognition that the Rotterdam vision cannot be realised in isolation means it will require a buy-in from everyone who’s part of the operation, from its 1,300 employees – called ambassadors in the policy – to its largest customer.

The CSR policy promises that the Port Authority will encourage its partners, having made a start by changing its own performance. The reality of that statement for existing customers is that they can expect to be urged to introduce ‘clean’ technologies; new customers will be assessed against such criteria, and contractors and suppliers will assessed against their commitment to sustainable techniques.

The result of clean technologies will be reflected, in part, in the quality of water in the port. “Thanks to the efforts made by the Port Authority and the municipality of Rotterdam over many years, the quality of water and sediment in the port area has improved dramatically.

“By 2030, further innovation (about discharges into the river) should result in all dredged material being so clean that it will be possible to relocate it onto the North Sea or re-use it on the land,” says Mr Smits’ policy.

Couple that with plans to encourage more goods to be transported by water, to develop an action plan for renewable energy, and develop and ecological and recreational area, and Rotterdam Port Authority’s general management team believes it can achieve its sustainability target.

Pieter Struija, Rotterdam’s director of Infrastructure and Maritime Affairs, puts it more plainly: “It has become clear to me that our existence depends on the management’s social, environmental and corporate governance performance being put on an equal footing with its financial, commercial and operational performance.”