The community approach

They can only reduce their footprint by so much because they don’t control the ships, road/rail transport or many other aspects themselves.

“A port really needs to work with all of the community that comes in and out of the port if it is to make an impact.”

One of the biggest challenges is how you actually measure your carbon footprint, he adds. “It is a lot of estimating and averages and even different methods. For example, when you analyse a supply chain, a simple model may be misleading. Every different shipment is going to have a different carbon footprint.”

He mentions a well-known crisps manufacturer looking to put the CO₂ output on the back of every pack: “But some potatoes are from local sources and some from the other side of the country. Depending on which batch of potatoes, the carbon footprint could be two to three times or half the amount.”

Ports are “different” in that a lot of their emissions are caused by throughput which is not directly theirs, says Prof Menachof. But there are still opportunities to change. “They can help by putting in place a better schedule of pick-up and deliveries through the port community system, so trucks are not queuing for hours. Better management of port facilities and working with customers can reduce congestion and reduce idling of queuing vehicles.”

He also highlights the positives and possible negatives of being greener. Ports that install cold ironing facilities early could have a competitive advantage, at least in the short term, in attracting the shipping companies looking to reduce their carbon output.

Ports are beginning to understand that, far from being a costly exercise, going green can actually save money.

So what’s the down side? Prof Menachof says that too much honesty could backfire on the virtuous.

“It is fine within one country to reduce carbon, but if you are stricter than other countries, all of a sudden you could put yourself at a competitive disadvantage, even in Europe. Everything is a trade-off. If we clamp down too hard, we risk losing business and economic trade.”