GreenPort 2017 – Congress round-up

Mercator Media would like to thank Dr C F Wooldridge, Honorary Research Fellow, Cardiff University, UK who gave a succinct and informative round up of the 2017 GreenPort Conference, Hosted by the Port of Amsterdam.

Priority topics for the port sector, namely air quality, energy consumption, Carbon Footprint, noise, local community relations, garbage, ship’s waste and port development were recurrent issues for discussion as through key-note speeches, presentations and Workshop-exchanges delegates examined options and strategies for action.

A particular strength of this year’s Congress was the wide range perspectives taken into account as the interactive programme keenly encouraged exchange of views and opinions between, and amongst, presenters and delegates. The economic imperative of the global market, the strategies for the port sector itself, and the often-unique circumstances of the individual Port Authority were juxtaposed in the overall debate on the complex that is the real world of port operations. The significance of port-city relations and those with the shipping industry were repeated topics, and the debate about the extent to which the ports could, or even should, influence so-called Green Shipping continues as a high priority and controversial issue.

There was overwhelming consensus that positive stakeholder engagement, clear programmes of communication, and collaborative action based on effective partnerships were essential for the practicable transformation of policy into practice throughout the sector. In turn, features of competition, transparency, quality and access to data and information, and the all-important protocol for decision-making were flagged time-and-again as operational experience of delegates was fed into the discussion sessions.

The need for on-going innovation in terms of strategies and technologies was flagged clearly particularly with respect to climate change, energy consumption and the overall objectives of sustainable development. Indeed, it was widely acknowledged that change, in its widest definition from revolution to transformation will continue to pervade all aspects of the port sector from policy to practice.

The GreenPort Congress demonstrated many examples of good practice currently being applied by the port sector as it works to achieve continuing improvement of environmental management through voluntary, self-regulation based on the premises of compliance, cost and risk reduction, environmental protection and sustainable development. The European Sea Port Organisation’s own ‘EcoPorts’ concept of a network of port professionals (in conjunction with industry and academia) exchanging knowledge and experience on environmental management was established twenty years ago (an event celebrated at this year’s Congress) and continues to deliver practicable tools and methodologies for ports wishing to implement effective Environmental Management Systems (www.ecoports.com).

The GreenPort Congress maintained the ethos of the network by facilitating the exchange of knowledge and experience in a vibrant and sociable manner. It provided a vivid insight into the actions that port authorities are taking to be catalysts for sustainability, and acknowledged the role of delegates as ambassadors for innovation in the demanding world of applied port activities and operations.

Delegates ended with an inspiring video presented by R. Earl Lewis, Deputy Secretary, Planning and Enterprise Services, from the Maryland Department of Transportation, on Baltimore our USA destination for May 2018 for GreenPort Congress

PowerPoint Presentations from the GreenPort Congress 2017 contain a wealth of information .

Downloads of all the conference material will be available. If you missed it you can purchase the download shortly. For more information contact the Events team on +44 (0) 1329 825335 or email congress@greenport.com.

Follow the event on Twitter @GPCongress.